Abstract
In this analysis I consider Finley's (1984) model of the teacher track assignment process using the 1990–1991 Schools and Staffing Survey, a large national database with a unique measure of teacher course assignments. I test the hypothesis that rather than being random, or based on ascriptive characteristics, teachers are sorted into classrooms based on a combination of legitimate criteria, including seniority, educational credentials, and motivation. I find that this is largely the case, with the exception that low track teachers often have more training in teaching methods than high track teachers. These findings suggest that teacher tracking contributes to two phenomena, institutional resistance to core changes in the structure of student tracking, and the magnification of inequalities in opportunity to learn produced by tracking.
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Kelly, S. Are Teachers Tracked? On what Basis and with what Consequences. Social Psychology of Education 7, 55–72 (2004). https://doi.org/10.1023/B:SPOE.0000010673.78910.f1
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1023/B:SPOE.0000010673.78910.f1