Shifting Societal Priorities and School Funding

Part of a Crash Course on Giftedness and the Schools

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The Federal No Child Left Behind Act capped off an approximate 30-year period — when the nation went from an acceptance that we need to instruct all children at their own level — to the motto “All Children Can Learn.” Social class and racial barriers were significantly reduced in the 1960s and 70s. Policy makers back then believed that environment and effort were primary factors in one’s eventual achievement, both in school and in the workplace. Of course all children can learn, but can they all learn the same things at the same pace and at the same levels? Unfortunately, much of the social class and race barriers have come back into play.

After junior high schools were converted to middle schools, tracking, ability, and readiness grouping were largely thrown out. In its place was the more politically acceptable approach to give all children the same instruction rather than make the error of prejudging someone’s ultimate learning attainment and putting them in the wrong ability group. The popular explanation for why tracking and ability grouping have been largely abandoned in the United States is that there is a fear that we might put someone in a low group who shouldn’t be there, that we might overlook children who would benefit from advanced coursework or instruction, or that a student might get “locked” in a track and not be given the opportunity to later test out or move to a higher track.