De-Tracking

De-tracking is a movement to end the grouping of students into separate courses based on perceived ability. Students are often tracked into various academic programs in both formal and informal ways. Those in favor of de-tracking believe that it both causes divisions and supports existing discord between students; these often happen along racial/ethnic and socioeconomic lines. Often, schools claim that they do not have official tracking practices, but nearly all schools categorize students in some way. These categorizations result in vastly differing school experiences for students in different tracks. Many educators and administrators are convinced that both teaching and learning will be easier if students are grouped homogeneously by perceived ability. De-tracking advocates, on the other hand, believe that while tracking may be a practice ...