Stratification in academic secondary programs and educational inequality in Israel and the United States

Comparative Education Review

Volumn 44, Issue 1, 2000, Pages 54-78

  Ayalon, Hanna ^a   Gamoran, Adam ^a  

^a NONE

Author keywords

[No Author keywords available]

Indexed keywords

EID: 0034134392     PISSN: 00104086     EISSN: None     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: 10.1086/447591     Document Type: Article

References (56)

1. J. Oakes, A. Gamoran, and R. N. Page, "Curriculum Differentiation: Opportunities, Outcomes, and Meanings," in Handbook of Research on Curriculum, ed. P. W. Jackson (New York: Macmillian, 1992); for examples from Israel and the United States, see A. Yogev and H. Ayalon, "High School Attendance in a Sponsored Multi-Ethnic System: The Case of Israel," Research in Sociology of Education and Socialization 6 (1986): 45-78, and A. Gamoran and R. D. Mare, "Secondary School Tracking and Educational Inequality: Reinforcement, Compensation, or Neutrality?" American Journal of Sociology 94, no. 5 (1989): 1146-83.
2. J. Oakes, A. Gamoran, and R. N. Page, "Curriculum Differentiation: Opportunities, Outcomes, and Meanings," in Handbook of Research on Curriculum, ed. P. W. Jackson (New York: Macmillian, 1992); for examples from Israel and the United States, see A. Yogev and H. Ayalon, "High School Attendance in a Sponsored Multi-Ethnic System: The Case of Israel," Research in Sociology of Education and Socialization 6 (1986): 45-78, and A. Gamoran and R. D. Mare, "Secondary School Tracking and Educational Inequality: Reinforcement, Compensation, or Neutrality?" American Journal of Sociology 94, no. 5 (1989): 1146-83.
3. J. Oakes, A. Gamoran, and R. N. Page, "Curriculum Differentiation: Opportunities, Outcomes, and Meanings," in Handbook of Research on Curriculum, ed. P. W. Jackson (New York: Macmillian, 1992); for examples from Israel and the United States, see A. Yogev and H. Ayalon, "High School Attendance in a Sponsored Multi-Ethnic System: The Case of Israel," Research in Sociology of Education and Socialization 6 (1986): 45-78, and A. Gamoran and R. D. Mare, "Secondary School Tracking and Educational Inequality: Reinforcement, Compensation, or Neutrality?" American Journal of Sociology 94, no. 5 (1989): 1146-83.
4. A. B. Sorensen, "Organizational Differentiation of Students and Educational Opportunity," Sociology of Education 43, no. 4 (1970): 355-76.
5. D. Pur, In Favour of Equality in Education (Jerusalem: Beit Berl, 1989) (in Hebrew); D. Massell and S. Fuhrman, Ten Years of State Education Reform, 1983-1993: Overview with Four Case Studies (Rutgers, N.J.: Consortium for Policy Research in Education, 1989).
6. D. Pur, In Favour of Equality in Education (Jerusalem: Beit Berl, 1989) (in Hebrew); D. Massell and S. Fuhrman, Ten Years of State Education Reform, 1983-1993: Overview with Four Case Studies (Rutgers, N.J.: Consortium for Policy Research in Education, 1989).
7. J. Oakes, Keeping Track: How Schools Structure Inequality (herefter cited as Keeping Track) (New Haven, Conn.: Yale University Press, 1985) ; D. Moore and S. Davenport, The New Improved Sorting Machine (Madison, Wis.: National Center on Effective Secondary Schools, 1988).
8. J. Oakes, Keeping Track: How Schools Structure Inequality (herefter cited as Keeping Track) (New Haven, Conn.: Yale University Press, 1985) ; D. Moore and S. Davenport, The New Improved Sorting Machine (Madison, Wis.: National Center on Effective Secondary Schools, 1988).
9. American Federation of Teachers, "World Class Standards," American Educator, vol. 18, no. 1 (1994).
10. Although courses are standardized within subjects, particularly for required subjects such as mathematics and English, Israeli schools differ in which subjects they offer.
11. One unit of study is defined as 1 hour per week for 3 years or 3 hours per week for 1 year.
12. S. Swirski and Y. Yechezkel, Entitlement to the Bagrut according to the Settlement, 1995-1997 (Tel Aviv: Adva Center, 1998) (in Hebrew).
13. In calculating students' average achievement in the matriculation diploma, the universities add 10 points to the original grade (which is on a 100-point scale) for each 4-unit level subject and 20 points for each 5-unit level subject (provided that the original grade is at least 60). Mathematics and English get higher bonuses: 12.5 points for 4 units and 25 points for 5 units.
