"Heterogenius" Classrooms: Detracking Math and Science--A Look at Groupwork in Action

While researchers have documented the promise of detracking reform, many teachers still find it difficult to teach students with a wide range of academic skills in one classroom. Through engaging classroom footage and powerful interviews with teachers, students, and administrators, this 80-minute DVD showcases best practices from successful detracked math and science secondary classrooms. The companion book features the backdrop to the film, including lesson plans, student handouts, rubrics, and reflections written by featured teachers in order of their appearance in the film. Concluding chapters cover topics such as support for struggling students, professional development opportunities for teachers, and frequently asked questions about and additional resources on detracking.

In this current high-stakes testing climate, educators must make a decision about how to address the needs of students who are not meeting grade-level expectations. Do they place these students in separate, remedial classes, or do they detrack? This resource shows that detracking―more rigor with multiple entry points and support―is the socially just and effective alternative to remediation through tracking.

Maika Watanabe is an associate professor in the Department of Secondary Education at San Francisco State University. She is founder and former chair of the American Educational Research Association’s (AERA) Special Interest Group on Tracking and Detracking.