Critics say streaming within a comprehensive reproduces which of the following?

Critics say streaming within a comprehensive reproduces which of the following?

• A. It improves equality of opportunity.
• B. It has no impact on social class.
• C. It reflects social class differences and echoes the tripartite system.
• D. It eliminates the division between academic and vocational tracks.

Answer: (C)

Ability-based streaming inside a comprehensive school tends to reproduce social class differences because how students are sorted into streams often tracks them into different paths, expectations, and opportunities. This sorting tends to align with family background and prior achievement, shaping what subjects students can take, how teachers treat them, and what opportunities follow after school. Critics argue that this inside-school division mirrors the old tripartite model (grammar, secondary modern, and technical schools), which separated students into lasting, unequal paths based on background rather than merit. Even in a single school, higher streams usually offer more challenging courses and clearer routes to further study and skilled work, while lower streams may limit choices and confidence, reinforcing inequality. So the idea is that streaming within a comprehensive reflects social class differences and echoes the tripartite system. It does not promote equality of opportunity, nor does it erase divisions between academic and vocational tracks.

Ability-based streaming inside a comprehensive school tends to reproduce social class differences because how students are sorted into streams often tracks them into different paths, expectations, and opportunities. This sorting tends to align with family background and prior achievement, shaping what subjects students can take, how teachers treat them, and what opportunities follow after school. Critics argue that this inside-school division mirrors the old tripartite model (grammar, secondary modern, and technical schools), which separated students into lasting, unequal paths based on background rather than merit. Even in a single school, higher streams usually offer more challenging courses and clearer routes to further study and skilled work, while lower streams may limit choices and confidence, reinforcing inequality. So the idea is that streaming within a comprehensive reflects social class differences and echoes the tripartite system. It does not promote equality of opportunity, nor does it erase divisions between academic and vocational tracks.