Keeping Track: How Schools Structure Inequality

by Jeannie Oakes

Selected by the American School Board Journal as a “Must Read” book when it was first published and named one of 60 “Books of the Century” by the University of South Carolina Museum of Education for its influence on American education, this provocative, carefully documented work shows how tracking—the system of grouping students for instruction on the basis of ability—reflects the class and racial inequalities of American society and helps to perpetuate them. For this new edition, Jeannie Oakes has added a new Preface and a new final chapter in which she discusses the “tracking wars” of the last twenty years, wars in which Keeping Track has played a central role.

From reviews of the first edition:
“Should be read by anyone who wishes to improve schools.”—M. Donald Thomas, American School Board Journal
“[This] engaging [book] . . . has had an influence on educational thought and policy that few works of social science ever achieve.”—Tom Loveless in The Tracking Wars
“Should be read by teachers, administrators, school board members, and parents.”—Georgia Lewis, Childhood Education
“Valuable. . . . No one interested in the topic can afford not to attend to it.”—Kenneth A. Strike, Teachers College Record

Genres: Education, Nonfiction, Teaching, Sociology, Social Science, History, Social Justice

352 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1986

Reviews

[Kathrina · Rating 4 out of 5]

School tracking, or the seemingly less aggressive "ability grouping," is a major contributor to educational inequality. We're not often pressed to think about it -- it's just a given characteristic of schooling -- but Oakes forces her reader to think it through, and the empirical evidence provides the proof to our suspicions that schooling, as are many of our social institutions, is systemically racist and classist. Every student is entitled to exposure to a gifted and talented curriculum.
I'd ask Oakes to delve further into illustrating the futures of the kids who drop out, as I think it's important to draw the lines clearly that kids who are low-tracked tend to drop out more often, and kids who drop out tend to end up in prison more often. Teachers need to understand their connections to our mass carceral state. American schools are as much tied to the prison industry as they are our capitalist economy.

[CTEP]

For August, I read Keeping Track: How Schools Structure Inequality by Jeannie Oakes. I was turned onto this book by a professor in grad school who, back then, assigned it as recommended reading for our educational policy course. Of course, I didn't read it back then. As I've served this year within Minneapolis Public Schools, I became increasingly curious about the tracking that happens inside the walls of public schools and furthermore, if it is in any way related to how some of my students ended up where they are in a special education program at Transition Plus Services. So I decided to read it now.

Granted, the idea of tracking (the inequalities among a cohort of students based on perceived differences in academic ability levels at the onset of public education) is separate from assessing disabilities. However, they are linked in that both require, in part, the subjective opinion of a school official, such as a teacher, counselor or school psychologist. Studies have shown that students of racial minorities are disproportionately placed in lower tracks and special education programs alike. How can that be? How can the cognitive ability levels be lower among minority students than white students? Jeannie Oakes argues that, of course, they are not. Instead, the unconscious racism (or perceived differences, for better or worse) embedded into the minds of school officials is reflected in the disproportionate numbers of minority vs. white students in lower tracks and special education programs.

This is a necessary and fantastic read for anyone who works in a school setting or is curious about their own experiences growing up and if they were, in fact, tracked inappropriately.

[Jules · Rating 4 out of 5]

The more things change, the more they stay the same. It's a disappointing point that was reinforced for me while I read this book. As someone in education, the book frustrated me because of our lack of progress. However, it also provided me with new ideas and approaches to getting at the root of these systemic issues and how I can apply that in my own practice.

[Molly Irvin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really hard book to start. Full of analytical data, that you will eventually come to understand and read with ease. Very important points that were reiterated with numerous studies. I fully recommend any future teacher to read this book!

[Heather Estonactoc · Rating 4 out of 5]

Striking and meaningful conclusions about how schools contribute to and reinforce and even CREATE institutional inequality via tracking based on perceived performance potential. Every educator should read.

[Liz]

Skimmed it

[Phoebe · Rating 5 out of 5]

thesis -- another one I only had time to read the first half of but I want to go back and finish it

[Lawrence Linnen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Math classes did differ from English classes in the intellectual processes demanded of students in classes at the various track levels. While the topics of math classes differed considerably -- and the differences in the conceptual difficulty of these topics is dramatic -- students at all levels of math classes were expected to perform about the same kinds of intellectual processes. That is, at all levels, a great deal of memorizing was expected, as was a basic comprehension of facts, concepts, and procedures. Students at all levels were also expected to apply their learnings to new situations -- whether it was the application of division facts to the calculation of automobile miles per gallon of gasoline in low-track classes or the application of deductive logic learned in geometry to the proof of theorems and corollaries in calculus

[Sky · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book talks about tracking, the tool used in schools to place students in fast, average, and slow tracks based on standardized test scores, parent/student choices, and couselor reccomentdations, which has not real benefit on teachers or students.

[Hannah]

This book seems to resonate with many of my opinions and ideas concerning school tracking. It is an interesting sociological look and presents a compelling argument. I'm keen to read more on this topic, as ever.

[Stephanie · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was alright. I learned different ways tracking takes places in schools, but I'm still not sure how I feel about tracking

[Melusine Parry · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent, shocking, chilling and essential account of the failure of 'tracking' or 'setting' to address educational inequality, to help children succeed and to raise standards.