Final answer:
Schools may contribute to stigmatization through tracking, a practice that sorts students into categories like 'college-bound' or 'underachiever,' reinforcing inequalities. Such systems are particularly detrimental for students from low socioeconomic backgrounds, who may struggle with resource limitations and support. Even efforts to address the needs of disabled students can fall short, especially in underfunded and low-income areas.
Step-by-step explanation:
Schools can perpetuate stigmatization through tracking, which is a formalized sorting system that places students on different educational paths. This system identifies students as college-bound while labeling others as potential dropouts or academic underachievers, often creating self-fulfilling prophecies. Students from low socioeconomic backgrounds may face challenges that hinder their academic performance, like caring for siblings, working after school, and lacking resources such as a computer, which might be incorrectly interpreted as a lack of ability or motivation.
Moreover, the lack of resources and support for students of low socioeconomic status often results in these students performing more poorly on standardized tests and having lower graduation rates, ultimately affecting their college entrance rates. Tracking, therefore, can reinforce the status quo and perpetuate inequalities. In extreme cases, as detailed in Jeremy Iverson's book High School Confidential, students may be labeled early on by teachers and struggle to shed these labels throughout their academic career, which can limit their growth and opportunities.
The identification and support for students with disabilities also present challenges. Although there's been progress, students from lower-income backgrounds and areas with lower education budgets receive fewer services, potentially impacting their high school graduation rates and level of preparation for college.