Public School Education: Middle Grades

Middle school education is the most unique and controversial school model presently used by public schools in America. It provides a distinctive organizational model that was created in order to meet the physical, social, and psychological characteristics of the middle school learner. The model is meant to overcome low academic achievement and the learning plateaus that often appear among middle school-aged students. Teachers are clustered into interdisciplinary learning teams in order to collaboratively address student needs; administrators must work to articulate a school mission and help teachers uphold this mission in their classrooms in order to promote student achievement.

Keywords Core Academic Courses; Criterion-Referenced Tests; Exploratory Courses; Middle School; Mission; Norm-Referenced Tests; Public Schools; Standards-Based Education; Vision

Public School Education > Public School Education: Middle Grades

Overview

The middle grade school is the newest model of school organization presently used in public school systems across America. For many years, middle school aged students were either placed in elementary schools, forced in to high schools, or put in a school building that was a former high school and called a Junior High School. The elementary school was not an acceptable setting for students in grades 6-8 due to their requirements for higher level programs and the demands for larger facilities. The size of the middle grades student was simply overwhelming to most elementary schools. Students between the ages of 11-14 were sometimes placed in a high school setting, but they are too immature to be educated in the same school building as older students. The Junior High model was not a perfect academic match for the cognitive needs of the middle grade student. Middle school advocates claimed that Junior High Schools simply offered a "watered down" high school program which did not adequately challenge the cognitive needs of these students (Wallis, Miranda, & Rubiner, 2005). Regardless of the location of the placement for students in 6-8th grades, their academic, social and psychological needs were not being met.

During the 1970's, students as early as 6th grade were dropping out of school, were not showing academic progress on evaluation measures, and were simply not being adequately educated. This forced public school systems to seek alternative education plans for these students. By the 1980's, many public school systems were beginning to employ aspects of the newly evolving middle school organizational model and were witnessing some key academic gains with students. One of the most profound research documents that impacted the development of middle schools was in 1989, when the Carnegie Council on Adolescent Development produced a report, "Turning Points: Preparing American Youth for the 21st Century." This proposed the idea of "transforming middle schools into equitable places that care for teens while preparing them academically" (Tonso, Jung, & Colombo, 2006). This report suggested that middle schools should:

• Create small communities for learning

• Teach a core academic program

• Ensure student success by tailoring the academic programs to the needs of the students,

• Staff the schools with teachers trained to work with this particular student

• Engage the families in the learning processes of the students.

Additionally, middle schools would foster academic success through encouraging physical fitness and good health, and would connect the schools to the community.

The Middle School

Middle schools are typically comprised of grades 6-8 and have many similar characteristics. According to the National Center for Education Statistics' Digest for Education STatistics, 2011, since the early 1970s there has been a shift away from junior high schools (schools with grades 7 through 9 or grades 7 and 8) and toward middle schools. In 1999-2000, there were 11,500 middle schools in the United States, a 458% from the 2,100 middle schools in 1970-1971.By 2009-2010, there were 13,200 middle schools in the U.S. The number of junior high schools declined over the same period, from 7,800 in 1970-1971 to 3,600 in 1999-2000, and 3,000 in 2009-2010.

Middle schools are divided into academic learning communities, called interdisciplinary teams. Their core academic subjects are complimented by exploratory courses which are mini-vocational, fine arts, or physical education courses. The teachers of middle grade students have shared certification and training requirements.

The Interdisciplinary Team

The academic basis of the middle school concept is the interdisciplinary team. Interdisciplinary teams are usually comprised of 2-5 teachers who are responsible for the instruction of one or two content areas. This specialization allows teachers to serve as content experts in the areas they teach. Additionally, the interdisciplinary team concept gives middle grade students a place to belong, even giving them the feeling of being in a "legal gang" (NEA, 1999). Having a place to fit in is vital to the social and psychological needs of this aged student at this age level. Teaming students offers a critical social and emotional connection for students at such a fragile academic age (Tonso, Jung, & Colombo, 2006).

Interdisciplinary teams are usually an easy way for middle schools to group students, within the team, according to their academic needs. In fact, true middle schools use teaming for continual movement through academic subgroups in response to formative evaluations for each subject.

Interdisciplinary teaming allows the teachers on a team to share common planning time. This time is to be used for discussions about student progress, create remediation or acceleration plans, and plan instructional activities that cross all disciplines (Rottier, 2000). Additionally, shared planning time allows teachers to determine their staff development needs, serves as a launching pad for school leaders, and helps the team develop skills in the areas of learning community development, managing conflict, developing shared rules and goals, and making decisions for the team.

