Topic: Student Tracking
Research questions:
1. What is the success rate of students placed in lower academic tracks?
2. How does tracking benefit/limit students?
3. How do teachers equally educate students of unequal levels?
Articles:
1. "Schools Making Tough Choices": educational equity with student tracking
2. "Derailing Student Tracking": national campaign to end tracking that pushes blacks into low-end courses
3. "Tracking, By Accident and By Design": description of various forms of differentiation and how they benefit/hinder student progress
4. "The Challenge of Detracking: Finding the Balance between Excellence and Equity": examining the use of tracking to benefit both high and low achieving students
I've found four sources thus far that examine student tracking in terms of the good, the bad, and the ugly. I'm particularly interested in this topic because my school principal believes that tracking goes against the middle school philosophy, even though it's shown to be successful in older grades. The middle school students are tracked in math in 7th grade, but not in English until 8th grade. Their track is re-evaluated on a yearly basis based on their grades and work ethic. As a teacher who has high-achieving gifted students in the same class as low-ability students, I'm interested to explore all aspects of tracking - how it affects students, how it affects teachers, and if there is a "best practice" for middle schools when it comes to the great question, "To track or not to track?"
I'm hoping that the novel I'm reading for my book review will have some insight into possible practices to get lower-ability students more involved in reading and writing instead of tracking them into lower classes. I know that tracking can be detrimental to a student's self-esteem and I was actually pulled from a regular education math class in 6th grade and placed into a remedial class without my parents' knowledge. I will never forget how that felt and although my teachers goofed with that move, it only lasted a day and I wasn't scarred for life. I wonder if students placed in lower tracks are scarred by it, or if it's more beneficial than people give credit for.
Brooke,
ReplyDeleteIt looks as if you are off to a good start. I'm curious. Are you currently in support of tracking in the schools or are you looking for ways to challenge tracking? I'll be interested to learn if your perspective changes at all based on the research you find. It might be interesting to interview your principal regarding the topic. Just a suggestion. Your reading looks solid. Let me know if there is anything I can do to assist you.
Thanks, Shannon. My book for the book review is titled It's Never Too Late: Leading Adolescent to Lifelong Literacy, and it appears I will be able to pull some useful information from it on this topic. It discusses the frusteration of students who are placed in lower academic tracks in reading, which leads right into my research topic. At this point, I support tracking (mostly because none of my classes are tracked and the possibilities are ENDLESS when I allow my mind to wander), but I've heard from others that it does have many drawbacks as well. I'm interested to develop my own research-based opinion. I have spoken with my assistant principal in the past, but I think I will re-interview him with this purpose. He has a unique perspective now since he's filling in at the district office as Supervisor of Student Services.
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