Students, Courses, and Stratification

Detracking America's schools: Equity at zero cost?

“…is evidence that Asians are more likely than whites to be placed in upperlevel tracks, and that Hispanics and Asians are more likely to be placed in the vocationallother track. One might note that previous researchers have found that blacks are actually more likely to be assigned to upper-level tracks [Garet and Delaney, 1988;Gamoran and Mare, 19891. This somewhat counterintuitive result can be reproduced using the NELS data if, in keeping with previous research, school characteristics are excluded from the selection equation.…”

“…Table 2B presents the determinants of assignment to an honors, academic, vocationall other, or general tenth grade math class. Following previous research [Sorensen, 1987;Garet and Delaney, 1988;Gamoran and Mare, 1989;Lucas and Gamoran, 19931 we model track placement as a function of prior (eighth grade) achievement, and student characteristics such as racelethnicity, and socioeconomic status." In addition, we include school characteristics, and, in some specifications, eighth grade track assignment as explanatory variables.…”

Contextual Effects of Prekindergarten Classrooms for Disadvantaged Children on Cognitive Development: The Case of Chapter 1

“…However, several studies have shown that the structure of the school, as well as the composition of the student body, is important. Several studies of high schools have demonstrated that varying structures respond differently to students with similar entry characteristics (e.g., Garet & Delaney, 1988;Hallinan & Sorenson, 1983;Lee & Bryk, 1988. That is, some high schools are considerably more effective in providing an equitable learning environment to students with academic and social disadvantage than others.…”

Education at a Glance 2006

“…Do countries with explicit tracking and streaming policies show a higher degree of overall disparity in student performance than countries that have non-selective education systems? Research on curriculum tracking and other forms of institutional differentiation suggests that the greater the differentiation of students' educational experiences, the more their educational outcomes will be socially stratified (Garet and Delaney, 1988;Lucas, 2001;Ready, Lee and Welner, 2004). This suggests that some portion of socio-economic background influences might be attributable to the influences of differentiation practices.…”