Tracking
The pounding of my heart echoes in my ears as I
glance around the classroom.
Adrenaline and fear mix in my veins as I
look at them. These are my competitors;
just like those that I face on the
basketball court or on the track. I have to
beat them all. John stole my
highest grade, Suzie beat me on the research paper,
and Casey aced the math
test. Not today though, today is my day. No one will be
able to beat me and I
will show them who is truly king of the hill. I life my
pencil and begin the
test... The competition many students feel academically is
hard and furious.
Some students do not have the desire to compete and wish to
merely go with
the flow at school. For example, I once drifted through
everything. I
switched from drifting and now seek the hardest classes I can; to
the
puzzlement of my parents. However, if my school would have been tracked,
this
would not have been possible. Tracking siphons students into
predetermined
roles and never allows for change. The effects of tracking in
school creates
insurmountable boundaries for minority and disadvantaged
students. The
oppression of tracking never relents and traps all those forced
to be lower
tracks into a life of menial labor with no hope for tomorrow.
Tracking destroys
both ability and dreams for those that are less fortunate.
As D. McVicar shows
"Researchers from UCLA to John Hopkins University
were finding that grouping
together students of different abilities helped
the least capable students
dramatically, while the brightest children fared
just as well when tracked."
Therefore, it appears tracking does not
impair higher students learning ability
and shows marked improvements for
those that are "slower" or"problematic" Educators seem to have forgotten that
the student, perform
better in an environment that continually challenges and
seeks to expands their
minds. Without the presence of challenge or pressure
to motivate students, those
unfortunate ones that we tracked into lower
expectations are bereft and are
trapped like a fly in molasses without being
able to pull themselves out. The
ability of a student cannot truly be
measured by an educator and should not be
by arbitrary tracking standards.
The school system should allow students to
track themselves by taking honor
or AP courses. If student choose not to take
them, so be it, but denying the
chance of students to ever at least attempt
challenging coursework is even
more foolish because of socio-economic reasons.
In America, we often have
to make snap judgments without enough support of our
theories. In the school
system that is especially true; teacher often gravitate
towards appearance in
deciding students likes and dislikes. As also noted to us
by D. McViar, "That
the low tracks were almost entirely populated by children
of poverty and
members of minority groups underscored, in researchers’ eyes,
the inequity of
tracking." It certainly brings into a new light the
anti-discrimination
posters found in our school. Of course, the usual argument
are that we are
merely placing them at their proper ability level for them or
since their
parents cannot afford college we are doing them a favor in the long
run. An
easy salve to the collective conscience certainly and a justification
for any
mind since the tracking is being done for their benefit. But as
Patrick
Bassett of the Independent Schools Association of the Central
States writes,
"Low tracks often emphasize good behavior and menial
skills, while high tracks
offer preparation for college. These differences in
learning environments
particularly depress the academic achievement of poor
and minority students, who
are assigned disproportionately to low tracks." An
education equal to the best
of a students ability has often been the stated
goal of many a high school. But
when such factors as race or poverty
automatically put a strike against a group,
the policy must be changed. By
our complicit and nonchalant attitude, we have
permitted classism and a sense
of elitism for students. This is a detriment for
both lower and upper tracked
students for as North Kingstown Supt. James Halley
writes, "When they go out
into the world, they need to interact with and hear
the voices of those not
as intellectual. If they haven’t heard them in school,
that’s a handicap for
them. It is more democratic and practical for kids not
to be separated from
one another because of intellectual differences." In all
reality after high
school, in both college and life in general, you will not be
placed only with
people of similar intelligence. You interact with a variety of
people. High
school is about preparing for life in general and without a basis
or
experience to work from interaction can be very difficult in later
years.
