For students in middle school, and for their parents, the question of “deleveling” classes at some grades has become a major debate in meetings, letters to the Press, comments on Nextdoor, and an online petition. But the term—and the whole issue—can seem unfamiliar for residents who don’t currently have children enrolled in the schools.
Deleveling refers to a widespread movement in education to reduce or end the practice of sorting students into groups based on their past academic records. According to educational consultant and deleveling supporter Katie Novak, who teaches at the University of Pennsylvania: “Deleveling or detracking is the process of consciously avoiding placing students with different needs in different ‘levels’ of courses. The intent is to keep all students, regardless of strengths, needs, and identity, in courses together.”
At the Bromfield School, many subjects have been offered at three levels—college preparatory, honors, and Advanced Placement. But in 2020, the ninth-grade physics class was deleveled; honors and college prep physics were merged. It is the only class that has been deleveled so far. Superintendent Linda Dwight says ninth-grade English will be deleveled this fall, with ninth-grade Geometry to follow in 2024.
Dwight has said there is no plan to delevel college prep and honors courses in grades 10 through 12. Nor will AP classes change. She writes that deleveling some classes in middle school and ninth grade will “raise the academic bar for all students. … Tracking students too early in their academic careers can underestimate their growth potential and limit opportunities.” (See Chalk Talk)
At a May 3 Zoom meeting for parents and middle schoolers, Principal Stephen Greene said next fall all eighth-graders will take Algebra I, as three-fourths of them already do. Only one-fourth now take grade 8 math. Greene pointed out that students who take grade 8 math “have limited options for high school math and science pathways. … We don’t want them to be limited even before they leave middle school.” Students who need extra support to succeed in Algebra I, he said, will get it with in-class assistance, individual help during the last period of the day, and summer support.
Among the many area school districts that have introduced deleveled classes are Lexington, Brookline, and Groton-Dunstable. Acton-Boxborough is also considering deleveling some courses.
Parents challenge the changes
At the May 3 meeting, parent Jim Boutelle questioned how a teacher could address the learners at all different levels in a class. Putting students of all skill levels together in a class, deleveling critics say, forces teachers to “teach to the middle,” holding back the most able students and leaving behind some who can’t keep up.
Laura Yochum said one of her biggest concerns, as a parent, has been the lack of communication from the administration about the changes. But about deleveling itself, she wrote in an email, “Proponents and opponents of deleveling both believe that all students deserve equal access to a high quality education where they have the opportunity to learn and succeed. They simply differ in how they think this is best achieved. I believe deleveling has the potential to hurt both the students who struggle with material and those who may need to learn at a more advanced level.”
Yochum said deleveling makes a teacher’s job harder, trying to teach to students with different abilities and interests in the same class. Based on her own teaching experience, parent Anna Kekis agreed: “I don’t like the idea of deleveling. … It’s impossible for the teacher.”
While both sides make strong arguments in support of their positions for or against leveling, there is no clear answer on what works best for students overall. A summary by the Brookings Institute on the controversy concludes: “Research on tracking extends over a century. Hundreds upon hundreds of studies have not settled the debate.”
School Committee’s role is uncertain
Also unclear is the role of school committees. At several recent meetings, parents who oppose the changes have asked the School Committee to step in and restore the leveled classes. But Chair Abby Besse has said determining curriculum is the purview of school administrators. At Monday’s meeting this week, she said the committee’s role is setting policy; operational issues—including curriculum—are left to school leaders and educators.
Glenn Koocher, the executive director of the Massachusetts Association of School Committees, said the line between policy and operations is difficult to determine: “It depends—the wisest of attorneys have concluded the school committee and the superintendent have to work it out.”
In a brief phone interview, Harvard parent and lawyer John Cogan said the School Committee is the final authority for future decisions. And it is only the School Committee, he noted, that answers to the public and can give parents a voice.
