Modifications and alternatives to tracking can address teachers' desires to match instruction to student abilities without the gross educational inequalities accompanying lower-tracked classes and without ignoring exceptional children's needs. Untracked classes can be improved by providing extra help, equipping teachers with useful teaching…

Describes the University of Texas at El Paso's use of a Spanish placement system that seeks to appropriately place both native and non-native speakers of Spanish in the correct track and level of Spanish courses. (CB)

Best-evidence synthesis was used to review 29 research papers published in English that evaluate the effects of ability grouping on student achievement in secondary schools. Six randomized experiments, 9 matched experiments, and 14 correlational studies were reviewed. Findings do not indicate beneficial effects of ability grouping on achievement.…

Argues against the one-dimensional approach to the study of occupational aspirations, noting that standard scales of aspiration cannot identify those who aim at occupations that generate high income but require low education. Demonstrates a new index of occupational aspirations. Discusses the impact educational tracking may have on the nature of…

Findings are presented from a two-year examination of educational tracking decisions at three comprehensive urban high schools. It is suggested that high school tracking decisions result from the synergy of differentiated, hierarchical curriculum structure; school cultures committed alternately to common schooling and accommodating differences;…

At Mundelein (Illinois) High School, alternative assessments of student learning (portfolios, debates, learning logs, interviews, mock trials, and research reports) are replacing traditional testing practices. Alternative assessment bumped into everything else, necessitating changes in master scheduling, records management, curriculum, and teacher…

A British project collected evidence about whether adult involvement in uncertificated or part-time study led to more advanced, certificated programs. Results demonstrated a need for better recordkeeping and revealed some of the circumstances that enabled ease of movement between forms and levels of learning. (SK)

The six chapters of this theme issue consider three trends in educational effectiveness research: (1) integration of effectiveness phenomena at different levels, (2) a more model-driven approach than in the past, and (3) increased complexity of analysis tools and techniques to suit the new emphasis on process. (SLD)

Analyzes documentary evidence about ability grouping and tracking for educating diverse student populations. The article discusses the historical treatment of individual differences, clarifies why and how schools function at present, presents pros and cons of ability grouping and tracking, and discusses the impact of immigrants on issues of equal…

The relevant debate is not whether students differ but what schools should do about student achievement differences. Some forms of ability grouping may be justifiable, but those who would group students should have the burden of proving its effectiveness, because the negative consequences can be serious. (SLD)

Examined the relationship between segregated education and school outcomes for African American students in a school district regarded as a model of successful desegregated public schooling. Surveys indicated that many of the schools remained segregated at the building level. All secondary core academic classes were tracked and racially…

Reinterprets Betts and Shkolnick's results in an article appearing in this "EER" issue. The data do not allow accurate classification of tracked and untracked classrooms. There appears to be little difference in student performance and resource allocation between schools that formally and informally group students by ability. (MLH)

This document presents the proceedings of the 17th Annual Research Forum held June 29, 2012, at Wake Forest University in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. Included herein are the following 25 action research papers: (1) "Reading and Writing": A Study Comparing the Strengths of Peer Review and Visible Author Writing Strategies (Elizabeth Behar); (2)…

Twenty-five percent of California's elementary schoolchildren attend schools operating on nontraditional, staggered, overlapping attendance calendars collectively referred to as multitrack year-round education (MT-YRE). This case study reveals substantial differences in the characteristics of students and teachers across the four attendance tracks…

One of the most frequently studied factors relating to the rise of educational inequalities is the selectivity of the education system. Selectivity often gives rise to inequalities in educational opportunities. The Czech Republic exhibits large inequalities in educational achievement and relatively steep socio-economic gradients in all…