Middle Grades
Feeling the Squeeze
October 4, 2000
This Education Week special report focuses on middle schools.
- Curriculum Missed OpportunitiesArmor-clad knights and imposing castles of medieval Europe have become an oasis of opportunity for middle school teachers struggling to capture the attention of students easily distracted by the lives that await them outside the classroom door.School & District Management Standing OutEducation Week searched for successful middle schools that have demonstrated their ability to meet the social and psychological needs of their students as well as provide a rigorous academic regimen.
Education Losing GroundThe accompanying chart shows how U.S. students stack up, on average, in mathematics on the Third International Mathematics and Science Study.School & District Management The Weak LinkThe middle grades are feeling the squeeze. For the past 30 years educators have labored to create distinctive middle schools.
Curriculum Reading Below ParThe chart below illustrates the achievement levels of U.S. 8th graders on the 1998 National Assessment of Educational Progress in reading.
Mathematics Missing the Mark in MathThe chart shows the achievement levels of U.S. 8th graders on the 1996 National Assessment of Educational Progress in mathematics.School & District Management Brain PowerAfter decades of conflicting beliefs about the intellectual capacity of young adolescents, scholars see a growing consensus, backed by research, that middle school students' brains are ready for learning.School & District Management Adrift at the TopWhen Tom Lau became the principal of Benjamin Franklin Middle School in 1996, he was the fifth educator to head the Long Beach, Calif., school since 1991.Teaching Profession An Incomplete EducationMaureen Phillips always asks people who want to teach at her rural Michigan school to describe a typical middle-level student.Assessment Put to the TestEvery six weeks, a thundering roar goes up from the gym of Freeport Intermediate School, where 580 rowdy middle schoolers let loose with cheers, chants, and songs.School & District Management Strategies for SuccessWhat:
The "plan-do-check" cycle, derived from the Total Quality Management business literature.Curriculum Different Ways of KnowingWhat:
A whole-school-reform initiative originally designed for elementary schools, but now being adapted for middle schools.School & District Management Turning Points: Transforming Middle SchoolsWhat:
A national design for middle school change, based on recommendations from the influential 1989 report by the Carnegie Council on Adolescent Development.School & District Management Schooled in 'Purposeful Fun'Higher test scores and national recognition have met with their share of hoopla at Barren County Middle School. But it is outside the glow of the spotlight that schooling gets really exciting, teachers here say, because on any given day, students can demonstrate with clarity and enthusiasm that they are "getting it."Student Achievement A Feast of OfferingsWhen Mary Cavalier glances up at the cafeteria ceiling, she sees subtle confirmation that her school is on the right track.School & District Management Talent Development Middle SchoolsWhat:
A comprehensive reform model aimed at urban middle schools serving large numbers of poor children.School & District Management Finding Their VoicesHad anyone asked students at Jay Cooke Middle School a few years ago, "Does your voice count?" the definitive answer for most would have been "No!"School Climate & Safety Competing ForcesTyler Goark, 14, and Megan Skidmore, 13, are typical students at a fairly representative middle school in a middle-class suburb.
Made possible by a grant from the Edna McConnell Clark Foundation.