Access, Detracking, and Tracking Special Interest Group

Flyer announcing an ADT SIG spring webinar titled “Detracking Mathematics to Close Opportunity Gaps: Insights from the Accelerating Opportunity Study.” The webinar takes place on Thursday, February 12, from 12:00–1:00 pm ET (9:00–10:00 am PT). The event features research from the Accelerating Opportunity Study by Thomas S. Dee and Elizabeth Huffaker and is hosted by the Access, Detracking, and Tracking Special Interest Group of the American Educational Research Association. The flyer includes registration information and ADT SIG branding.

📣 Next Week! Join the ADT SIG for an engaging and thought-provoking conversation: Detracking Mathematics to Close Opportunity Gaps: Insights from the Accelerating Opportunity Study. 🗓 Thurs, Feb 12 ⏰ 12pm ET / 9am PT.
👉 Register here: buff.ly/txbzVMU 📄 Read the study: buff.ly/Z4eUUyf
Please share!

Sage Journals: Discover world-class research Subscription and open access journals from Sage, the world's leading independent academic publisher.

New study: Drawing on categorical inequality concepts & leveled tracking, this study explores how EL labeling limits access to college-level course-taking; finding differences in postsecondary outcomes vary by reclassification timing & disparities in college-level coursework.https://buff.ly/lPeK4G8

Equalizing Opportunity: Creating a Fair and Transparent Funding… Recommendations of the Blue Ribbon Commission

School funding shapes opportunity, but not always equally.

The Annenberg Institute served as the independent research partner for the @RIFoundation’s Blue Ribbon Commission, informing their recommendations on creating a fairer, more transparent system in RI.

Dual Enrollment and the Purpose of Higher Education: Mapping Our Assumptions Toward a Broader Research Agenda Dual enrollment (DE) is an increasingly popular reform that allows high school students to enroll in college courses and earn college credit through partnerships between high schools and institutions…

What assumptions shape dual enrollment research? A review of DE lit through four lenses: employment, socialization, exploration, & liberation, finds a heavy focus on the first two. Authors call for more exploratory and liberatory research to strengthen equity & justice in DE.

Does high school course level affect educational attainment? This study uses sibling comparisons to suggest the link btw science course level & ed attainment is mainly due to family background, while math course level reveals a persistent association even after accounting for family.

Exploring how secondary education system structures in Europe affect effectiveness and equity, this study utilizes PISA data and Eurydice reports. It reveals a strong link between system selectivity and educational inequality, such as school performance segregation. More details:

2026 AERA Annual Meeting Graduate Student Assistance Fund 2026 AERA Annual Meeting Graduate Student Assistance Fund

The application deadline for Annual Meeting Graduate Student Assistance Fund is coming up! Applications are due in one week on January 7. www.aera.net/Education-Re...

✨ AERA membership renewal reminder! As you renew, please remember to join or renew your membership in the Access, Detracking, & Tracking SIG. We have exciting events planned for 2026, and we would love to continue growing this thoughtful, engaged community together. Join/renew here: buff.ly/H0Wffou

A student in a school uniform raises their hand in a classroom filled with peers.

Associate Professor Keri Guilbault and colleagues find twice-exceptional students in Ireland face challenges. While most get support for needs, their gifts are overlooked, highlighting the need for better teacher training and tailored resources.
https://www.mdpi.com/2227-7102/15/12/1600

Hoondert et al. stress that teacher education should promote dissent, equipping future teachers to challenge injustice and transform inequitable systems. They focus on strategies empowering teachers to advocate for change and imagine new educational realities.https://buff.ly/lOxlHvt

Creating Classes: Elementary school classroom assignments and their implications for student access to high-quality teaching We investigate the distribution of students across classrooms in North Carolina elementary schools. While tracking is ubiquitous and well-documented in secondary education, limited evidence exists…

Research by Brooks et al. @annenberginstitute.bsky.social reveals that elementary classroom assignments can perpetuate inequality. While students are often demographically balanced, grouping by achievement, gifted status, and special education can affect access to quality teaching.

Bonanni & Giancola analyze the impact of secondary education structures in 17 European countries on effectiveness and equity. Using Eurydice and PISA data, they find that more selective systems lead to greater performance segregation and inequality. buff.ly/pyFNMKk

📘Dr. Beard explores how psychological threats (stereotype threat & fear) prevent marginalized students from reaching a "flow" state crucial for deep learning. Her "flow under threat" model suggests supportive environments can alleviate threats, reducing opportunity & achievement gaps buff.ly/NvbYNUW

What the internet backlash over remedial math at UC San Diego misses Limiting students’ access to college because they are deemed underprepared does not seem to do them any favors.

