ABSTRACT
Teachers concerned with the effects of tracking are faced with two choices. Eliminating tracking will raise the ire of families who perceive that heterogeneous classes will mean sacrificing opportunities and for whom higher academic tracks have always translated into educational opportunities. To choose this option is to take a stance that it is unethical and anathema to the purpose of public education that students sorted into higher tracks enjoy advantages at the de facto expense of students in lower tracks. Alternatively, teachers and administrators seeking to address the inequities of tracking can and find ways to improve the structure and practices of tracking. First, they can explore ways that the tracking placements can be more flexible by reassessing students' abilities periodically to ensure accurate placement. Second, they can find ways that teachers of low-track classes can be as skilled as teachers in higher tracks in offering high-quality instructional experiences.
