Friday, December 11, 2009

The Answer Sheet - The effects of tracking students in school


The Answer Sheet
- The effects of tracking students in school



The effects of tracking students in school

A new report out today makes the case that students do better in school when they are separated into groups based on their achievement.
The study is published by the Thomas B. Fordham Institute, is byBrookings institute scholar Tom Loveless. It looks at tracking in Massachusetts middle schools and middle schools there that once had tracking systems but eliminated them.
Loveless found that de-tracked schools have fewer advanced students in math than do tracked schools--and that de-tracking is more popular in schools that serve disadvantaged students.
You can read the report here.
Let's discuss the issue of tracking. Please relate here--or send me attheanswersheet@washpost.com--any experiences you and your children have had with tracking and what you think about its effects.
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