Beyond Tracking and Detracking: The Dimensions of Organizational Differentiation in Schools

• In Event: How Schools and Neighborhoods Matter

Abstract

We use administrative data from four large public school districts to: articulate several dimensions of school-level academic tracking systems, investigate the school-level factors associated with these dimensions of tracking, and assess the consequences of school tracking systems and students' subsequent achievement. In contrast to the national probability sample data widely used in the tracking literature, our data make it possible to capture school differentiation practices in detail. We measure the extent to which schools horizontally differentiate curricula in middle school math and English, as well as the degree of selectivity, inclusiveness, scope, bias, and mobility among school tracks in these two crucial academic areas. We then examine the link between dimensions of organizational differentiation and students’ subsequent academic outcomes.

Authors

• Thurston Domina, University of California - Irvine

• Paul Hanselman, University of California - Irvine

• Andrew McEachin, RAND Corporation

• Priyanka Agarwal, University of California - Irvine

• NaYoung Hwang, University of California - Irvine

• Ryan Lewis, University of California - Irvine