Tracking: From Theory to Practice

The term tracking refers to the practice of assigning students to instructional groups on the basis of ability. Originally, secondary school students were assigned to academic, general, or vocational tracks, with the courses within those tracks designed to prepare students for postsecondary education or careers. More recently, these track categories have been replaced by course levels, with students typically being assigned to advanced, honors, regular, or basic courses. These course levels continue to be referred to as tracks, with the regular and higher-level courses loosely equivalent to the academic track and the basic and lower courses loosely equivalent to the general and vocational tracks. Most secondary and junior high or middle schools track students for English and mathematics, and many schools track for social studies, science, language, and other courses. Tracking is an organizational practice whose aim is to facilitate instruction and to increase learning. The theory of tracking argues that tracking permits teachers to tailor instruction to the ability level of their students. A good fit between a student's ability and the level of instruction is believed to maximize the effectiveness and efficiency of the instructional process. Thus, tracking is meant to promote cognitive development; it is not designed to influence or modify students' social or emotional growth. The practice of tracking is currently a topic of intense debate. The concern focuses on two issues pertaining to the effectiveness and equity of tracking. The first is whether tracking is more effective in promoting students' learning than are other methods of grouping. The second is whether all students benefit from tracking to the same degree. The tracking debate is fed by conjectures and assumptions about the way tracking operates and how it affects students. Among these beliefs are that track placement is determined primarily by academic criteria, that tracks are strictly homogeneous with respect to ability, that track assignments tend to be permanent, that tracking has a negative effect on the self-esteem of lowability students, that low-ability students are difficult to teach because they are not highly motivated to learn, and that tracking limits the college options of low-track students.