Ability-Group Effects: Instructional, Social, or Institutional?

Pallas, Aaron M.; Entwisle, Doris R.; Alexander, Karl L.; Stluka, M. Francis

doi:10.2307/2112748

Cited by 171 publications

(117 citation statements)

References 21 publications

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“…Other limitations are the result of within-school constraints such as a school environment resistant to offering certain minority groups (who may be the majority of students in a school) a better opportunity, due to (mis) perceptions about the groups' abilities. Therefore, as suggested by Pallas et al (1994), to explain students' placements in different tracks one needs to analyze the constraints under which schools function, the school's own organizational processes, and how these factors interact with student characteristics.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Two related findings support this assertion. The first one is that children with comparable levels of academic performance can be found in tracks that rank anywhere from the top of the class to near the bottom (Hallinan 1994;Oakes 1995;Pallas et al 1994). The second finding is that the distribution of achievement in tracks overlaps the distribution of the adjacent tracks (Hallinan 1994:81;Oakes 1994:87).…”

Section: Tracking Placement Practices Ability and Cultural Capitalmentioning

confidence: 97%

“…According to this study, successful students chose an "additive" adaptive strategy, where they learned the language of the host society and acquired its requisite behaviors without giving up the essence of their shared cultural code (Suarez-Orozco 1989b:92 In elementary schools, this is done mostly through ability grouping, where students are assigned to different groups inside the same classroom, working at different levels and paces (Pallas et al 1994;Rist 1970;Rosenthal and Jacobsen 1968). Another way schools distribute differential access to more prestigious types of knowledge is by offering programs such as "gifted" programs, which emphasize more critical thinking and independent learning (Sapon-Shevin 1993).…”

Section: Theory and Research On Immigrant Minorities And Educationmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Equity policy, educational practice, and limited english proficient (LEP) students in two high schools in Miami

Acherman-Chor¹

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Most studies of language minority students' performance focus on students' characteristics. This study uses qualitative methodology to examine instead how educational policies and practices affect the tracking of language minority students who are classified as limited English proficient (LEP). The placement of LEP students in core courses (English, Math, Social Studies, and Science) is seen as resulting from the interaction between school context and student characteristics. The school context includes factors such as equity policy requirements, overcrowding, attitudes regarding immigrants' academic potential, tracking, and testing practices. Interaction among these factors frequently leads to placement in lower track courses. It was found that the absence of formal tracks could be misleading to immigrant students, particularly those with high aspirations who do not understand the implications of the informal tracking system.Findings are discussed in relation to current theoretical explanations for minority student performance.vi

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Tracking Placement Practices Ability and Cultural Capitalmentioning

confidence: 97%

Section: Theory and Research On Immigrant Minorities And Educationmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Equity policy, educational practice, and limited english proficient (LEP) students in two high schools in Miami

Acherman-Chor¹

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“…Prestigious colleges, however, examine students' records of studies carefully, accepting students who take more advanced level courses (Honors or Advanced Placement) and rejecting students who took the less demanding classes. Thus, despite the absence of formal tracks and the existence of policies against tracking students, comprehensive schools in fact have continued to track students (Hallinan 1994;Oakes 1982Oakes , 1990Oakes , 1994Oakes , 1995Pallas et al 1994).…”

Section: ; Oakes 1994; Rosenbaum 1976)mentioning

confidence: 99%

The maintenance of tracking : the role of organizational culture

Acherman-Chor¹

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Acherman-Chor, Dora, "The maintenance of tracking : the role of organizational culture" (2001 The dissertation of Dora Acherman-Chor is approved. It was found that school cultures shared deeply held beliefs that regard ability as a fixed trait. This prevented schools from providing access to information about the consequences of course selection to the majority of the student body, with the exception of those students defined as "college bound." State and County level policies that reward achievement in standardized tests combined with school overcrowding, resulted in organizational cultures that favored the adoption of strategies stressing efficiency, as vi opposed to a challenging education for all students. Only one of the four schools in the study had a policy requiring students to attempt courses that were more challenging. The practice was resented by both teachers and counselors, since it was perceived as interfering with other goals of the institution, i.e.: graduating students in four years.The culture of the schools stressed college as the only legitimate post-secondary option; consequently, the majority of counselors did not encourage students-even those already defined as "not college material"-to consider other alternatives, such as vocational education. The elimination of formal tracks in these comprehensive high schools resulted in the school culture lacking a clear mission in regards to non-college bound students. Findings are discussed in relation to current theoretical explanations for educational policy and equality of opportunity.

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“…Furthermore, a number of studies on school influences argue that because school practices like tracking are not neutral in their treatment of students of varying socio-economic backgrounds, they tend to produce a widening gap between students in higher and lower tracks. For example, researchers have suggested that the disproportionate assignment of low SES students to lower school tracks (Kerckhoff, 1993;Pallas, Entwisle, Alexander, & Stiuka, 1994) lead to increasing inequalities between high SES and low SES students over time. Close investigation of trends in high school student results in the USA indicates that curriculum differentiation has had a negative effect on the education of many young adults, particularly working-class and African-American students (Mirel & Angus, 1994).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Methodological issues in large-scale educational surveys

Jehangir¹

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Ability-Group Effects: Instructional, Social, or Institutional?

Cited by 171 publications

References 21 publications

Equity policy, educational practice, and limited english proficient (LEP) students in two high schools in Miami

Equity policy, educational practice, and limited english proficient (LEP) students in two high schools in Miami

The maintenance of tracking : the role of organizational culture

Methodological issues in large-scale educational surveys

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