Crossing the tracks : how untracking can save America's schools /

Wheelock's book is intended to be an indictment of ability grouping, and an explanation of the many ways in which heterogeneous groups foster the progress of intermediate school students of all achievement levels. The author provides a great deal of anecdotal information regarding the benefits of heterogeneous groups, and there are frequent, although obscure, references to the "educational research" which supports untracking efforts. There is very little specific bibliographic citation guiding the reader to the relevant scholarly literature. To some degree, ability grouping is made to be a scapegoat for all achievement differences which correlate with ethnic group or socioeconomic status. The book provides an excellent discussion of some of the alternatives to ability grouping, and it does expose many of the myths that parents and teachers may hold about tracking and student performance. Much of the discussion is very current and timely. Many of the curricular reform suggestions in Part 3 belong to the general educational reform movement as much as they do to an untracking effort. Undergraduate and graduate students; faculty; pre-professionals and professionals. D. E. Tanner; California State University, Fresno