Research-Based Options for Education Policymaking — Moving Beyond Tracking

Policy Brief - May 30, 2013

Author(s) - William Mathis, University of Colorado-Boulder

Dr. William Mathis, managing director of the National Education Policy Center, summarizes current relevant findings in education policy research. Despite incontrovertible evidence demonstrating the harms of ability grouping, resistance to the elimination of tracking in schools remains strong. The latest in a series of two- and three-page briefs summarizing current relevant findings in education policy research reviews the evidence for and against “tracking” students through school – that is, assigning students to particular classes, curricula and courses of study by their perceived ability.