High School Tracking Systems

High-school tracking streams allegedly group students according to interest and ability who learn at roughly the same pace. From statistics by researchers on students and teachers engaged in track systems to the personal experiences of teachers and students who have experienced track systems, track systems are a detriment to a quality education for all students. Track systems are typically flawed, allocate scarce resources to students most in need, and doom many students to failure in academics and employment. While tracking systems are designed to promote more efficient learning, they often create division among students in different tracks. The criteria used for track placement is often dubious or biased. For these and other reasons to be addressed herein, the high-school tracking system must be abolished.

There is plenty of evidence to support the detriments of tacking systems, from dooming slower students to failure to causing the perpetuation of "racial and socioeconomic status" (Tice 1994, 50). Despite these and other well-documented drawbacks of tracking systems, there is well-supported research that clearly shows the benefits of tracking systems are minimal at best. Hallam (2002) reports that research on the impact of streaming, as tracking is also known, "showed no difference in the average academic performance of boys and girls of comparable ability and social class in streamed or non-streamed schools" (24).

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