Given that grouping students homogeneously has proved to be more deleterious than beneficial to student learning and self-concept, principals of middle level schools have the responsibility to implement more heterogeneous grouping arrangements in their schools. Grouping programs that provide multiple criteria for determining student ability and…

This paper is a review of literature on tracking, a controversial educational practice. In this report, tracking means the use of separate classes and/or whole curriculum sequences for students considered to be of different ability levels. The trend in recent research is to find that tracking benefits only the gifted, or high track, students. Low…

THE TRACK SYSTEM, ORGANIZED TO GIVE EVERY PUPIL A CHANCE FOR MAXIMUM SELF-FULFILLMENT, IS DISCUSSED. ABILITY GROUPING IS USED, SO IT IS BEST TO BE AWARE OF IT AND SYSTEMATIZE IT. SPECIAL PROVISION SHOULD BE MADE FOR ALL EDUCABLE PUPILS WHO DEVIATE WIDELY FROM THE NORM EITHER AS GIFTED OR SLOW. THE TRACK SYSTEM IMPROVES UPON THE ABILITY GROUPING…

It is asserted that many students cannot cope with a totally self-pacing individualized instruction program. A multiple-tract plan is described which does not restrict the learner who is able to proceed at an accelerated pace and which offers a considerable amount of flexibility to other students. (Author/RM)

Official school records are used to analyze the opportunity structure and selection mechanisms within a school. Critics' charges that tracking systems preclude choice and mobility are not entirely supported, but more complex and subtle mechanisms for restricting opportunity are found to operate. (Author)

A nationwide study suggests that alternative schools in America have often not achieved their full potential. Too often they are used to isolate or track either the best or the worst students, or ethnic or social class groups. (Author/CTM)

Using transcript data from 1,700 California high school students, this study investigated the influence of students' background characteristics on course placement in mathematics and science. Results showed course placements varied substantially across the four schools surveyed. Variations were explained in part by differing curriculum…

The hidden curriculum in schools affects students' behavior. Observations from over 60 classrooms show differences in the way students from various academic tracks and socioeconomic backgrounds react to ambiguous situations. The analysis demonstrates that teachers and schools maintain the socioeconomic status quo rather than working for a more…

This publication compares first-generation students (i.e., those whose parents have no more than a high school education) with their peers whose parent or parents attended college. It focuses on mathematics course taking--the effectiveness of taking algebra in 8th grade and advanced math courses in high school for subsequent college…

This book examines the reactions of schools in Massachusetts and California to policies that sought to persuade schools to abandon or reduce tracking--the practice of grouping students into classes by ability and organizing curriculum by level of difficulty. The text is divided into 8 chapters: (1) "Implementing Tracking Reform," which…

Compares the probable success of completing a bachelor's degree between students who began at two-year colleges and those who began at four-year colleges. Findings suggest that two-year college students perceived themselves as less likely to succeed, and students transferring to four-year colleges were less likely to complete degrees. (AM)

Examines the reasons behind and the effects of standardized and minimum competency tests. The authors conclude that the tests lead towards lower performance expectations for disadvantaged students, and increasingly rigid tracking along class, cultural, and racial lines. (AM)

Minority students generally perform more poorly than whites, due to low teacher expectations, tracking practices, lack of a multicultural curriculum, school/home incongruencies, and a substandard learning environment. The current shortage of minority teachers is exacerbated by frustration, low salaries, crowded classrooms, and other intolerable…

Reviews the African American community's unsuccessful struggle to replace the District of Columbia Public School's desegregation policy of tracking with a program emphasizing educational excellence. Discusses the Hobson v. Hansen decision, which ended tracking but shifted attention to busing and racial balancing. (FMW)

The economic stagnation and decline of Hispanic Americans during the 1980s was tied to their lower levels of educational attainment, according to "The Decade of the Hispanic: A Sobering Economic Retrospective," a study by the National Council of La Raza. The high female dropout rate and tracking inequities are discussed. (FMW)