Mickelson & Everitt- Neotracking, 2008

 

In this article, Mickelson and Everitt look into the state of North Carolina and their adapted form of tracking, called neotracking. There are two aspects of neotracking, excellence and equity, meaning great test scores and racially balanced educational opportunities. The idea of neotracking is to place students on pathways, or Courses of Study, in high school that will lead them to 3 different outcomes after high school. The three employment categories of symbolic analytic services, in-person services, or routine production services and their educational requirements map perfectly onto the educational and occupation descriptions of the Courses of Study: the College/University Prep COS is for students who plan to attend a four year university and plan careers requiring symbolic analytic skills; the College Tech Prep COS is for those who want further vocational certification from a two year college and will perform skilled in-person services; and the Career Prep COS is for those who want to enter the workforce directly from high school and will likely perform routine production services (Mickelson & Everitt, 2008).

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Schools were analyzed and the statistics compared students based on race and socioeconomic status. The likelihood that a Black student will be placed in an upper-level track depends, to some degree on the racial composition of the school itself. They found that in schools that were disproportionately White, the chances that an African American student was enrolled in a top level track were very small; however, as the number of Blacks in the school increased, the likelihood of placement in the higher track increased (Mickelson & Everitt, 2008). In North Carolina, Blacks, Latinos, and American Indians are more likely to choose Career Prep than Whites or Asians, and Asians are the least likely. In CMS, Black students are more likely to enroll in Career Prep than any other ethnic group, followed by Latinos and Whites. Asians are the least likely of any ethnic group to enroll in the Career Prep COS (Mickelson & Everitt). Students living in areas of high income were more likely to choose the COS that lead to a four year college compared to students from areas of poverty. 77.1 % of students living in highest income school districts enrolled in the College/University Prep COS compared to 56.8% in the districts in the lowest income quintile. While it is clear that the 62% of students in high poverty schools who fail to achieve at minimum levels of proficiency are not prepared for college even if they are enrolled in the College/University Prep COS, it is not necessarily true that the 38% who scored as proficient are prepared either (Mickelson & Everitt, 2008).

 

With this research presenting why neotracking is making the gap larger in North Carolina, why would North Carolina, or any other state, continue to use this plan as a way to educate and prepare elementary, middle, and high school students for their  post-graduation future?

 

Unfinished Business: Structural Inequality at Berkeley High

 

In this chapter, researchers analyzed Berkeley High School and their tracking system. For BHS it all begins in 9th grade when students are placed into a math course without any type of assessment. Statistically, affluent, white, or middle class students automatically had access to the higher level math courses. The chapter stated that 83% of students in Math A (the lowest math class) were African American whereas 87% of students in honors geometry (the highest math class) were white. It went on to state that of the students in the honors geometry class, 46% were from private school while 18% were from Berkeley public middle schools.  

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As a way to mask the tracking path at BHS, they developed a system in which students would choose their teachers for certain courses. What it eventually did was create a schedule selection process that favored the college savvy students to know which classes to make their priority pick and which classes would be available for students who were successful enough to reach them. If a student failed or wished to retake a class they could, but those students that chose that option had little or no information about what decision would be best for them.  As the students progressed through high school, the gap of 1-2 years widened to as many as 5 years. By the time they were seniors 19% of the students were able to enroll in calculus and of this 19%, 68% were white, 20% were Asian, 3 % were Latino, and only 5% were African American (Noguera & Wing).   

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The chapter explains how the lack of counseling or access to counselors impacted students attending BHS. Many of the minority students did not have the support from the counselors as the white students did therefore, they were stuck trying to navigate through high school on their own without any type of support system. The reading goes on to say, “In Berkeley High context, students who possess the cultural capital of wealth and power are offered a high-quality education. Such students, who are mainly white and from middle- and upper-middle class tend to be perceived as smart, skilled, and highly motivated and they are generally treated with dignity and respect. In contrast, students of color who tend to lack the forms of cultural capital that are most highly valued, are generally perceived as less intellectually capable and and are less likely to benefit from the assumptions of their background.”

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It appears that at BHS, considered one of the best high schools in the area, there are institutional boundaries that prevent all students from all backgrounds the same access to the same resources that will prepare them for the future after high school. Thus, it creates more potential or more opportunities for the achievement gap to grow and widen in their school. It is quite possible that BHS is not the only high school in the country to be following this model for its students.

Thinking about the institutional barriers with Berkeley High School, consider an institution that you were/are apart of. What types of barriers or boundaries did you or did you not experience compared to other students/employees in your institution?