Stratification of socialization processes

This paper proposes that a school tracking system can be a good context for studying the effects of stratification on socialization. In addition, the study is designed to overcome limitations of previous research on the effects of tracking on cognitive skills (notably the work of Jencks). In a quantitative analysis of the school records of a socially homogeneous school with a highly stratified track system, the study finds that tracking has marked influence on changes of IQ scores between eighth and tenth grades, even after controlling for initial ability, sex, and social class. Furthermore, it finds that tracking has a pronounced influence on the dispersion of IQ scores. This finding suggests that different socialization processes occur in the upper and lower tracks, a differentiating process in the former and a homogenizing process in the latter. The paper concludes with some speculations on the relationship of stratification to socialization processes.