Tracking in an Era of Standards: Low-Expectation Classes Meet High-Expectation Laws

Authors

Kevin G. Welner

Abstract

This article explores racial resegregation of students through the practice of tracking - the grouping of students into separate classrooms pursuant to perceived academic ability. It places tracking within its larger historical context, as a means for white parents to feel secure about their children's education, and presents a review of scholarly literature concerning the characteristics and application tracking. The main body of the article then sets forth recent analyses of data from two school districts, investigating the harmful and segregative effects of tracking. The article ends by examining aspects of tracking that leave it susceptible to legal challenge, considering possible challenges within the changed national context resulting from the ongoing movement toward standards-based, high-stakes assessment.

Recommended Citation

Kevin G. Welner, Tracking in an Era of Standards: Low-Expectation Classes Meet High-Expectation Laws, 28 Hastings Const. L.Q. 699 (2001).
Available at: https://repository.uclawsf.edu/hastings_constitutional_law_quaterly/vol28/iss3/4