Education Commons^™

The Role Of Teachers In Ability-Tracked Mathematics Classrooms, Danyelle M. Doldoorian

Senior Theses and Projects

Tracking, or ability grouping, is a salient feature of the American education system. As opposed to most studies on tracking which investigate student achievement and student experiences, this study investigates the role of teachers in a tracked curriculum. The goals of this study are to discover how teachers feel about tracking and to understand how teachers operate their classrooms with respect to the different ability groups. I conducted observations of tracked middle and high school mathematics classrooms and directed interviews with the teachers of these tracked classes. I found that teachers alter their language, classroom pace, quality of review, and …