This is what happens when you place students according to age / grade and not according to readiness / competency.
When you place students above their competency, you are throwing them in the deep end of the pool and waiting for them to drown.
The Challenge of Creating Schools That ‘Work for Everybody’
When the bell rings at Wheaton North High School, a river of white students flows into Advanced Placement classrooms. A trickle of brown and black students joins them. But mostly, the Latino, African-American, and Asian teenagers file into lower-rung classes.
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Six years ago, the school eliminated the remedial track. Low achievers, who primarily come from lower-income, minority families, are placed in intermediate-level college-prep classes. To provide extra support, “a teacher of special education or English-learners joins a regular teacher in all core I-level courses that include students with disabilities, those learning English, and those with weaker skills,” writes Gewertz.
The school provides “summer bridge” classes to prepare students to move up from intermediate to advanced classes or from advanced to AP. Counselors encourage students to aim higher.