Tracking Students in the Elementary Classroom Classroom: Bridges to be Burned

Abstract

Teachers and administrators can become fearful that struggling early readers may eventually contribute to their specific school being placed on academic probation. This study followed one school who opted to place struggling first grade readers into a classroom that was smaller in size but contained only students who were struggling in their attempts to learn to read. It was anticipated that, by the end of the school year, these students would be reading at the same level as other students in their same grade level. However, results showed that the children in the small, “struggling” class were not only unable to raise their reading levels to that of their peers, but also that struggling students who were placed into regular classrooms at the same school did raise their reading levels to that of their peers