Abby Oldham

May 12, 2016

Sociology of Education
Service Learning Paper

Tracking Reform

Imagine a student going to school every day and being judged for what classes they are

taking. Maybe they are in advanced classes and everyone thinks they are a weird smart child, or

perhaps they are taking the easy classes and people think of them as less intelligent or slackers.

These stereotypes might not be true, but the children know what is being said about them. Not

only do people judge them by calling them names, but others also may be thinking about what

their future may hold. If the student is smart, people are expecting them to go on to college and

have a bright future. Some people may even expect more out of the child than the child realizes.

The student that is further down in the class ranks may be assumed to never finish high school,

much less earn a college degree. Instead of expecting these children to have a career the

expectations is to find a minimum wage job that will hopefully keep a roof over their head.

These are not paths that students are able to choose for themselves, but rather are

assigned to them from the start of their educational journey. Paths these students are put on is

also known as tracking. According to Oakes (1985) in her book about tracking, “tracking is the

process whereby students are divided into categories so that they can be assigned in groups to

various kinds of classes” (p.3). These tracks students are set on is often determine for them based

on a variety of factors including socioeconomic status, test scores, and how well they respond in

the classroom. Along with these one major factor in tracking is the student’s racial group.

Research shows that this is an issue in schools where there is a majority of white students.

Starting before elementary school tracking can have lasting negative effects on children of low

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socioeconomic status. In order to fix this problem public schools need to reform tracking

starting at the elementary school level.

Headstart is a program that children are often enrolled in before they enter kindergarten,

which prepares them for the schooling ahead of them. This is where they learn to adapt to school

life and start building basic skills. This is where they begin being evaluated by their educators to

determine which public school track they will follow. A child’s future is something people are

constantly telling them they can control when in reality it is laid out for them before they can

read and write. The future of a child begins to take form before they make it to kindergarten. The

preschool program they attend, if they go to one at all, can have lasting impacts throughout their

elementary school years. This status can also follow them into junior high and high school.

Many of the kids who attend Headstart programs find themselves in better tracks and

in more advanced classes. According to the article “The Nature of Schooling”, written by Doris

R. Entwisle, Karl L. Alexander, and Linda Olson (n.d.), “Headstart children had better math

achievement up through grade five and had more pride in their accomplishments throughout

elementary school.” Because of these better math skills and strong sense of accomplishment

these children are more likely to be placed in a track of more advanced classes and will have

better opportunities available to them in the future.

While Headstart is a great program unfortunately not all children get the opportunity to

attend. Many of the children who do not get this opportunity come from lower or working class

families who can either not afford to send their children to these programs, or do not have the

resources to get them enrolled and there every day. This extra boost from the beginning is just

one of the many reasons why children with higher socioeconomic statuses get placed in more

advanced tracks. Research shows that by seventh grade, 34.9% of students who did not attend

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Headstart programs are in Special Education compared to only 14.6% who had attended

Headstart (Entwisle, Alexander, Olson, n.d., p.224). This research proves the importance of

getting children into a Headstart program. When they cannot afford to attend they are

immediately put at a major setback compared to some of their peers.

Racial inequality in many public schools around the country can also contribute to

their track. Many times these students feel as though they are not treated the same way as their

peers, although the schools say they are not segregating their students. This may be true since the

popular Brown vs. Board of Education trial, however, when schools are looked at more closely

there are correlations between what classes the majority of the black children are enrolled in that

follows a lower level track. In an article about tracking and black students in schools Karolyn

Tyson (2013) talks about the issue that often times black students who are in a more advanced

track feel as though they are out of place because they are often times surrounded by white peers.

Many of these same students tend to be referred to as “acting white” (p. 236).

Stereotypically, black people are poor and in the working class, while white people are

seen as wealthy and high achieving. While these stereotypes do not describe the real world

accurately, this is one of the reasons why black students often times feel out of place in more

advanced classes. The kind of tracking that is seen with black and other ethnic students in

schools is referred to as “racialized” tracking. Most often this can be seen when the gifted,

honors, and advanced placement classes are disproportionately filled with white students while

the lower more standard classes have majority black and other minority students (Tyson, 2013,

p.237). In schools where this is a big issue many people do not see it as a problem, however it is

essentially the school’s way of segregating the students, without direct discrimination.