Consistency and uniformity among interdisciplinary teams has a direct impact on the performance of the team (Rottier, 2000). These two components of the team ensure that teams are working toward the goals they have established, the workload among team teachers is equally distributed, and instructional time is appropriately devoted to learning activities.

When teams of teachers are working collaboratively, they engage in a variety of issues that sometimes results in conflict among the teachers. Effective teaching teams have established working relations that allows them to disagree about issues while maintaining the dignity of their relationships. This means that they engage in problem solving activities and discussions, or entertain new and exciting ideas that can lead to the progress of the students on their team (Rottier, 2000).

The Middle School Teacher

Another important aspect of the middle school concept is the unique qualities of the middle grade teacher. The middle school teacher is expected to promote lifetime learning in students through engaging activities and positive interactions with their social and physical environments (Virtue, 2007). Effective middle school teachers set high expectations for their students and carefully plan activities that help them attain these goals. An effective middle grade teacher must be skilled in establishing and maintaining relationships with their students that prompts academic achievement and social comfort. Effective middle school teachers must be willing to constantly engage in staff development that improves their abilities to expertly offer instruction.

Middle grade teachers must be committed to the concept of teaching for mastery. This means that they address as many learning styles as necessary, remediate and enrich, and plan instructional activities that ensure that students will accomplish the learning objectives. This often requires an immense amount of creativity, which is inviting to this level of student. Additionally, teachers repeatedly re-teach learning objectives in order to ensure student mastery (Christie, 2001).

Middle School Administration

Middle school leaders play a crucial role in the overall success of the school. They must carefully place teachers and students on teams so that a positive learning environment is cultivated through effective interdisciplinary team placement. They must teach the team leaders how to implement strategies that uphold the mission of the school, support their team goals, and promote student achievement. And, they must serve as the primary curriculum leaders of the schools (Nelson, Fairchild, Grossenbacher, & Landers, 2007). According to the study conducted by Nelson, Fairchild, Grossenbacher, & Landers (2007), middle school administrators must be trained to understand the academic and social needs of this level of student, the skills expected of effective teachers, and how to successfully implement this unique school organizational model. Principals must seriously study the standardized test scores of the students in order to develop improvement plans with interdisciplinary team teachers, creating and upholding a clear mission for the school, and ensuring that high expectations are established for all students. The transition from elementary to middle school and middle school to high school is often problematic for middle grade students. According to Griefner (2006), a key to the success of this transition is collaborative planning between the principals of these schools. It is the duty of the middle school principal to "focus on transforming a school into a community and establishing strong development programs" (para. 5) that ensure student success during the change between school levels.

Another important key to successful middle school leadership is that the leader maintains an environment that is personalized for students, ensuring that they participate in learning activities that promote their academic status (Greifner, 2006). This means that students are placed in the academic levels that are most likely to help them master content standards and older students are allowed to choose the exploratory concentrations that most interest them.

Exploratory Courses

Exploratory courses are another unique characteristic of middle schools. These are nonacademic courses that offer students introductions to vocational, foreign language, fine arts, and physical education courses. The typical plan for scheduling exploratory courses is that 6th grade students are exposed to every exploratory course for a short period of time (usually only 6 weeks). During the seventh and eighth grade years, students are encouraged to choose an exploratory concentration so they can participate in higher level activities in their concentration area. Examples of exploratory courses are:

• Family and Consumer Science,

• Keyboarding,

• Auto Mechanics,

• Drafting,

• Construction,

• Horticulture,

• Art,

• Band,

Core Curriculum

Core curriculum courses serve as the foundation of the middle school. The Language Arts courses provide students instruction in the areas of sentence and paragraph construction, spelling, vocabulary development, and understanding basic novels. Reading instruction is offered to assist in the development of decoding and comprehension skills. Math instruction begins with basic calculations in the 6th grade, develops into Pre Algebra in the 7th grade and is either Algebra (for high school credit) or an advanced problem solving course for 8th graders.

Social studies is divided into world studies and American studies. For instance, regions of the world are studied in the 6th and 7th grades and instruction specific to American culture is offered in 8th grade. In the 6th grade, Science instruction is a general introduction to physical and life sciences. Most 7th grade science curriculums focus on life science or biology with emphasis on earth science in the 8th grade.

