Was your education hampered because of tracking?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We had tracking and I was at the top. One of my friend was in the middle, even though she was clearly smarter than most of us. It actually affected her in that she didn't have a high GPA since she didn't take the honors and APs that we did, she didn't get into the best college, and didn't get into the best grad school.

Tracking really deals people a sucky hand!

So glad high school honors and AP classes were changed open enrollment several years ago. Everyone should have the opportunity to take advanced classes.

[Anonymous]

^^^ "changed to"

[Anonymous]

High school tracking is a totally different issue. Classes can be selected individually. Wholesale Elementary tracking is not a good thing.

[Anonymous]

By tracking what do you mean? We switched classes in 3rd - 6th for language arts and math. Some kids moved up or down halfway through the year, but a lot of them were in the same classes from year to year. Is this tracking?

[Anonymous]

By tracking what do you mean? We switched classes in 3rd - 6th for language arts and math. Some kids moved up or down halfway through the year, but a lot of them were in the same classes from year to year. Is this tracking?

Not necessarily. Were the kids grouped by ability? That is tracking. You may have just had two teachers who switched off subjects.

[Anonymous]

I finished all of my classroom work in 2nd grade by Columbus Day. I spent the rest of the school year in the office running the mimeograph machine.

I guess that was a different type of "tracking."

[Anonymous]

I finished all of my classroom work in 2nd grade by Columbus Day. I spent the rest of the school year in the office running the mimeograph machine.

I guess that was a different type of "tracking."

Sure you did.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

I finished all of my classroom work in 2nd grade by Columbus Day. I spent the rest of the school year in the office running the mimeograph machine.

I guess that was a different type of "tracking."

Sure you did.

Yes, it was great. One 2nd grade class in the whole school and there were less than 20 students in the classroom.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We didn't have tracking when I was a kid - and I think I'm old now

I do think that tracking is harmful for children. They do this in Europe, and it keeps the upper class in the upper class and the lower class immigrants in the lower classes.

Which country "in Europe" are you referring to? There is no pan-European system. In the UK, if they have setting (I think this is what they call tracking here,maybe-we are still new), it is done at secondary school only, so from age 11 upwards. There are generally two sets-math/science and language/arts, but kids move up and down as necessary. It is very fluid in my experience. The kids are mixed for all other subjects like PE, drama etc. and in form groups. I have not been in FCPS long and it was a bit of a shock to see this lack of fluidity.
You are talking about social classes-that is the difference between top private schools (called "public") and state schools and completely separate from the tracking debate. The state schools are comprehensive like I described above that do setting, and a very small percentage of selective state grammar schools (where they stream kids rather than set them and selection is at age 11). I find the selection here in 2nd grade quite peculiar. Immigrants can go to private/public schools and many do, but they tend to be the rich ones. We have a lot of rich immigrants in the UK, not just poor ones...

[Anonymous]

Yes, it was decades ago, but yes. As it turned out I had some LD issues or delays that resolved themselves over time. Even today if I let myself, I can still feel them embarrassment of being placed in 7-C-6; the lowest possible class in junior high school. I couldn't be good at being good, but I did get pretty good at being bad.

Life is good for me, but not many kids ever got a chance to climb out of that educational basement they called 7-C-6.

[Anonymous]

Yes, it was decades ago, but yes. As it turned out I had some LD issues or delays that resolved themselves over time. Even today if I let myself, I can still feel the embarrassment of being placed in 7-C-6; the lowest possible class in junior high school. I couldn't be good at being good, but I did get pretty good at being bad.

Life is good for me, but not many kids ever got a chance to climb out of that educational basement they called 7-C-6.

[Anonymous]

Where did OP grow up and how old is she? I've never heard of this.

[Anonymous]

Not the OP, but I went to high school in the early to mid 1980s and we had tracking. I lived in the Philadelphia area.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Where did OP grow up and how old is she? I've never heard of this.

Good question. I think I am older than tracking.

[Anonymous]

17:29 They were ability grouped classes in 3rd-6th grade. And before that there were reading groups and advanced math groups within a classroom. We had GT pullouts and special ed pullouts as well starting by 3rd grade. The groups did change, but not by a lot from quarter to quarter. Thought this was normal for 1980's public school classrooms. To me it's very similar to AAP LLIV or LLIII programs.