 They found that students lost confidence in their abilities by their placements in low-ability classes in which teacher expectations for them were low.These dilemmas were very common as students made transitions to new schools (e.g., elementary to middle school, middle to high school).The tracking of African-American students in elementary schools reflected remnants of early desegregation in which African-American secondary school teachers were demoted to teaching in lower grades (Haney, 1978).