When creating lesson plans, I have to be diligently aware of my student's progress in my class.  There have been cases where I haven't paid attention to my higher kids for fear of leaving my lower kids behind, and vice versa.  However,  I have learned some tricks when it comes to creating lesson and assessment plans over the last 9 weeks.  

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Although technically part of classroom management, I have broken my classroom up into 3 groups of 5 students according to both ability and behavior.  At the beginning of each new lesson, each group gets a topic to do "mini research" on and teaches the lesson to the whole group.  The whole group, then, synthesizes the information to form the background for the unit.  After that, the whole group will have the same reading assignment, then do a different activity based on ability.  By giving my different groups different activities, I can differentiate their learning.  Sometimes I rotate their activities, sometimes I will let them have a whole group discussion about their different activities.  

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Our unit tests come from our text books and are STAAR-esque.  The student is given two short reading selections related to the unit's reading selections, then they are given questions using STAAR stems, both multiple choice and short and long constructed answer questions.  

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In between, my students work on a website called Moby Max which assesses their levels, and works to increase their levels thereafter.  They have the option of working on vocabulary, reading for information, language, reading for content, and more.  I can check on their progress whenever I like, and can send messages, badges, and "vibes" for good and bad behavior during class.