Constant interaction at least ensures a basis from which to work
in future
times. Without this experience people in the high tracks may fail
in the crucial
aspects of working with others which does not bode well for
the future. Tracking
does have its supporters. In their opinion, tracking
betters students and does
not weigh down bright and innovative students with
peers that are not as
intellectually gifted as them. As Therese Harvey,
teacher from England who used
to teach tracked classes, remarked, "The theory
is wonderful , but in practice
it simply doesn’t work. You find yourself
controlling the difficult student
rather than teaching any of them. I would
feel embarrassed. The good students
would just look at me as if to say,
‘Teach me something.’" Our children
are being held behind with those that
have no desire to learn and only show an
inclination to fulfill their own
selfish needs. The purpose of school is going
their to learn. The
administration accomplishes this goal by trying to stream
line students and
provide an access to school to help fulfill their needs. As
Lynda
Tisdell, an English teacher and supporter of tracking remarks, "The
side
effect of tracking nobody wants to talk about is that not only does it
do a
disservice to honors kids, but it makes the kid who has gaps and
comprehension
difficulties incredibly stupid." Thomas Jefferson was wrong; we
are not all
created equal. It is time to realize that in our school systems.
The schools
recognize that not all people enjoy the same physical activities
and seeks to
provide niches in athletics and clubs to follow differences.
This is the
approach that is needed with tracking. We need to provide more
accelerated
course work for those that truly want and need them and not hide
behind a quaint
and out-dated notion of equality. The bigotry that envelops
any school system
has been pointed out as being more then apparent in tracked
schools. However
this is not the case as few cases of racial discrimination
have been found. As
Tom Loveless, a professor from Harvard remarks, "
With more then 700 studies
of tracking in existence, no convincing evidence
suggest that tracking has a
special, adverse effect on the achievement of
African America, Latino, or
disadvantaged students. Nor does research show
that these students achieve at
higher levels in untracked setting." Any so
called racial disparity does not
exist at all with minority students. In fact
as Mr. Loveless further expands his
position by saying, "Gamoran and Mare
conducted another analysis of national
data showing that the probability of
being assigned to a high track is 10
percent greater for black students than
for white students. If true, then black
achievement may actually suffer from
tracking’s abolition." This is quite a
turn around from students being
discriminated because of their race. A ten
percent greater chance of being
higher tracked if you are an African American is
nothing to scoff at. Many
people do not realize that tracking actually promotes
minority groups. Any
racial disparity found in tracking is simply there because
people are looking
for it and not because of any basis in reality. The realty
is, that many
students do not have the same desire, ability, or drive to take
the same kind
of courses. We do a disservice to both advanced students and those
that are
not advanced by putting them into the pressure cooker together. As
Ralph
Scott, a staff writer, stated "As someone who attempted to effectively
teach
in the same classroom students whose abilities extended from the 3rd
grade
level through the second year of college, it is difficult for me to
fault the
viewpoint that encourages tracking." I believe that if I am a more
advanced
student and want to learn at a faster rate, what justification does
the school
system have for placing me in a group that does not desire to
learn The
environment in which we are raised influences us later in life and
I think I
speak for most people that the environment that we want to be in is
one that
helps us be a success. The solution for the bad rap that tracking
has received
is education. People need to understand that being in a lower
track does not
mean anything negative, but is simply the best place for that
particular
student. These is nothing to be ashamed of in not being an
academic prodigy, I
am sure half of the kids in their ivory towers do not
have a fourth of the
necessary life skills they will require. In my opinion,
only by allowing
tracking to have a fair and unbiased chance and ensuring the
ability to move
from one track to the next, if the desire is there, can we
have a truly fair
school system. I gaze down the track at my opponents. Last
place again, Damn.
Ohh, well I guess I will always have the chance to
beat them out, back in the
classroom. The strengths that become apparent
whether in school, life, or
athletics must be nurtured for the individual
person. By seeking to make carbon
copies at school, we only become a
detriment to ourselves. My thesis is wrong,
tacking does not disadvantage
students and only opens boundaries for
minority
students.
Bibliography
Bassett, Patrick. Tracking and
Ability Grouping. Chicago: The Riverside
Press, 1998. Loveless, Tom.
"Tracking." Tracking Reform and its Value.
http://www.proquest.com.html1.2
(15 April. 1999). McVicar, Dr. Morgan. Teaching
Matters. Remax: The
Providence Journal, 1998. Scott, Ralph. "Untracking
advocates make incredible
claims." Educational Leadership, Oct. 1993 Pg.1-23