This research presentation seeks to illustrate how tracking produces within-school segregation, which, in turn, shapes the future aspirations of students. Scholars have shown that while schools have become more racially integrated over the years, another sociological phenomenon has occurred: within-school segregation as brought on by tracking.…

Streaming in secondary schools is not beneficial for improving student outcomes of education with vast amounts of educational research indicating that it does not improve academic results and increases inequity. Yet teachers often prefer working in streamed classes, and research shows that teachers mediate the effects of streaming on students.…

Schools utilize an array of strategies to match curricula and instruction to students' heterogeneous skills. While generations of scholars have debated "tracking" and its consequences, the literature fails to account for diversity of school-level sorting practices. In this paper we draw upon the work of Sørenson (1970) to articulate and…

Schools use an array of strategies to match curricula and instruction to students' heterogeneous skills. Although generations of scholars have debated ''tracking'' and its consequences, the literature fails to account for diversity of school-level sorting practices. In this article, we draw on the work of Sørensen and others to articulate and…

The decision handed down by the Supreme Court in Brown v. Board of Education was not only a legal victory for African Americans in the United States, but all groups who were forced into exclusionary environments. In the shadows of Brown, advocates began seeking reforms that would allow students with disabilities to receive their education…

Tracking students into different classrooms according to their prior academic performance is controversial among both scholars and policymakers. If teachers find it easier to teach a homogeneous group of students, tracking could enhance school effectiveness and raise test scores of both low- and high-ability students. If students benefit from…

Although a rich tradition of mainly U.S. and U.K. research focuses on the nature and effects of tracking students within schools, little research has investigated the importance of tracking students in the same or in separate schools. The authors used data from a unique, representative survey in Flanders (Belgium) to examine how students' study…

Crosstabular analysis tends to show that the streaming system is inversely related to absenteeism and dropping-out, even when intelligence, age, academic performance, and type of school are considered separately. A path analytic model conforms to the crosstabular analysis. The streaming system remains associated with both absenteeism and…

Discusses teaching in schools with heterogeneous grouping and in those with homogeneous grouping. Supports multiability classrooms and describes the benefits. Suggests techniques to deal with the range of student ability. (SR)

Investigation of Northern Ireland grammar school students' (N=125) attitudes toward streaming for French instruction revealed that streaming did not appear to engender feelings of alienation in the pupils subjected to it and actually helped many students keep up with the work. (CB)

This issue of a research journal on gifted education explores different perspectives on tracking in schools, the difference between equity and equality, whether equity is the enemy of excellence, and how all can be treated equally if some people are more intelligent than others. Specific articles include: (1) "Inequity in Equity: How 'Equity' Can…

Given that grouping students homogeneously has proved to be more deleterious than beneficial to student learning and self-concept, principals of middle level schools have the responsibility to implement more heterogeneous grouping arrangements in their schools. Grouping programs that provide multiple criteria for determining student ability and…

This study analyzes the impact of school structure on the friendship networks of students in desegregated schools in Israel. It highlights the importance of school features, such as the homeclass, to the formation of relationships among seventh through ninth grade students. A review of research literature on this topic is presented in the areas of…

Advocates heterogeneous grouping and cites research indicating that it will be more beneficial to students than homogeneous grouping by ability. (DF)

An introductory editorial essay on responding differently to student differences, the theme of this issue of "Educational Leadership." Addresses problems arising from discrimination and tracking, and cites articles that show how dissimilar students can work together. (TE)