All too often, it is children who are members of language, ethnic, or racial minorities, or recent immigrants who find themselves relegated to lower tracks, limiting their access to the full range of school curriculum. When children are placed in lower academic tracks, they are learning to lower standards than the rest of the student body. Any school that truly wishes to embrace high standards for all must begin by abolishing any practice that sorts students into groups that receive different levels of instruction. While these assumptions may have changed, tracking continues. The practice of tracking survives because it makes student instruction easier for teachers and schools and because too many educators cling to the belief that some children just can't learn as well as others.
Education research exposes the faulty assumptions behind tracking.
Students in low tracks perform poorly in homogeneous groups, while high achievers do no better in homogeneous classes. Therefore, with the use of mixed ability grouping for all students, nobody losses, and the majority of children gain. Being in a low track can result in lower aspirations, a poor self-concept, and negative attitudes toward school. Most tracking decisions are made on the basis of limited or subjective assessment techniques, such as standardized tests or the personal opinion of a single teacher or counselor, shaping children's futures on the basis of one decision or test score. Parents should be aware that schools may be tracking their child into a low quality education, sometimes as early as kindergarten.