Pros and Cons of Tracking In general, tracking has become a controversial topic that elicits strong opinions from both sides. Proponents of tracking believe it can facilitate instruction by individualizing instruction. Also, they believe it empowers instructors to modify teaching technique according to class level. In addition, arguments in favor state that tracking eliminates the probability that advanced students will experience boredom due to the participation of slower students. Lastly, those supporting tracking suggest tracking encourages slower students to participate since more capable classmates will not overshadow them (Ansalone, 2010, p. 4-5). There is an assumption shared by supporters that students will suffer emotionally if they …show more content…
According to Ansalone (2010), “tracking is a defective strategy” (p.14). Opponents of tracking claim lower tracks contain “disproportionate number of Black and Hispanics and that tracking facilitates the separation of social classes” (Ansalone, 2010, p. 6). Research suggests that tracking generally results in the separation of students along racial, ethnic, and socio-economic lines (Ansalone, 2010, p. 11). There is also speculation that high SES students are more often placed in upper tracks. According to Berends (1995), “qualitative researchers have consistently maintained that students’ attitudes toward school differ according to track placement” (p. 328). Those in the lower tracks tend to develop “anti-school” attitudes, while students in higher tracks are “predisposed to accept the…school’s system of values’, and this system gives them high prestige” (Berends, 1995, p. 330). Additionally, those against tracking believe each track tries to instill contrasting personality traits and provide differing hidden curriculums. Decision-making and creativity are accentuated for the upper tracks, while obedience and acceptance are stressed in the lower tracks (Ansalone, 2010, p.6). In addition, the instruction in the lower tracks is usually simplified, slower pace, and relies heavily on rote memorization whereas higher track courses are more complex and utilize higher order thinking. Plus, upper level students receive more individual attention from their instructors (Ansalone, 2010, p.10). As for the general assumption that tracking improves the self-concept and self-esteem of all children, the available research does not support this (Ansalone, 2010, p.12). Plus, researchers have found that students of lower ability seem to do better when mixed with students of mixed ability (Ansalone, 2010, p. 9). In a study exploring the effects of an educational expansion in Northern Ireland, where access
The constant debate over the school systems in America, have yielded a discussion over whether these school systems promote individuality through ones’ schoolwork or if the whole system is set up to conform every student. Some important issues to discuss when looking at schools causing individuality or conformity are school dress codes, rigid school schedules and classes, and little creativity promoted in schools.
Many tend to shy away when anything concerning race is involved. The article’s title “Modern-Day Segregation in Public Schools” calls the issue directly out. Everyone realizes what segregation is. There is no question that the topic should be taken seriously. Kohli relates the issue back to the Supreme Court’s ruling in Brown v. Board of Education of 1954, “…which mandated the desegregation of America’s public schools.” The Supreme Court case of Brown v. Board of Education will forever be known as a highly historic and heart-wrenching decision. An emotional tactic was used as seen through an actual experience with a student. Walter Fields, the father of an African-American New Jersey student has seen firsthand the effects of tracking becoming another form of segregation. Field’s daughter scored high enough scores to be placed in an accelerated course at her high school, but was not placed in the course due to a lacking recommendation from her teacher. Fields stated “You can…look in a classroom and know whether it’s an upper level class or a lower level class based on the racial composition of the classroom.” This saying that the lower level classes are predominately comprised of African-Americans and the higher level classes are predominately comprised of white students. Therefore, reinforcing the statistics of the Racial Distribution in AP Courses at Columbia High School in which black students made up 51.5 percent of total enrollment, but only having 18.7 percent enrolled in AP courses. Unlike the 38.4 percent enrollment of white students with 69.8 percent making up the AP course
Grades also cause a seen diversity among the students. That would be the half that get great grades, and the other half with lower grades. At a young age children can realize which section the fall into. Some students that fall into the lower half may push themselves to do better, but others will not. They see no point when they think they cannot be the higher half. The odds are not in those kids favor, and they know
We live in a society where we are surrounded by people telling us that school/education and being educated is the only way to succeed. However, the school system is not up to the standards we want it to uphold. There are three issues we discuss the most which are the government, the student, and the teacher. In John Taylor Gatto 's essay “Against School”, we see the inside perspective of the educational system from the view of a teacher. In “I Just Wanna Be Average”, an essay written by Mike Rose, we hear a student 's experience of being in a vocational class in the lower level class in the educational system when he was supposed to be in the higher class.
