Final answer:
Child-Centered Teaching is the approach that aims to be responsive to children's needs and interests and promotes not just rote learning, but the development of critical thinking and problem-solving abilities. In contrast, teaching to the test focuses narrowly on preparing students for standardized tests. Tracking is a system for assigning students to certain education paths based on performance metrics, affecting their future education and career opportunities.
Step-by-step explanation:
Teaching that is attuned to children's ages, experience, abilities, and interests, and that helps them attain challenging and achievable goals is known as Child-Centered Teaching. This approach values the individual needs and interests of each child, aiming to foster not just the absorption of facts, but the development of problem-solving skills and learning competencies. It contrasts with practices like teaching to the test, where the emphasis is on equipping students to succeed on standardized tests, often at the cost of a broader educational experience.
Informal education refers to the learning of cultural norms and is part of the lifelong learning process that happens outside of a formal school setting. Meanwhile, tracking is the term that describes the assignment of students to specific educational programs and classes based on test scores, previous grades, or perceived ability. It is a formalized sorting system that can perpetuate inequalities. Schools prepare children to enter the workforce through a variety of means including a standardized curriculum, the hidden curriculum, and socializing them in teamwork, which is to say, All of the above.