Inequitable Allocations of Alterable Learning Variables1

Murphy, Hallinger, and Lotto examine how the components of the variable “student opportunity to learn” are dis tributed unequally across ability groups and curricular tracks. They trace a pat tern of systematic discrimination against lower ability students in the qual ity of instruction and curricular content they receive, and they emphasize that learning time is used much more poorly in lower than in higher ability groups. The authors make specific suggestions with regard to preparing teachers to offset these patterns of inequality in stu dent access to learning.