The repetitive structure of a school day, in a way, provides me with a sense of security, an awareness of what to expect, but it can be monotonous and lack excitement. When you consider how much time students spend in school it is clear that the experience shapes their lives and can have a lasting effect. It is for this reason that it is crucial to have the correct balance of conformity and individuality for the benefit of both civilization and individuals.
Tracking is where students are identified as gifted or placed in remedial classes. By doing this, students learn about their overall success and achievements in comparison to the other groups. In the documentary, the principal, Rob Gasparello, addresses why their school is not the greatest. He states that their school has a “terrible reputation” and that the numbers do not lie. Looking at the data would assume that the overall success rate is not as high as other schools. By knowing this, it can be detrimental to the students’ education. This can be detrimental because students who attend this high school may start believing that they will never be successful so why bother trying. Other students who do not attend this high school may not have respect for these schools and assume they are better because they believe that they go to a better school. This is an example of inequality in education and studies have shown that while education benefits everyone, it does not benefit everyone equally. An inequality in education mirrors and inequality in
I was placed into a school up to my educational standard, surrounded by students who were not better or worse than me. Yet Gatto might disagree by referring to point four of Inglis break down of the “actual purpose” of the school system: “…children are to be sorted by role and trained only so far as their destination in the social machine merits—and not one step further. So much for making kids their personal best” (3). I need to disagree with the author’s view point on this statement because, it was the perfect environment for me to rebuild my confidents in my educational abilities. Furthermore, because of exceling in my classes, my teachers saw my capabilities and moved me up into higher level of education. If I wouldn’t have been placed in this educational environment, I’m pretty sure it would not have rekindled my desire to pursue onto a track into higher education, of being my personal best, and to allow myself to dream
Classification of students happens within school based on family status, grades, race, etc. Tracking is the institutional tool that is used to intensify the stratification (Carter, p.72). I also remember I had tracked classes as early as the 7th grade, and the more you attended after school institutions, the higher the chance of being placed in ‘above average’ classes. However, we further need to take into account inter-school stratification. In my experience, I did not quite go through such extreme divisions within the school since students in my elementary and middle school—it was a private school— came from similar backgrounds and levels of wealth.
I really think that tracking in a broad sense can be a helpful thing. When kids are younger, it benefits them to have interventions and be with similar level peers in specific areas to prevent and combat academic gaps – specifically in math and reading. As kids go throughout school, I truly believe that each child should be exposed to the same curriculum and pushed to his or her best limit. Every person is an individual and has different strengths and interests. There are many scenarios where flexible grouping and inclusion are very
Reducing the unequal access of quality education will need a policy that integrates principals of risk, protection and resilience because without it many children will have inadequate education. Nevertheless, we can reduce unequal access to quality education by providing funding that is essential for the child and schools needs. Another form of reduction through the peer level is by acceptance of pro-social peers by having caring and supportive peers who accept them allows them to enjoy their time in school. Without acceptance of their peers it can cause many negative outcomes such as lack of interest of school, behavioral problems or emotional disorders. In the school level, setting high academic and social expectation is essential in receiving quality education because without it children are discouraged and begin to fail. High expectation of student is necessary to encourage children to study, which can lead to them succeeding academically. In the individual level. Involvement in extracurricular activities gives children a sense that they belong. School connectedness can overall impact they way they perceive and reduce the likelihood of dropping
...boost confidence and esteem in students, which would in turn boost test scores as well.
The lower class student’s major issue with learning in class is a shortage of confidence based on real or apparent weakness in the home environment. These students often feel undesirable. They are very aware of the class in which they come from and of the place and position people classify them under, they often feel the urge to hide their background. Students that are categorized in this particular class frequently come to school with a lower level of academic skills and involvedness than their peers that are categorized in the midd...
No one is being left behind. On the other end, students labeled as high achievers could be slowed down. Everyone knows that sometimes, some students understand material better than others, it’s just how the world works. Again, student tracking would eliminate this issue,
Research on the social and cognitive effects of grouping students in mixed-abilities versus same-abilities classrooms is gaining increasing interest among practitioners and researchers. In hopes of attaining higher scores, many schools have adopted homogeneous ability grouping. Unlike them, our school has adopted the policy of mixed ability classes where students of different academic abilities study together in the same class. Indeed, there is a lot of research in favor of heterogeneous ability grouping, but is this beneficial to us?
Having explained the reason most children have become disheartened at the thought of school, I now turn my attention to the students who do realize school’s educational value. These are the students that will continue to prosper throughout their lives because they realize the extreme importance of education. There is a secret, yet not so secret, motivation behind their determination to exceed standards and expectations in school. The secret they withhold is their overwhelming desire to be successful in the future.