[477] MINORITY STUDENTS, ABILITY GROUPING, AND CAREER DEVELOPMENT

A major function of school counseling has been the placement of students in career-oriented tracks. Thus, the most forceful influence on student vocational development is the placing of students in certain ability tracks. These tracks will not neces-sarily state who will become a blue-collar worker or lawyer, but they do separate students into professional- and non-profes-sional-oriented groups. Most school counselors do very little career counseling beyond the placement of students in ability groups. There are always exceptions, however. Even in situations where there are no counselors, teachers and administrators make extensive use of tracking or ability grouping. When counselors do stress career planning, it is generally after the student has been grouped. Unfortunately, the choice of becoming a professional or nonprofessional were made at the point when the decision was made as to what trac