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 In schools of majority black or other minority students this issue is not seen; however, it

is most definitely present in many public schools across the country and must be brought to

attention. As stated by Karolyn Tyson (2013) in her article “Desegregation Without Integration”

“tracking does more than keep black and white students separated during the school day. It also

produces and maintains a set of conditions in which academic success is linked with whites:

students equate achievement with whiteness because school structures do” (p. 236). Schools are

the ones at fault for creating the social norm that white students are more intelligent, and one of

the main ways they are able to achieve this is by putting most black students on a lower

academic track. This lower academic track is most of the time also associated with a lower

socioeconomic status which people automatically put black students in whether it is true or not.

Segregation is a huge problem that is not being solved through tracking, but is actually

making it worse. Another form of segregation in our schools is that of socioeconomic status.

Students who do not grow up with the luxury of money and opportunity are automatically at an

unfair disadvantage of their peers. Students who are better-off have far more opportunities given

to them to learn outside of the school environment through traveling, visiting museums, and

going to libraries. These experiences help those students to gain outside knowledge which then

puts them ahead of their peers academically. For students who are not as well-off it is more

difficult for them to get ahead because they do not have the same opportunities, and tend to

spend their time away from school in much different ways. While this is not the only reason why

well-off children are most often found in more advanced tracks it is a reason that needs much

consideration.

Students on a higher track have more achievements, gaining more drive and motivation

than others. In an article written by Kanghon Lee (2015) about tracking in schools, it is said that

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children who are classified in more advanced academic tracks feel much more motivation to then

continue their education past high school by pursing a college level degree. Socioeconomic

status of a child when they begin their educational journey is a factor leading to which track they

are placed on effecting their entire education. Because of this the classes they take influence

what their options are after graduating as well as the motivation they have once they get done

with school.

Many studies have been conducted that show some of the real effects of tracking on

students from across the United States. In an article written by Jeannie Oakes (1985) about the

distribution of knowledge in America she interviewed students from across the United States

about their educational journeys. Students interviewed came from a variety of different

backgrounds, but were for the most part all grouped into two main categories: high-track and

low-track students. When asked what they had learned in school students from the high-track

group overall had very positive outlooks on school and felt as though they were learning a lot.

Some of the comments were: “We learned how to do experiments,” “Everything or mostly

everything I learn in here is important,” and “There is no one important thing I have learned.

Since each new concept is built on the old ones, everything I learn is important” (p. 262). Almost

no bad comments were made by the students in high-tracks, however the situation was very

different for students in the low-track group. Some of the comments from students in the low-

track group include: “Really I have learned nothing. Only my roman numerals. I knew them, but

not very good. I could do better in another class,” “I learned that English is boring,” and

“Learned how to get a job” (p. 262-263). These responses make it very clear that the low-track

students are not receiving the same education as the high-track students. Instead of being excited

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about school and the information they are learning they feel as though they are not getting useful

information from what they are learning.

Along with proving that children on a low-track system are not getting the same kind of

learning experience as others, Oakes (1985) also points out that the students in the low-track are

being prepared to go out into the job field. These students have learned skills to work at low

level jobs and do not know that they can achieve more. If a student from the low-track group

does decide to pursue a college degree it will be much more difficult for them compared to a

student in the high-track group. Many students of low socioeconomic status who are in a low

track know their only option is to get a job right out of high school, making it hard for them to

move out of the low socioeconomic status they grew up in.

Nina Guyon, Eric Maurin, and Sandra McNAlly (2012) talk about a study they did in

their article “The Effects of Tracking Students by Ability into Different Schools” where they

looked at how a reform away from tracking may help students in the long run. Some of their

findings point toward more students getting into better classes, if they are not already being

tracked by the time they get to junior high and high school. This gives the students an

opportunity to take classes they feel would be beneficial to themselves, creating more of a choice

in the school system rather than a set track.

Tracking is clearly an issue in public schools across the United States which needs

attention brought to it. Many students and parents do not realize that this is happening to the

students and therefore do not see the issue sitting right in front of them. In order to fix this issue

a reform of tracking needs take place across the United States starting in elementary school

programs. Instead of looking at the color of a child’s skin or the amount of money their family

has, schools should be evaluating the students based on their own knowledge and the growth

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they make. Putting a child on a track when they are young and then keeping them on that track

throughout their schooling is an unjust way of sorting students. Instead schools need to be

evaluating students every year and put them in classes that will be beneficial to them.

