Educators say tracking won't end soon

Portland Press Herald, July 20, 2007

(excerpt) In a new report, the Sen. George J. Mitchell Scholarship Research Institute recommends eliminating tracking in high school to boost enrollment in college.

"Politically, it doesn't make a lot of sense right now," said Cape Elizabeth High School Principal Jeffrey Shedd.

He said communities are preoccupied with other major shifts in the educational landscape in Maine, such as the new law requiring school districts to reorganize, and will resist more change.

The Mitchell Institute report, released on Wednesday, looked at the gap between college aspiration and college enrollment.

The study showed that while more students are graduating from Maine high schools with plans to enroll in postsecondary education, fewer graduates are following through with such plans than five years ago.

The report concluded that the biggest barrier to college attendance is academic tracking, the widespread practice of placing students in courses based on academic performance, such as college preparation, vocational or general courses of study.

Education Commissioner Susan Gendron also is pushing for an end to tracking. She plans to go to the Legislature with a proposal to do so next year, following a report by the State Board of Education supporting the elimination of tracking.