Set high expectations and students will rise to the occasion. Students in low track classes are often aware that they have been labeled, creating a learning environment non-conducive to success. The Rockville Centre School District in Long Island, New York, was a pioneer of detracking, when in1993 its superintendent, William Johnson, decided to set high learning expectations for all students. The district began teaching the curriculum formerly reserved for its high track students to all students. The results were dramatic. Between the years of 1995-1997, 75 percent of African-American and Hispanic regular education students passed the algebra-based math exam compared to only 23 percent in previous years. The percentage of white and Asian Americans to pass the test also increased from 54 percent to 98 percent. By the end of the Rockville study, achievement for all groups (minorities, majorities, low socioeconomic and high socioeconomic status, as well as special education) had grown.
Teachers must differentiate instruction. It is essential that educators meet students where they are, not where the curriculum begins. A classroom learning style centered on individual student needs propels student success. The rote style of teaching, including lecture and little creativity stunts the learning in a detracked classroom of multi-ability levels. Students should be engaged and challenged, and the teacher is responsible for this task. If students are frustrated because the material is too difficult or bored because the assignments are too easy, the classroom morale will suffer resulting in lower expectations from both the student's and teacher's point of view. Students should have the opportunity to construct their own ideas, learn from each other and be involved in higher level questioning in a conceptual learning environment.
Educators must provide academic support in a detracked school environment. Support opportunities can be provided both in the classroom and outside the classroom. Examples of academic support implemented by teachers in the classroom are scaffolding, modeling and recycling or looping key ideas from the curriculum. In addition, individualized support can be carried out through journaling, targeted assignments and other informal assessment strategies. Outside the classroom, academic support can be implemented through support classes like college preparatory or complimentary language classes for English Learners. Professional development for teachers and district wide institutional policies that support the detracking efforts will promote detracking initiatives in schools.