All students should have the right to see and be exposed to all subject matters and feel

support from their teachers no matter what classes they may be taking. No child should have

their future preplanned out for them, which is what is currently happening within the tracking

programs in schools. While working with the students at Marshall Elementary School through

the St. Mark’s Youth Enrichment Program I have seen first-hand that already some students are

in tracks that are not leading them to their full potential. I can see that the students have a ton of

potential but they are grouped up with others who are similar to themselves and already

complain that the work they are doing is too easy. When I asked these students what they want to

do when they get older many respond with simple jobs that do not require a college degree such

as work at a store, be a waiter, and be a singer. I could tell that these children are not learning as

much as they could be about their future options because of the tracks they are on.

While it seems that most of the students I was working with are on low-tracks there are a

few that I could see that are on a high-track. It is easy to detect these students because they get

excited about doing their homework and always made sure to tell me what they were learning

about. The same students who were excited about what they were learning are the same ones

who tend to ask me about college and expressed interest in furthering their education in the

future. These students seem to have extra confidence and motivation in school that many of their

peers at St. Mark’s do not have. While it is great that these students have such a positive outlook

on school it would be even better if this was the case for all students. If all of the students were to

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be detracked they may still have different goals, but they will at least all have a better chance at

the same opportunities as each other.

Tracking reform seems to be a great solution for many of the issues that are present in

schools now, specifically for students of poor socioeconomic backgrounds, but there are some

counterarguments that must be looked at. In an article about whether or not a tracking reform

will actually work Tom Loveless (1999) states “One way to narrow the gap between high and

low achievers is to boost low ability students’ learning while either holding steady or lowering

everyone else’s” (p. 29). While some may think that a tracking reform will hurt the kids who are

in high-tracks, this could not be more false. By integrating students the educational level will

increase for every student. Students who before would have been taught just the basics will have

the opportunity to join in with the students who were before in higher tracks. Overall the

education system will become stronger because all students will be getting a proper education

opposed to just a select group. Students who do not come from the best families will have an

opportunity to break away from the stereotypes of their home lives, and be given an opportunity

to build a better life for themselves after graduating high school. More options will be made to

children who were hidden from these options in the past.

Parents who are influential in the schools often feel that because their child is on a good

track there is not an issue and nothing needs to be done about it. In an article about tracking

benefits to high-achieving students it is said that detracking can have a higher risk for high-

achieving students (Tracking Benefits High Achieving Students). Students who are used to

having all of the best classes and teachers will experience a change through a tracking reform,

however, it is more important to look at how much the overall population of students will be

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effected. High achieving students will still get the proper education they need and deserve, along

with students who may not have been so blessed from the beginning of their schooling.

Students across the country need to stop being grouped into tracks based on the situations

they are in when they begin elementary school. Headstart programs are great, but should not be

something that haunts students who are not able to attend them. Evidence has shown that

tracking has many negative effects that are detrimental to the future of many students across the

United States. Through research and personal experiences at Marshall Elementary School it is

clear that there is a large problem of tracking in the school system that could be heavily

improved upon with a reform of tracking across the country.

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 References

Entwisle, D. R., Alexander, K. L., Olson, L. (n.d.). The Nature of Schooling. In Arum, R.,

Beattie, I. R., Ford, K. (Eds). The Structure of Schooling (pp. 223-233). Thousand Oaks,

CA: SAGE Publications Ltd.

Guyon, N., Maurin, E., and McNally, S. (2012). The Effects of Tracking Students by Ability into

Different Schools. Journal of Human Resources, 47(3), 684-721

Lee, K. (2015). Higher Education Expansion, Tracking, and Student Effort. Journal of

Economics, 114(1), 1-22. Doi:10.1007/s00712-013-0369-x.

Loveles, T. (1999). Will Tracking Reform Promote Social Equity?. Educational Leadership,

56(7), 28.

Oakes, J. (1985). The Distribution of Knowledge. In Arum, R., Beattie, I. R., Ford, K. (Eds). The

Structure of Schooling (pp. 259-267). Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE Publications Ltd.

Oakes, J. (1985). Keeping Track How Schools Structure Inequality. Binghamton, NY: Vail-

Ballou Press.

Tracking Benefits High-Achieving Students. (2010). Gifted Child Today, 33(2), 6.

Tyson, K. (2013). Desegregation Without Integration. In Arum, R., Beattie, I. R., Ford, K. (Eds).

The Structure of Schooling (pp. 234-258). Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE Publications Ltd.

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