"Limiting students’ access to colleges or courses because they are deemed underprepared does not seem to do them any favors. It actually just holds them back, at least in many contexts where this has been studied." –@mattbarnum.bsky.social

www.chalkbeat.org/2025/12/09/w...

Flyer titled “Jeannie Oakes Research into Practice Award – 2026 Call for Nominations,” issued by AERA’s Access, Detracking, and Tracking SIG. The flyer describes that the award honors a scholar who has conducted rigorous empirical research related to detracking or tracking and whose work has been put into practice to support students. It notes that the award was established in 2024 to honor Dr. Jeannie Oakes, founder of the SIG, whose scholarship highlighted structural inequities in tracking and advocated for access to engaging coursework for all students. The flyer explains that the award recognizes scholars who translate research into action by expanding access to advanced coursework, contributing to policy decisions, or supporting efforts to make curriculum more equitable and inclusive. Recipients receive a $250 honorarium and are invited to present their work at the SIG business meeting at the AERA Annual Meeting. A highlighted banner reads: “Call for Nominations Now Open; Deadline December 15.” Anyone may nominate a scholar (self-nominations are not permitted). A link is provided to submit materials: https://bit.ly/47Qnn76. Required nomination materials include: – A letter describing the nominee’s contributions to expanding access to challenging curriculum – The nominee’s current CV – Evidence of their work in practice (e.g., documentation of course enrollment changes) The flyer encourages members to help “recognize and celebrate outstanding scholarship and practice” by nominating colleagues. Contact information for SIG Chair Constance Clark (constance.m.clark@rutgers.edu) is provided for questions.

📣 Nominate a scholar for the 2026 Jeannie Oakes Research into Practice Award by December 15! Help us recognize someone whose work bridges research and practice to expand access to rigorous and engaging learning opportunities for students. See Call for more info. Submit here: buff.ly/qBuTMED

Frontiers | Stratification economics and racial disparities in U.S. K−12 education This manuscript introduces and applies the framework of stratification economics to understand persistent educational disparities between Black and White Ame...

New article: Templeton & Korchagin use a stratification economics lens to highlight how racial disparities in K-12 ed stem more from systemic structures that reinforce racial & economic hierarchies than from indiv. choices or cultural factors. Essential for understanding tracking.

Happy Thanksgiving 🍁🦃 to everyone in the ADT SIG, friends, and family!

Virtual panel flyer for The Power of High Expectations: Exploring Access to IB, hosted by AERA’s Access, Detracking, and Tracking SIG on Oct. 27, 2025, at 1 PM ET. Panelists include Mira Weber, John Moore, Kyle Westbrook, Thomas Kelley-Kemple, and David Weiss. Register at https://bit.ly/3VSpdPm.

Join us today (Monday, Oct 27) at 1pm ET for The Power of High Expectations: Exploring Access to IB! A conversation on expanding IB opportunities and challenging assumptions about who can succeed. Register by 12pm ET to join us live: bit.ly/3VSpdPm

Watch the annual @aeraedresearch.bsky.social Brown lecture live tonight! 👇

Virtual panel flyer for The Power of High Expectations: Exploring Access to IB, hosted by AERA’s Access, Detracking, and Tracking SIG on Oct. 27, 2025, at 1 PM ET. Panelists include Mira Weber, John Moore, Kyle Westbrook, Thomas Kelley-Kemple, and David Weiss. Register at https://bit.ly/3VSpdPm.

What happens when rigorous opportunities reach all students? Join us for The Power of High Expectations: Exploring Access to IB on Mon, Oct 27 at 1pm ET. A panel on IB access, detracking, and equity in advanced coursework. Resister: bit.ly/3VSpdPm

Virtual panel flyer for The Power of High Expectations: Exploring Access to IB, hosted by AERA’s Access, Detracking, and Tracking SIG on Oct. 27, 2025, at 1 PM ET. Panelists include Mira Weber, John Moore, Kyle Westbrook, Thomas Kelley-Kemple, and David Weiss. Register at https://bit.ly/3VSpdPm.

