Many educators believe that “tracking” harms students in the mid range who may have done poorly on the 8th grade placement test.
03/02/94 STANFORD - A new study on tracking in high schools shows the system placing some students in college preparatory courses and others in easier math and science courses is "harming millions of students in American society," says Sanford Dornbusch, the Reed-Hodgson Professor of Human Biology, who holds joint appointments in the Department of Sociology and the School of Education at Stanford University.
“In the new study, the factor that most determined a student's first high school tracking placement was his or her eighth grade test score. Other factors that were significantly related were elementary school grades, attendance and negative comments about a student's behavior in his or her files.”
“"This finding upsets me," Dornbusch said. "This set of data points to a systemic pattern of ignorance, and African Americans and Hispanics are even less aware of the extent to which the tracking system is short-changing them. These results help us to understand why so many talented and hard-working minority students are ineligible for four-year colleges and universities.”
Testing is here. Tracking is here. Help your children pass the test. Make sure they are preparing for it. For instance, it is very important if your child has a problem when required to sit quietly and work. The child will be more prepared if required to sit quietly and do homework or other activity on a regular basis. Homework times become practice time for the test. Acquire a copy of practice test materials and help students prepare mentally and physically. It will help make a stressful time more bearable and lets your child know that you care about his/her academic achievement.
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