14. H. Ayalon and A. Yogev, "Students, Schools, and Enrollment in Science and Humanity Courses in Israeli Secondary Education" (hereafter cited as "Students, Schools, and Enrollment"), Educational Evaluation and Policy Analysis 19, no. 4 (1997): 339-53.
15. Bible as a school subject is differentiated mainly in the secular public system. In the religious public system (which constitutes about 20 percent of the students in public education in Israel), almost all students study Bible at the highest level.
16. Ayalon and Yogev, "Students, Schools, and Enrollment."
17. H. Ayalon, "Monopolizing Knowledge? The Ethnic Composition and Curriculum of Israeli High Schools," Sociology of Education 67, no. 4 (1994): 264-78.
18. Universities do not accept 3 units of English as adequate for admission. However, success on 3 units of English is still valuable for access to lower-status colleges and the labor market.
19. Oakes, Gamoran, and Page (n. 1 above).
20. A. Gamoran, "The Stratification of High School Learning Opportunities," Sociology of Education 60, no. 3 (1987): 135-55.
21. Oakes, Keeping Track (n. 4 above).
22. L. Olson, "Tennessee is Latest State to Eliminate General Track," Education Week (Sept. 29, 1993), pp. 18, 20; Massell and Fuhrman (n. 3 above).
23. P. A. White, A. Gamoran, J. Smithson, and A. C. Porter, "Upgrading the High School Math Curriculum: Math Course-Taking Patterns in Seven High Schools in California and New York," Educational Evaluation and Policy Analysis 18 (1996): 285-307.
24. Gamoran and Mare (n. 1 above).
25. Gamoran.
26. V. E. Lee and A. S. Bryk, "A Multilevel Model of the Social Distribution of High School Achievement," Sociology of Education 62, no. 3 (1989): 172-92.
27. Differentiation by topics also occurs in English, but the topics are not stratified as in mathematics; that is, they reflect horizontal but not vertical differentiation.
28. That is, a program with no vertical differentiation; there may be horizontal differentiation consisting of varied subjects but lacking status distinctions among them.
29. Gamoran.
30. J. Oakes, Lost Talent: The Underparticipation of Women, Minorities, and Disabled Persons in Science (Santa Monica, Calif.: Rand, 1990).
31. J. E. Rosenbaum, "What If Good Jobs Depended on Good Grades?" American Educator 13 (Winter 1989): 10-15, 40-42; J. Bishop, "Incentives to Study and the Organization of Secondary Instruction," Working Paper no. 93-108 (Cornell University, Center for Advanced Human Resource Studies, Ithaca, N.Y., 1993).
32. J. E. Rosenbaum, "What If Good Jobs Depended on Good Grades?" American Educator 13 (Winter 1989): 10-15, 40-42; J. Bishop, "Incentives to Study and the Organization of Secondary Instruction," Working Paper no. 93-108 (Cornell University, Center for Advanced Human Resource Studies, Ithaca, N.Y., 1993).
33. Oakes, Gamoran, and Page (n. 1 above).
34. Gamoran and Mare, pp. 1146-83.
35. The Jewish and Arab education systems are completely segregated and differ in many aspects, including the curriculum. In this article we focus only on the Jewish system.
36. Research on Israel often distinguishes between Jews who came to Israel from Asia and North Africa (the disadvantaged ethnic group) and Jews from Europe and America; see, e.g., H. Ayalon, "Community Characteristics and Educational Opportunities in Israel," in vol. 13 of Research in Social Stratification and Mobility, ed. R. Althause and M. Wallace (Greenwich, Conn.: JAI Press, 1994), pp. 99-118.
37. Y. Dar and N. Resh, "Educational Integration and Academic Achievement: Review of Research in Israel," Megamot 31, no. 2 (1988): 180-207 (in Hebrew).
38. A comparable indicator for the United States was devised by Lee and Bryk (see n. 22 above).
39. Religious education is an integral part of the high school public system in Israel. Religious schools are very selective in the process of curricular tracking, as shown by A. Yogev and M. Chen, "Sponsorship as a School Charter: Educational Mobility in Religious versus Secular Schools in Israel," International Review of Modern Sociology 15, nos. 1-2 (1985): 117-30. However, due to their commitment to religious studies, religious schools are more egalitarian than secular schools regarding course taking in academic high schools, according to H. Ayalon and A. Yogev, "The Alternative Worldview of State Religious High School in Israel," Comparative Education Review 40, no. 1 (1996): 7-27.