An important issue in middle grade instruction is student performance on standardized tests. The recent federal legislation, No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB), has established clear mandates for academic accountability based on standardized test scores on nationally norm referenced and criterion referenced scores. Testing during the middle grade years is still considered "high stakes" due to the consequences related to deficient scores and for schools who do not meet the scores established for them by state educational leaders. For most middle schools, important testing occurs at the conclusion of the 6th grade and during the 8th grade. Most 8th graders must participate in a writing exam as well as nationally recognized criterion referenced tests (CRCT) at the conclusion of the 8th grade year. In many states, 8th grade students who do not meet the minimum scores for passing the CRCT are either retained or required to attend remediation instruction prior to being advanced to the high school level.

Teacher Certification

The need for teachers is presently immense and the outlook for having an adequate amount of teachers in the future is bleak. The numbers enrolled in traditional certification programs in colleges and universities across the nation is inadequate for the projected numbers of anticipated vacancies. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the demand for middle school teahers is expected to increase 17% between 2010 and 2020, about as fast as average for all occupations. In 2010, 641,700 people were employed as middle school teachers in the U.S., and an increased 108,300 teachers are expected to be needed by 2020.

States with highnumber of immigrants have reported the need for new teachers isespecially intense. And, recent federal legislation, NCLB, has increased the stress of maintaining particular standards for teachers due to the regulation of having "highly qualified" teachers. This means that schools are scrambling for teachers who are willing to be experts in a specific content area as well as be masters at classroom management, grading, conferencing with parents, raising standardized test scores, and all of the other duties required of teachers (St. Arnauld, 2007).

Certification for middle school teachers usually follows a general course of study. Most teacher education programs consist of a general curriculum of introductory collegiate courses such as English, Speech, Algebra, Biology, Chemistry, Physical Education, Music, Behavioral Sciences, and History. Then, future middle grade teachers must concentrate in methodology courses specific for instruction in the core content areas: Language Arts, Reading, Mathematics, Science, and Social Studies. They also must complete courses that are related to general education topics such as Educational Psychology, the Sociology of Schools, Learning styles and best practices, and Foundations in Education. Middle school education majors also must complete a set number of practicum experiences in the schools and a student teaching experience. Generally, most colleges of education require that middle grade education majors concentrate in two specific content areas, such as reading and math or math and science, and then take additional methodology and content courses in their chosen specialization. The need for more teachers gaining middle school certification is increasing.

Alternative Certification

Although conventional certification is a highly regarded manner of entering a teaching career, many are now seeking alternative certification routes. Twenty years ago, very few states offered alternative certification programs for allowing nontraditional collegiate students to enter the teaching profession. Now, most states allow these programs due to the need for highly qualified teachers. In fact, in 1983 there were only 12 alternative certification programs in the United States compared to 485 in 2007 (Honawar, 2007). There are currently two major types of alternative certification programs:

• Programs managed by agencies that are not affiliated with colleges or universities. These are for-profit agencies, state sponsored organizations, or programs sponsored by a school district that allow persons to work as teachers while earning certification.

• Those that are sponsored by universities or colleges. These are frequently online programs, programs that compact certification requirements into a year-long course, or allow content-related courses to substitute for education courses and student teaching experiences making in-field experience the primary training ground for the new teacher (Baines, 2006).

There are diverse standpoints regarding alternative certification programs. Due to the large number of shortages of highly qualified teachers in many content areas, school districts are forced to use alternative certification programs in order to simply have enough teachers to fill classrooms. For instance, in Florida, Governor Jeb Bush declared that all public school districts be given the authority to certify teachers and California is relaxing the certification requirements for educators in order to meet the burdens of increasing student populations (Baines, 2006). Many states are instigating incentive programs to attract people to teaching, particularly in those subjects and schools that are hard to staff (Boyd, Goldhaber, Lankford, & Wyckoff, 2007). These areas are: Special Education, Mathematics, Science, and students with Limited English Proficiency. A 2006 study found that teachers who entered the profession from alternative certification programs could produce student outcomes equal to or greater than those licensed via traditional routes (Honawar, 2007). This study gave alternative teacher certification programs validity to many opponents.

