(LI)ABILITY GROUPING - THE NEW SUSCEPTIBILITY OF SCHOOL TRACKING-SYSTEMS TO LEGAL CHALLENGES

In this article, Kevin Welner and Jeannie Oakes assert that educators and education advocates have developed a greater awareness of the harm ful effects and pedagogical indefensibility of tracking. They also not e that detracking advocates are increasingly giving litigation serious consideration in their search for policy tools to promote reform. The authors argue that courts can play an important role in advancing det racking, and that educational researchers are vital to these efforts. They survey four recent cases and discuss the presentations made by th e researchers who served us experts on the cases. Then, based on their review of case law, including these recent cares, as well as their re view of desegregation literature, Welner and Oakes conclude that these top-down mandates, while unlikely to achieve all of their intended go als, can play an indispensable role in initiating detracking in school s and districts where such reforms are otherwise highly unlikely.