40. Religious education is an integral part of the high school public system in Israel. Religious schools are very selective in the process of curricular tracking, as shown by A. Yogev and M. Chen, "Sponsorship as a School Charter: Educational Mobility in Religious versus Secular Schools in Israel," International Review of Modern Sociology 15, nos. 1-2 (1985): 117-30. However, due to their commitment to religious studies, religious schools are more egalitarian than secular schools regarding course taking in academic high schools, according to H. Ayalon and A. Yogev, "The Alternative Worldview of State Religious High School in Israel," Comparative Education Review 40, no. 1 (1996): 7-27.
41. C. Jones, M. Clark, G. Mooney, H. McWilliams, I. Crawford, B. Stephenson, and R. Tourangeaou, High School and Beyond 1980 Sophomore Cohort First Follow-up (1982) Data File User's Manual (Washington, D.C.: National Center for Education Statistics, 1983).
42. R. W. Rumberger and T. N. Daymont, "The Economic Value of Academic and Vocational Training Acquired in High School," in Youth and the Labor Market, ed. M. E. Borus (Kalamazoo, Mich.: Upjohn Institute, 1984), pp. 157-85; B. E. Vanfossen, J. D. Jones, and J. Z. Spade, "Curriculum Tracking and Status Maintenance," Sociology of Education 60, no. 2 (1987): 104-22; Gamoran (n. 16 above).
43. R. W. Rumberger and T. N. Daymont, "The Economic Value of Academic and Vocational Training Acquired in High School," in Youth and the Labor Market, ed. M. E. Borus (Kalamazoo, Mich.: Upjohn Institute, 1984), pp. 157-85; B. E. Vanfossen, J. D. Jones, and J. Z. Spade, "Curriculum Tracking and Status Maintenance," Sociology of Education 60, no. 2 (1987): 104-22; Gamoran (n. 16 above).
44. B. Heyns and T. L. Hilton, "The Cognitive Tests for High School and Beyond: An Assessment," Sociology of Education 55, nos. 2-3 (1983): 89-102.
45. Lee and Bryk.
46. Oakes, Keeping Track (n. 4 above).
47. A. S. Bryk, S. W. Raudenbush, and R. T. Congdon, Hierarchical Linear Modeling with the HLM/2L and HLM/3L Programs (Chicago: Scientific Software International, 1994).
48. A. S. Bryk and S. W. Raudenbush, Hierarchical Linear Models: Applications and Data Analysis Methods (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1992).
49. The coefficient of .12 for the effect of parents' education appears in the bottom part of table 2. This coefficient represents the effect of parents' education in those nonreligious schools that offered a fully differentiated program (the reference category). To compute the effect of parents' education in schools with only 3 units offered, one must add .65 (the coefficient for this category of differentiation) to the baseline of .12.
50. The coefficient of .56 for parents' education appears in the bottom part of table 2. This coefficient represents the effect of parents' education in nonreligious schools (the reference category) with average course-taking diversity. (Because we centered the variable for course-taking diversity, zero reflects the average.) The standard deviation of English course-taking diversity is .19 (see app., table A1), so the impact of parents' education in a school one standard deviation below the mean in course-taking diversity is .56 + (-1.10 × -.19) = .77. Likewise, the impact of parents' education in a school one standard deviation above the mean in course-taking diversity is .56 + (-1.10 × .19) = .35.
51. The coefficient of -1.65 reflects the minority gap in the average public school because the indicators of differentiation have been centered so that zero reflects the average.
52. Gamoran (see n. 16 above), using the same data, also reported negligible effects of SES on mathematics achievement, after controlling for school composition, tracking, and course taking.
53. The coefficient for the impact of course-taking diversity on the relation between SES and achievement is 1.26, so the effect of SES rises by .59 for each .47 increase in course-taking diversity (.47 × 1.26 = .59).
54. Lee and Bryk (n. 22 above).
55. Because teacher training may be more standardized in Israel than in the United States, an alternative explanation for our results may be that greater consistency of teacher preparation leads to less differentiated outcomes in Israel as compared to the United States. We cannot rule out this interpretation, but patterns of course taking showing that Israeli students tend to enroll when advanced courses are offered, while course offerings and course taking are unrelated in the United States, lend credence to our emphasis on different incentive systems.
56. S. B. Kilgore, "The Organizational Context of Tracking in Schools," American Sociological Review 56, no. 2 (1991): 189-203.