Abstract
In the early 20th century, junior high schools were established to serve as a transitional bridge between the elementary and high school. By the 1960s, this form of schooling had come to look more like senior high school than a unique school program responsive to the nature and needs of the young adolescent students it served (see Alexander, 1995). The middle school movement grew out of concerns with the junior high school, and after more than four decades there is much to celebrate when considering the accomplishments of the movement to establish developmentally responsive middle level schools for young adolescents. The number of schools with a middle school grade configuration (e.g., 5-8, 6-8, 7-8) has nearly tripled since 1970, and today 89% of all middle level schools have one of these popular grade configurations. This indicates public recognition of the need for special school programs for this unique age group; however, school names and grade configurations alone do not speak to the quality of programs within schools. Questions remain concerning the failure of many middle level schools to fully implement programs and practices that have been advocated in the literature (e.g., George, 2009a, 2009b; Dickinson, 2001; Lounsbury, 2009; National Association of Secondary School Principals (NASSP), National Middle School Association (NMSA), 2010a, 2010b). While a number of studies have yielded useful information regarding the status of middle level schools in the United States (Brooks & Edwards, 1978; Cawelti, 1988; Compton, 1976; Epstein & Mac Iver, 1990; George, 2009c; George & Oldaker, 1985; George & Shewey, 1994; and Valentine, Clark, Hackmann, & Petzko, 2002), four linked national surveys provide a longitudinal perspective on the degree of implementation of key middle grades programs and practices. These studies were conducted in 1968 (Alexander, 1968), 1988 (Alexander & McEwin, 1989), 1993 (McEwin, Dickinson, & Jenkins, 1996), and 2001 (McEwin, Dickinson, & Jenkins, 2003). This article reports selected results of a fifth study in this series conducted in 2009 by McEwin and Greene, with a particular focus on recommendations derived from an analysis of trends evident over time. An additional national survey of programs and practices in a sample of highly successful middle level schools was conducted by the authors in 2009 using essentially the same instrument. The results from the highly successful schools are compared to results from the random sample to determine if differences existed and, if so, what lessons might be learned from those differences. The 2009 Random and Highly Successful Middle Schools Surveys In the random study, an electronic survey was sent to a 20% random stratified sample of middle level schools that included grades 5-8, 6-8, or 7-8 (N=2,783), with a return rate of 30% (n=827). Data from this study are compared with similar data from the four earlier surveys to help identify trends that have occurred over time. The survey instrument included some items that were part of one or more of the four previous studies as well as some new items not reported in this article. Readers should refer to the full report to obtain more detailed information about the findings discussed here as well as additional results not presented in this article (McEwin & Greene, forthcoming). The highly successful middle school survey was conducted during the same period in 2009 as the random middle school survey. For the purposes of this study, highly successful middle schools (hereafter, HSMS) were defined as those schools that had been recognized as Schools to Watch by the National Forum to Accelerate Middle Grades Reform or as Breakthrough Middle Schools by the National Association of Secondary School Principals. At the time this study was initiated, 186 middle schools had been identified as Schools to Watch (n=180) or MetLife-NASSP Breakthrough Middle Schools (n=7), and one school was recognized by both programs. …
Published Version
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