The opponents to alternative certification programs for teachers have been very vocal throughout educational documents. Many educators that earned certification through traditional programs feel strongly that teachers who gain experience in the classroom are using the students as their learning objects and are deterring the academic progress of students (Boyd, Godhaber, Lankford & Wyckoff, 2007). According to Jacobson (2006), students in California's lowest-achieving schools are more likely to have the least-prepared teachers. Yet, alternative certification programs do put a teacher in every classroom with the hope that they will receive assistance from their local school administrators, peer teachers, and mentors in order to appropriately offer their students instruction. Some have claimed that alternative certification programs are "fly by night operations" that inadequately prepared teachers to enter the classroom. But, this is not the case anymore due to the high caliber of persons enrolling in these programs. Honawar (2007) reported that during the 2004-05 year, approximately 50,000 teachers entered the field through alternative routes, making up about one-third of all new teachers hired that year.

Issues

Age-Level Related Behavior

Although efforts have been diligent to develop solid academic programs for middle school-aged students, there are many problems facing this model of schooling. The level of frustration of parents with their middle school student is immense. The behaviors of middle school aged students are highly inconsistent. They fluctuate between flairs of anger, frustration, unreliability, compassion, high intelligence, and maturity. Many parents believe that the middle school concept, of interdisciplinary teams and individualized engagement in academic activities, should help relax such inconsistent behavior. Yet, there is often no improvement (Christie, 200).

Many middle grade educators are frustrated that the academic climate of middle schools does not adequately challenge students. Student misbehavior, due to boredom, is frequent, as are apathetic student attitudes toward content mastery. Many believe that enrolling more middle grade students in accelerated academic programs would relieve many of the existing classroom discipline problems and poor attitudes toward learning demonstrated by scores of middle school students (Christie, 2001).

Low Academic Achievement

Another issue gaining prevalence throughout public school districts is also associated with the low academic achievement of middle school students. As many middle school students perform beneath their academic abilities, they are placed in remedial courses as they enter high school, negatively influencing their introduction to high school and limiting their academic productivity at the secondary level. This has been related to inadequate teacher training; that many current middle school teachers of core areas do not have proper training or certification in the areas they are teaching (Chenoweth, 1999). This can be remedied through accreditation standards related to teacher certification being enforced, by school districts only employing certificated, highly qualified teachers for middle schools, and by parents insisting that their students only receive instruction by certificated teachers.

The Learning Plateau

Finally, there is enormous concern across the nation regarding the academic plateau that many middle school students display during three years of their school careers. Although there is vast research that ensures that it is typical for middle school students to experience a learning plateau, it is detrimental to meeting the continuing academic demands for improvement throughout all levels of public school education. To many, it is the requirement of the middle school teacher to appropriately motivate these students to improve their academic status and intelligence during these school years and to help students work past any learning plateaus or apathetic attitudes they encounter during these years.

Conclusion

Undoubtedly, the middle grade concept has profoundly impacted the education process of American students. Middle schools have gathered students of similar ages and similar characteristics together in an effort to offer them appropriate learning opportunities. There are many characteristics of middle schools that are alike in most middle school programs. These are:

• Interdisciplinary teams,

• Exploratory courses,

• Clear mission statements, and

• Teachers who are "highly qualified" to teach middle school students.

Terms & Concepts

Core Academic Courses: The courses in elementary, middle and high school that are generally included on most standardized exams; generally these are: English, Mathematics, Science and Social Studies.

Criterion-Referenced Tests: Assessments that determines what is the expected behavior or knowledge of an individual that makes a specific score on a test; usually contains a cutscore that defines the relationship of the individuals' score to the subject being tested.

Exploratory Courses: Courses of instruction that are not core courses but serve as introductory level courses for upcoming high school concentrations; generally are: vocational courses, fine art courses, foreign language course, and Health/Physical Education.

Mission: The statement that serves as the present status of the school; the mission defines why the vision will be achieved.

Norm-Referenced Tests: A comparison or ranking of an individual to a sampling of his/her peers; how a student compares to others in the same category.

Standards-Based Education: Reform movement based on the belief that what should be learned, taught and mastered at specific educational levels.

Vision: The predictive statement of a school that establishes the long term purpose of the school; serves as the future identity of the school.

Bibliography

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Suggested Reading

Armstrong, L. (2001). Coaching for Comprehension. Greensboro, NC: Carson Delloso Publishing Co.

Bluter, D., & Shireman, M. (1996). Algebra. Greensboro, NC: Carson Delloso Publishing Co.

Robb, L. (2006). Teaching Reading in Middle School. New York, NY: Scholastic, Inc.

Smith, M., & Forbes, V., (2000). Spelling Skills Practice and Apply. Greensboro, NC: Carson Delloso Publishing Co.