The new tracking
The old tracking was racist, classist and hurtful.
The new “tracking” is basically a roll of the die, but just as hurtful, according to Barry Garelick. It’s a long essay; some may not want to read the whole thing, so I’ll summarize what I see his argument as in five points:
- When we threw out tracking in the late 60′s and early 70′s, we accidentally threw out ability grouping, too. Not everywhere, but in significant quantity.
- When we threw out tracking in the late 60′s and 70′s, we quite purposefully threw out explicit, teacher-centered instruction, too, because we wanted to make things relevant. Again, not everywhere, but in significant quantity.
- Without these things — ability grouping and explicit instruction — it’s incredibly difficult to learn. As a
