Analyses of state administrative data by Clotfelter et al. (2006), Kalogrides et al. (2013) and others continue to show uneven access to high quality teachers within schools.
In 1984, Merrilee Finley’s ethnographic study of “suburban high school” drew attention to the practice of teacher tracking—the matching of teachers to tracked classrooms. Finley found that at Suburban, advanced, high-track classes were considered by teachers to be the most desirable classes to teach, and were taught by the most experienced, highly trained, and motivated teachers. Using nationally representative data Kelly (2004) confirmed Finley’s findings, arguing that teacher tracking perpetuates educational inequality by placing the least effective teachers in the most challenging teaching contexts.