Arbeitspapier
Patterns, Determinants, and Consequences of Ability Tracking: Evidence from Texas Public Schools
Schools often track students to classes based on ability. Proponents of tracking argue it is a low-cost tool to improve learning since instruction is more effective when students are more homogeneous, while opponents argue it exacerbates initial differences in opportunities without strong evidence of efficacy. In fact, little is known about the pervasiveness or determinants of ability tracking in the US. To fill this gap, we use detailed administrative data from Texas to estimate the extent of tracking within schools for grades 4 through 8 over the years 2011-2019. We find substantial tracking; tracking within schools overwhelms any sorting by ability that takes place across schools. The most important determinant of tracking is heterogeneity in student ability, and schools operationalize tracking through the classification of students into categories such as gifted and disabled and curricular differentiation. When we examine how tracking changes in response to educational policies, we see that schools decrease tracking in response to accountability pressures. Finally, when we explore how exposure to tracking correlates with student mobility in the achievement distribution, we find positive effects on high-achieving students with no negative effects on low-achieving students, suggesting that tracking may increase inequality by raising the ceiling.
- Language
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Englisch
- Bibliographic citation
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Series: IZA Discussion Papers ; No. 15528
- Classification
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Wirtschaft
State and Local Government: Health; Education; Welfare; Public Pensions
Analysis of Education
Education and Inequality
Education: Government Policy
- Subject
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ability tracking
tracking measurement
achievement mobility
- Event
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Geistige Schöpfung
- (who)
-
Antonovics, Kate
Black, Sandra E.
Cullen, Julie Berry
Meiselman, Akiva Yonah
- Event
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Veröffentlichung
- (who)
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Institute of Labor Economics (IZA)
- (where)
-
Bonn
- (when)
-
2022
- Handle
- Last update
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10.03.2025, 11:42 AM CET
Data provider
ZBW - Deutsche Zentralbibliothek für Wirtschaftswissenschaften - Leibniz-Informationszentrum Wirtschaft. If you have any questions about the object, please contact the data provider.
Object type
- Arbeitspapier
Associated
- Antonovics, Kate
- Black, Sandra E.
- Cullen, Julie Berry
- Meiselman, Akiva Yonah
- Institute of Labor Economics (IZA)
Time of origin
- 2022
Other Objects (12)
Patterns, Determinants, and Consequences of Ability Tracking: Evidence from Texas Public Schools
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Schools, ability, and the socioeconomic gradient in education choices
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Violence in European schools: victimization and consequences
Violence in European Schools: Victimization and Consequences
Ability tracking and social capital in China's rural secondary school system
On the efficiency costs of de tracking secondary schools
On the efficiency costs of de-tracking secondary schools
Ability grouping and student performance: Experimental evidence from middle schools in Mexico
The effectiveness of English secondary schools for pupils of different ability levels
The Effectiveness of English Secondary Schools for Pupils of Different Ability Levels
Patterns, Determinants, and Consequences of Ability Tracking: Evidence from Texas Public Schools
The effect of tracking students by ability into different schools: a natural experiment
Schools, ability, and the socioeconomic gradient in education choices
Recommendation, class repeating, and children's ability: German school tracking experiences
Violence in European schools: victimization and consequences
Violence in European Schools: Victimization and Consequences
Ability tracking and social capital in China's rural secondary school system
On the efficiency costs of de tracking secondary schools
On the efficiency costs of de-tracking secondary schools
Ability grouping and student performance: Experimental evidence from middle schools in Mexico
The effectiveness of English secondary schools for pupils of different ability levels
The Effectiveness of English Secondary Schools for Pupils of Different Ability Levels
Patterns, Determinants, and Consequences of Ability Tracking: Evidence from Texas Public Schools
The effect of tracking students by ability into different schools: a natural experiment
Schools, ability, and the socioeconomic gradient in education choices
Recommendation, class repeating, and children's ability: German school tracking experiences
Violence in European schools: victimization and consequences
Violence in European Schools: Victimization and Consequences
Ability tracking and social capital in China's rural secondary school system
On the efficiency costs of de tracking secondary schools
On the efficiency costs of de-tracking secondary schools
Ability grouping and student performance: Experimental evidence from middle schools in Mexico
The effectiveness of English secondary schools for pupils of different ability levels