The Prevalence of Teacher Tracking in High School Mathematics Departments

Author:
Wayne Nirode Miami University, Oxford, OH

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Brian Boyd Wright State University, Dayton, OH

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Volume/Issue:
Volume 54: Issue 1
Page(s):
7–23
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.5951/jresematheduc-2020-0296
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Keywords:
Teacher tracking; High schools; Mathematics

This study examined the prevalence of teacher tracking in a population of 1,822 mathematics teachers in 184 high schools in a single state. Results showed that 70% of teachers were tracked by course level, course track, or both. Three fourths of high schools tracked at least 58% of their mathematics teachers. We also found significant differences in teaching assignments across quintiles of years of experience at a teacher’s current school. First-quintile teachers were the most likely to be assigned low-track or entry-level courses. In contrast, fifth-quintile teachers were the most likely to be assigned high-track or upper-level courses. These findings indicate that the tracking of mathematics teachers is a prevalent and persistent inequitable structure in most high schools.

Contributor Notes

Wayne Nirode, Department of Mathematics, Miami University, Oxford, OH 45056; nirodew@miamioh.edu

Brian Boyd, Department of Teacher Education, Wright State University, Dayton, OH 45435; brian.boyd@wright.edu

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Copyright:
The National Council of Teachers of Mathematics, Inc. All rights reserved. 2023
Page Count:
17
Article Category:
Research Article
Received:
06 Jul 2021
Accepted:
15 Nov 2021
Print Publication Date:
01 Jan 2023
Online Publication Date:
Jan 2023
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