[jpetito]

Hi Richard-

We (educators) got rid of "tracking" years ago because of the reality and perception that it sidelined kids of color and the underclass; so out with tracking went the shop classes and most things related to vocational and technical education. We wanted every kid to go to college and pull up the underclass, but (my opinion) we've made it worse. More kids get to the university and eventually through it, having qualified for entrance by the AP/Honors coursework. But about half eventually drop out, or get the degree after five or six years, making their parents pull down a second mortgage. Or going into massive debt early in their lives.

The AP/Honors style of courses is merely tracking with a more acceptable image. Little has changed in the structure of public education, with the exception that we've eliminated the hands-on coursework that was serving a lot of kids. Opinion again, but this very thing is why FRC, FTC, VEX, BotBall, FLL, etc. have gotten so big over the last twenty years, and why so many people and organizations fund it. And the scholarships.

Joe