The Role of Teachers' Views of Student Ability in the Relationship Between Tracking and Student Achievement

• In Event: 14.040 - How Local Actors Make Sense of Tracking/Competing Policy Initiatives

Abstract

This paper examines the impact of teachers’ views of students’ mathematical capabilities on the relationship between tracking and student achievement. Although most prior research has found no statistically significant difference in achievement between tracked and untracked settings (e.g., Kulik & Kulik, 1982; Schmidt, 2011; Slavin, 1990), it is possible that the relationship was masked due to a moderation effect of teachers’ views of student ability. In other words, students in untracked settings may only outperform tracked students if they also have teachers with a developmental conception of ability. This study finds a significant moderating effect of teachers’ views of student ability on the relationship between tracking and student achievement.

Author

• Rebecca Anne Schmidt, SRI International