Should tracking be abolished?

[YES]

As a former tracked high school student, I am against tracking.

I was a "brain" in high school, always in the honors classes getting good grades. However, I feel that tracking unnecessarily classifies, labels, and segregates students.

In my high school, many students felt that being in the high track meant they were better than others. In one incident I recall, two other "brains" and I ended up in a mixed-ability study hall class. On our first day, one of the "brains" said to me, "I'm not staying in here with them." 

By the second day of study hall, she'd become a language lab assistant and the other "brain" had become a guidance assistant. I was the only one who chose to stay.

The remaining students and I quickly became friends. We saw that, despite our different academic levels, we had a lot in common. One student even told me that she never liked me before because I was "too smart."

The most disturbing part of this experience was that one "low track" student wrote in my yearbook, "You're the first smart person I have talked to."  How sad. Tracking made him feel that way. Absolutely no one should feel so low about himself or his environment that he'd say he's never spoken to a smart person before.

As a 14-year elementary teacher, I have a mixed-ability class and I differentiate my lessons for different abilities. 

In many classes, if not all, clear requirements and expectations can be given to the students telling them what is necessary to achieve an A, a B, etc. The "brains" will continue to reach for the A's and maybe some of the slower learners will attempt them too. Maybe they will work with and be inspired by the faster learners to set higher goals. I have seen this happen firsthand. 

I believe that students, when they are together in a mixed-ability group, will develop more tolerance of one another, and possibly a new attitude toward learning.

Janice Wilson teaches second grade in Woodbridge Township, New Jersey.

Cast Your Vote

[NO]

I teach at a Blue Ribbon school of excellence, highly respected for the number of college-bound student graduates. We use tracking in some aca-demic areas to best meet student needs. We offer a basic level, a college-bound level, an accelerated level, an honors level, and in some areas, AP classes.

Our school recognizes each student's unique learning style and pace, and affords students the opportunity to be at the head of their class.

Some students function at many different levels. They may be accelerated in mathematics but have a more difficult time with English. Ability grouping allows them to find the best academic fit.

No one is locked into a level and students are constantly evaluated and moved into levels that will meet their need to excel.

High school students are highly competitive individuals who become frustrated and disappointed quickly when they do poorly. They want to be at the top. They want to be respected in their classrooms both socially and because of their academic standing.

It is difficult for a student with low reading ability to keep pace in a class of students who read faster and better. The slower student becomes embarrassed. This student will often be-come a discipline problem by acting out those feelings of shame and low self-esteem.  

In non-ability grouped classes, the same students always seem to be answering the questions and getting the A's. In ability grouped classes, students have more opportunities to answer questions in discussion sessions, ask questions that others won't think are weak, and find validation as class leaders.

At our school, each student knows that with hard work, he or she has the opportunity to be at the head of the class.

I say, give every student a chance to rise to the top, and you will see someone smile at the end of a day because they have felt success.

Joyce Davis teaches high school English in Glendale, Wisconsin.

Cast Your Vote

Voting Results

Should students have to take drug tests to participate in extracurricular activities?

The tally on the question in the January 2005 issue of NEA Today:

52% Yes  

48% No