Talking Points #6- Oakes

Jeannie Oakes. "Tracking: Why Schools Need To Take Another Route"; from Keeping Track: How Schools Structure Inequality.

Oakes argues that grouping students based on their abilities is an ineffective method of teaching. Statistically, grouping students based on ability only seems to help the "top-tier" of students. This leaves the "average" and "below average" students behind. Oakes argues that alternative teaching methods must be implemented to improve the learning of all students.

• "Moreover, the nature of these differences (in learning) suggests that students who are placed in high-ability groups have access to far richer schooling experiences than other students." This quote is important because it shows the large gap in school experience between the top-tier of students and everybody else. School districts make sure that every opportunity is given to the top-tier of students, while they let the "below average" students muddle through the school day. The students who need the most help are not getting it, while the students who need the least amount of help are getting everything handed to them.


• "Recent work of cognitive psychologists suggests, for example, that academic ability is not unchangeable but developmental and grows throughout childhood." This quote is important because it shows that "average" and "below average" students can be worked with to improve their abilities. Educators must learn that no child is a "lost cause" or "unteachable". A student can have great academic success if they work hard in conjunction with their teachers to improve their abilities.


• "Unless teachers and administrators believe and expect all students to learn well, they will be unlikely to create school and classroom conditions where students believe in their own ability and exert the effort it takes to succeed." This quote is important because it shows just how necessary teachers are in the educational development of students. If educators do not believe that all students can succeed, then their students will quit on them because their teachers have given up on their abilities. If students do not feel that their abilities are being fostered by their educators, they will feel inadequate and become unmotivated to learn.

I found that this article was fairly accurate in describing how some school districts treat students who they perceive to be "average" or "under-performing". These schools give every opportunity to the "above-average" students, while leaving the other students to wallow in mediocrity. More learning tools must be given to "average" or "below average" students to reduce the educational learning gap among the population. Instead of separating students based on abilities, classes should include students of all different abilities. This way it could be possible for the "average" or "below average" students to learn not only from the teacher, but from the "above average" students as well. School districts must stop labeling their students based on ability. It makes every student in that district uncomfortable and self-conscious of their skills and their worth. Every child is worth something. No child is worth more then another. The educational learning gap can be reduced, but it will take hard work from the teachers, students, and administrators involved.