"In a high school, the norms act to hold down the achievements of those who are above average, so that the school's demands will be at a level easily maintained by the majority"
About this Quote
Coleman is pointing to the power of peer norms and institutional routines in shaping what students actually do. In the comprehensive American high school, status and cohesion are maintained by bringing expectations to a level that the typical student can meet. When the majority sets the tone, those who strive far above it can be nudged back toward the middle, not necessarily by policy alone but by subtle pressures: teasing the studious, rewarding effortless cool, or designing courses and grading to fit the broad middle of ability. The result is a ceiling on excellence imposed as much by culture as by curriculum.
This insight grew from Colemans studies of youth culture, especially The Adolescent Society, which found that prestige in many schools attached more to athletic and social success than to scholastic achievement. He later emphasized in the Coleman Report that peer composition and norms often outweigh school resources in shaping outcomes. Put together, the argument is that the social environment of the high school becomes a regulator of ambition, smoothing extremes in the name of inclusiveness and order.
Mechanisms abound: mixed-ability classes that move at the median pace, tracking that stigmatizes advanced learners, fear of elitism that blunts differentiation, and the ever-present adolescent calculus that makes conspicuous effort risky. Teachers, facing wide ranges of preparation, may simplify to keep most students afloat. Administrators may prioritize harmony and graduation rates over stretching the top. The intent can be humane, but the effect is to waste potential and to make high achievement a lonely act of defiance.
Colemans claim also poses a democratic dilemma. Egalitarian norms protect many students from being left behind, yet they can also withhold support from those who could surge ahead. Magnet schools, AP courses, and specialized programs try to counter this by creating alternative norms that prize intellectual accomplishment, but they also risk stratifying students. The enduring question is how to build a school culture where excellence is contagious rather than suspect.
This insight grew from Colemans studies of youth culture, especially The Adolescent Society, which found that prestige in many schools attached more to athletic and social success than to scholastic achievement. He later emphasized in the Coleman Report that peer composition and norms often outweigh school resources in shaping outcomes. Put together, the argument is that the social environment of the high school becomes a regulator of ambition, smoothing extremes in the name of inclusiveness and order.
Mechanisms abound: mixed-ability classes that move at the median pace, tracking that stigmatizes advanced learners, fear of elitism that blunts differentiation, and the ever-present adolescent calculus that makes conspicuous effort risky. Teachers, facing wide ranges of preparation, may simplify to keep most students afloat. Administrators may prioritize harmony and graduation rates over stretching the top. The intent can be humane, but the effect is to waste potential and to make high achievement a lonely act of defiance.
Colemans claim also poses a democratic dilemma. Egalitarian norms protect many students from being left behind, yet they can also withhold support from those who could surge ahead. Magnet schools, AP courses, and specialized programs try to counter this by creating alternative norms that prize intellectual accomplishment, but they also risk stratifying students. The enduring question is how to build a school culture where excellence is contagious rather than suspect.
Quote Details
| Topic | Student |
|---|
More Quotes by James
Add to List
