The Middle School Plunge

Autor/inn/en	West, Martin; Schwerdt, Guido
Titel	The Middle School Plunge
Quelle	In: Education Next, 12 (2012) 2, S.62-68 (7 Seiten) PDF als Volltext Verfügbarkeit
Sprache	englisch
Dokumenttyp	gedruckt; online; Zeitschriftenaufsatz
ISSN	1539-9664
Schlagwörter	Middle Schools; Elementary Secondary Education; Academic Achievement; Grouping (Instructional Purposes); Middle School Students; Scores; Elementary Schools; Elementary School Students; Dropouts; Enrollment; Public Schools; Comparative Analysis; Mathematics Achievement; Reading Achievement; Student Adjustment; Transitional Programs; High Schools; High School Students; Florida; New York + Suchen Sie Ihr Suchwort? Middle school; Mittelschule; Mittelstufenschule; Schulleistung; Grouping; Gruppenbildung; Middle schools; Student; Students; Schüler; Schülerin; Elementary school; Grundschule; Volksschule; Drop-out; Drop-outs; Dropout; Early leavers; Schulversagen; Einschulung; Public school; Öffentliche Schule; Mathmatics sikills; Mathmatics achievement; Mathematical ability; Mathematische Kompetenz; Leseleistung; Adjustment; Studentin; Adaptation; High school; Oberschule; High schools
Abstract	Policymakers nationwide continue to wrestle with a basic question: At what grade level should students move to a new school? In the most common grade configuration in American school districts, public school students make two school transitions, entering a middle school in grade 6 or 7 and a high school in grade 9. This pattern reflects the influence of enrollment pressures and pedagogical theories that, over the past half century, all but eliminated the K-8 school from the American education landscape. A small fraction of students do attend public schools encompassing grades K-8, 6-12, or even K-12, however. The authors exploit this variation by comparing the achievement trajectories of Florida students entering a middle school or a high school to those of their peers who do not make those transitions. Their study extends research conducted in New York City, in which Jonah Rockoff and Benjamin Lockwood found that entering a middle school causes a sharp drop in student achievement relative to the performance of those remaining in K-8 schools. The authors find that moving to a middle school causes a substantial drop in student test scores (relative to that of students who remain in K-8 schools) the first year in which the transition takes place, not just in New York City but also in the big cities, suburbs, and small-town and rural areas of Florida. Further, they find that the relative achievement of middle-school students continues to decline in the subsequent years they spend in such schools. The results confirm that transitions into both middle schools and high schools cause drops in student achievement but that these effects are far larger for students entering middle schools. (Contains 2 figures.) (ERIC).
Anmerkungen	Hoover Institution. Stanford University, Stanford, CA 94305-6010. Tel: 800-935-2882; Fax: 650-723-8626; e-mail: educationnext@hoover.stanford.edu; Web site: http://educationnext.org/journal/
Erfasst von	ERIC (Education Resources Information Center), Washington, DC
Update	2017/4/10