Middle Grades PDF - The middle grades are in crisis. By state and national measures, student achievement gains realized in the elementary grades all too often diminish by grade 8. This issue of The Progress of Education Reform highlights key findings from recent research and publications on improving student success in the middle grades — and identifies actions states can take to translate these findings into sound policy. (Jennifer Dounay Zinth, Education Commission of the States, August 2009)...

Ensuring Successful Student Transitions from the Middle Grades to High School MS Word PDF - The 9th grade year is critical to students’ success in high school. This ECS PolicyBrief looks at research on the 9th-grade transition, some expert recommendations and examples of relevant policies in place in the states. (Kathy Christie and Kyle Zinth, Education Commission of the States, November 2008)...

New Mission for the Middle Grades: Preparing Students for a Changing World - This report issues an urgent call for SREB states to improve student achievement in the middle grades so that students are ready for success in rigorous high school courses and, ultimately, better prepared to graduate and proceed to college or technical training. The report offers a comprehensive roadmap for change, with six goals and several specific recommendations, including focusing the middle grades curriculum on literacy and STEM disciplines, and requiring middle grades students to complete individual academic and career plans. (SREB 2011)...

Commonalities of Georgia's Successful Middle Schools - Recognizing the need to prevent high school dropouts, the Georgia Partnership for Excellence in Education commissioned research first on successful high schools and then on middle schools, since the seeds that produce high school failure are sown in grades five through eight. Successful middle schools were identified based on predetermined criteria. The data are compared and contrasted and analyses are documented and reported for use by Georgia educational leaders. (Georgia Partnership for Excellence in Education, August 2011)...

Middle Grades Action Kit for Superintendents and Principals - The Middle Grades Action Kit for Superintendents and Principals is based on the findings from EdSource's landmark Gaining Ground in the Middle Grades study, one of the largest middle grades studies ever conducted. (EdSource 2011)...

Gaining Ground in the Middle Grades: Why Some Schools Do Better--A Large-Scale Study of Middle Grades Practices and Student Outcomes - The narrative summary of this new middle grades report provides further affirmation of capacity building efforts. What is particularly interesting is that the findings suggest schools who have high-functioning leadership teams that focus the school community on a shared "future oriented" mission are far better off. (EdSource, February 2010)...

Keeping Middle Grades Students on the Path to Success in High School: Increasing Engagement and Achievement in SREB States - Report outlines steps state leaders can take to see progress in middle grades reading and math achievement, outlines policies and programs to help ensure middle grade students stay engaged, and lays out five specific strategies states can use to keep students on the path to success. (Marily Thomas, Crystal Collins, Alice Anne Bailey and Joan Lord, SREB, April 2009)...

Should Sixth Grade be in Elementary or Middle School? An Analysis of Grade Configuration and Student Behavior - This paper examines data from public schools in North Carolina to determine the best grade configuration for schools that serve early adolescents, particularly 6th graders. The authors find that 6th grade students attending middle schools were much more likely to be cited for discipline problems than those attending elementary school, even after adjusting for socioeconomic and demographic characteristics. The effects were found to persist at least through 9th grade. (Phillip J. Cook, Robert MacCoun, Clara Muschkin and Jacob Vigdor, Terry Sanford Institute of Public Policy at Duke University, February 2007) ...

Establishing Benchmarks of Progress for Middle Grades Sites - The primary mission of the Southern Regional Education Board's Making Middle Grades Work program is to create a culture of high expectations and continuous improvement that prepares middle grades students for challenging high school studies. This document is meant to be used to assist in documenting if student achievement has been improved and if goals have been met. (Southern Regional Education Board, 2006) ...