2 CITIES TRACKING AND WITHIN-SCHOOL SEGREGATION

Evidence from two school systems whose ability grouping and tracking s ystems were subject to scrutiny in 1993 in conjunction with school des egregation cases demonstrates how grouping practices can create within -school segregation and discrimination against African-American and La tino students. In both school systems, tracking created racially imbal anced classes at all three levels-elementary, middle, and senior high, with African-American or Latino students consistently overrepresented and white and Asian students consistently underrepresented in low-abi lity tracks in all subjects. Neither district's placement practices cr eated classrooms with a range of measured student ability and achievem ent in classrooms sufficiently narrow to be considered homogeneous ''a bility groups,'' and African-American and Latino students were much le ss likely than whites or Asians with comparable scores to be placed in high-track courses. These disproportionate lower-track placements wor ked to disadvantage minority students' achievement outcomes. Whether s tudents began with relatively high or relatively low achievement, thos e who were placed in lower-level courses showed lesser gains over time than similarly situated students placed in higher-level courses. In b oth systems, grouping practices created a cycle of restricted opportun ities and diminished outcomes, and exacerbated differences between Afr ican-American and Latino and white students.