For the last few years, students in Sharon Lozada’s STARs Peer Leadership and Community Action class and
Student Government have analyzed the achievement and opportunity gaps at CRLS. In 2015, the STARs class authored a report about ways to close the gaps at CRLS. They observed that heterogeneous classes would benefit all students:
More diverse classes, in background and in learning style, would make class discussions and activities richer and deeper. This would also improve the overall learning experience and understanding for all students. As long as students are fully supported and challenged, this change would definitely benefit students and enhance their CRLS experience in a range of ways. (Leek, et. al. 2015)
STARs and students involved in student government have observed that tracking creates segregation within the school, and that students are therefore not able benefit from the rich diversity of our community.
Sources Cited
Burris, Carol Corbett. On The Same Track: How Schools Can Join the Twenty-First-Century Struggle Against Resegregation. Boston: Beacon Press, 2014.
Hattie, John. Visible Learning: A Synthesis of Over 800 Meta-Analyses Relating to Achievement. London and New York: Routledge, 2009.
Leek, Gideon and Emma Ramsdell, Devonte Richards, Chorobi Sagna & Sarah Whiteman. “Recommendations to Close the Achievement Gap at CRLS.” STARs Peer Leadership and Community Action. Cambridge Rindge and Latin School, Cambridge, MA. 25 January 2015.
Oakes, Jeannie. Keeping Track: How Schools Structure Inequality. New Haven and London: Yale University Press, 1985.