Curriculum tracking and teacher evaluations of individual students: selection, adjustment or labeling?

Abstract

Past research into the consequences of tracking mainly documented on the impact of attending different tracks on students’ achievement and behavior. Less attention has been paid to the impact of track positions on teachers’ perceptions and expectations regarding students. By means of multi-level analysis of data of 6,545 students in 46 Flemish secondary schools with self-reported student measures and teachers’ evaluations of students, this study examines if teachers’ evaluations of secondary school students’ cognitive capacity, effort in class and diligence in doing homework vary by track, and whether teachers’ perceptions are informed (1) by the typical students’ background features; (2) by the students’ resistance to school; or (3) by labeling of students attending certain tracks. Teachers perceive lower track students as less able and less diligent in doing homework because of students’ social and cognitive characteristics and anti-school behavior. Accounting for the latter, teachers even evaluate lower track students as paying slightly more effort. The implications for future research and social policy are discussed.