State Leaders Call For More Attention On Middle Grades To Ensure High School Success

ALEXANDRIA, Va.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--A national panel of state education leaders is unveiling a set of policy recommendations for middle grade reforms to better prepare students for high school success. The proposals, being issued by the National Association of State Boards of Education to national, state, and local education policymakers, are intended to focus greater attention on these grades and to counteract what the task force called the "benign neglect" of educators and the public to these adolescent years.

"The early secondary years—grades 6, 7, and 8—are the ‘Bermuda Triangle' for students' educational progress, and for education reformers who find it extremely challenging to implement effective improvement initiatives in this area of the K-12 continuum," observed NASBE Executive Director Brenda Welburn. "Whether students later thrive or falter in high school is largely determined at this time, making improvements in these areas critical if we are to increase high school achievement overall," she said.

There is a growing realization among educators that these early transition years are more important than ever in maintaining the academic growth most students exhibit coming out of elementary school, and that these middle grades can profoundly impact later high school success.

For many students, academic and social problems begin to manifest themselves during the middle years, and many who lose their way in high school often first get lost in sixth through eighth grade. Social, psychological, and learning factors all converge to make the early secondary student a unique individual and education policymakers must recognize this fact as they craft strategies to serve these students.

The recommendations for state leaders included in the task force's report, Beginning in the Middle: Critical Steps in Secondary School Reform, are to:

• Review the current status of early secondary education.
• Require all teachers to receive training in the psycho-social development of students.
• Consider new transition models such as flexible scheduling, virtual schools, vertical teaming and peer connections in orientations.
• Early interventions beginning in the sixth grade.

But the most important recommendation is better personal attention to students. "Engagement, based on student involvement across many dimensions, may be the single most critical element in student achievement. Engagement at the classroom level is critical and is a function of the teacher and the educational context within which the student works," the report states.

The full report and recommendations, Beginning in the Middle: Critical Steps in Secondary School Reform, is available for $14 by calling (800) 220-5183 or via the Internet at www.nasbe.org.

NASBE, www.nasbe.org, represents America's state and territorial boards of education. Our principal objectives are to strengthen state leadership in education policymaking; advocate equality of access to educational opportunity; promote excellence in the education of all students; and assure responsible lay governance of education.

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