Schooling, tracking, and inequality

Being poor does not only mean that a child has less money and fewer toys. Poverty is pervasive. It affects diet, nutrition, employment, housing, self-concept, and the entire educational experience. Ironically, Americans have always looked to education as a means of breaking the seemingly endless cycle of poverty. But rather than serve as a great ladder carrying all who climb with concerted effort to social and economic equality, current research suggests some educational structures may actually limit opportunities for certain children. This paper focuses on education in American society and how it may influence inequality . It addresses the question of why students from various social classes differ significantly in academic achievement and it critiques the major theoretical explanations for this difference. Finally, it supports the idea that specific educational structures perpetuate the cycle of poverty by determining educational outcomes and limiting the economic life chances of children. One such educational structure, tracking, or separation by ability, is the focus of this paper. Tracking is a reality in the American school system. Considerable research has revealed class, gender, and race biases with less-advantaged children more often placed in the lower tracks. This paper examines tracking on a national and international basis. It explores various processes within the tracks that limit a child's development and, in turn, have an impact on future economic opportunities. In sum, it examines how tracking may perpetuate the endless cycle of poverty.