IB programs are known for rigor, but access has been uneven. What changes when all students have the chance to take part? Join @accessdetracktrack.bsky.social for The Power of High Expectations: Exploring Access to IB, a virtual panel on Mon, Oct 27 at 1pm Eastern. Register: bit.ly/3VSpdPm

PROOF POINTS: Gifted programs provide little to no academic boost, new study says A new study raises big questions about whether gifted education benefits the kids who are lucky enough to be in it.

To wit: hechingerreport.org/proof-points...

Mamdani Says He Would Phase Out N.Y.C. Gifted Program for Early Grades

Mamdani Says He Would Phase Out N.Y.C. Gifted Program for Early Grades www.nytimes.com/2025/10/02/n...

AEFP "Speed matters when policy windows open." What is your job title? Economic Development & Workforce Systems Manager What is the organization you work for? Seeding Success (Memphis, TN) Tell us about a…

.@aefpweb.bsky.social's Evidence Use Spotlight explores how research guides policy. Ogier's story shows using the Opportunity Atlas to focus educational investments in low-mobility Memphis areas, from early ed to workforce, demonstrating research in action - like our Oakes Award!

What Matters Most in Order to Realize Positive Outcomes for Students With Disabilities? What's the best way for state and local leaders to boost outcomes for students with disabilities and help more students succeed? WestEd experts explore five key strategies that can have a lasting impa...

What Matters Most in Order to Realize Positive Outcomes for Students With Disabilities? www.wested.org/blog/realizi...

Five New Research Grants to Build Theory and Evidence in our Focus Areas - William T. Grant Foundation We are proud to announce five new research grants, totaling over $2.8 million, in support of three studies on ways to reduce inequality in youth outcomes and two studies on strategies for improving th...

🎉 We are proud to announce five new research grants, totaling over $2.8 million, in support of three studies on ways to reduce inequality in youth outcomes and two studies on strategies for improving the use of research evidence in ways that benefit young people. https://bit.ly/4nCqq9e

Why Substantively Integrated Schools Matter at This Moment in History The United States today is far from united. The political polarization that’s dividing the electorate can manifest in many ways, but one area where it’s

📢 @tcfdotorg.bsky.social commentary on why schools committed to true integration matter at this moment and are vital for equity, democracy, and healing. It outlines six elements of substantive integration, including equitable resources, inclusive relationships, and civic engagement.

Book cover of Para Power: How Professional Labor Changed Education. Black background with fist holding a pencil

Nick Juravich tonight at Teachers College, on his great new book on “how schools shaped not just individual students through instruction, but also the distribution of employment opportunities, paths for political participation, and the process of community formation in the city.”
#histed #union

Flyer titled “Jeannie Oakes Research into Practice Award: 2026 Call for Nominations” with the AERA SIG: Access, Detracking, and Tracking logo. Text explains that the award is presented annually to a scholar whose rigorous research on tracking or detracking has been put into practice to expand student access. Established in 2024 to honor SIG founder Dr. Jeannie Oakes, the award recognizes her legacy of ensuring research leads to meaningful change and equitable coursework for all students. The flyer notes that nominees should embody Dr. Oakes’s legacy by producing research and translating it into action. Examples include collaborating with districts, contributing to policymaking, or supporting equitable curricular reforms. Award recipients will present their work at the SIG’s business meeting during AERA. Highlighted box: “Call for Nominations NOW OPEN; Deadline December 15.” Anyone may submit a nomination, but self-nominations are not permitted. Application requirements: (1) letter to the committee outlining the nominee’s work, (2) nominee’s CV, and (3) representative example of work in practice. Link provided for submissions: https://bit.ly/3K3G7HZ. Closing line encourages members to recognize and celebrate outstanding scholarship by nominating colleagues. Contact: Constance Clark, SIG Chair, at constance.m.clark@rutgers.edu.

📣 The ADT SIG is excited to announce the Call for the 2026 Jeannie Oakes Research into Practice Award:
1. Award Committee Members (open to SIG members): Deadline: Oct 15
2. Award Nominations (open to all): Deadline: Dec 15
Interested? Please send us a chat for more information!

How Rescue Animals Are Teaching Students Emotional Awareness Field trips to a Florida animal sanctuary have helped students learn compassion.

🐾 From @edweek.org: How rescue animals are helping students develop emotional awareness: At Alaqua Animal Refuge, field trips with rescue animals are helping students connect to others’ experiences, process emotions, and practice empathy, especially in emotionally demanding subjects.