Understanding Perceptions of a District’s Detracking Initiative

• In Event: Access, Detracking, and Tracking: Policy, Practice, and Stakeholder Perspectives

Abstract

This mixed methods case study examines how educational stakeholders perceive tracking and detracking in a racially integrated district. Researchers have shown that tracking can be discriminatory in both application and outcomes against Black and Hispanic children, particularly those living in poverty, with disabilities, and learning English. These students are more likely to be placed in lower-level classes and become stuck there (Oakes, 2005). Some advocates suggest detracking as a remedy, yet researchers lack understanding of how to make it successful. By examining stakeholders’ perceptions in a newly detracking district, this study will assess whether this program has had anti-discriminatory benefits and offers restorative learning environments promoting equity, especially for those with intersectionally minoritized identities.

Authors

• Arielle Sosland, Rowan University

• Margaret Thornton, Rowan University