Middle Schools or K-8, Which is Better?

The middle school debate has been going on the United States for sometime. Several years ago our superintendent asked me to begin researching whether our district should move away from middle schools to K-8 schools, or not. Last year our Board of Education set up a committee that I was part of to review the middle grade options for our district. Once again, I was involved with these discussions. As recently as yesterday, I was reading about the issues that are developing in NYC schools over the changes in middle schools through out their district.

I am more convinced than ever that how middle school goes for students, so goes their high school education. A recent educational article states, (I do not know if the numbers are accurate but they are worth repeating), that eighth graders who are academically successful have a 8 out of 10 chance of succeeding in high school and moving on to college. A student who is unsuccessful in 8th grade (I take this to mean gaining social promotion into high school) will have a 2 out of 10 chance of succeeding in high school and moving on to college.

Reviewing the research of MacIver, from Johns Hopkins University, and of Weiss, from Columbia University, it is clear to me that the wrong educational question is once again being asked. The answer to educating middle grade students is not found in the school structure, but rather in the planning and implementation of an instructional program, and personalization efforts made by staff and community for a particular school.

Both studies come to the conclusion that middle schools and K-8 schools provide similar outcomes for middle school aged students. The differences that they find are more in what is happening in the classroom and how students feel about attending their school and working with their teacher. If you read my previous blogs you will see how I would approach the middle school issue, so I will not restate it here. However, I will simply say that "Form must follow Function" in determining the structure of the school to be implemented. If a district determines that one size fits all when it comes to working with middle grade students, they will quickly find that they have some successes and some failures in the implementation of that model.

Both studies point out advantages and disadvantages found by their research. In my district we did our own research and came to similar conclusions. My district was large enough that the study had merit as we studied a variety of educational groupings that existed, and with minimal exceptions the academic outcomes were very similar in each setting. What I found interesting and will write about at another time is that there were significant differences for students in the 6th grade in an elementary school compared to 6th grade students in a middle school.

Education is a people activity. It is all about how people talk with, share with, treat, and present to other people. It is about administrators interacting positively and collaboratively with faculty and staff. It is about faculty and staff interacting with students and parents in positive ways. It is about faculty that are collaboratively learning from each other on an ongoing basis. It is about parents feeling comfortable enough to work with their child, their child's teachers, and the other staff members at their child's school. Student learning is a result of these interactions. The more positive the interactions, the more learning will occur.

If you are in a school district that is considering an end to middle school education, I would encourage you to respond to this blog and to read and share the studies by MacIver and Weiss before any final decisions are made. Educating middle school aged students is all about the kids, not the school structure that they attend.

(If you read this article before the links are placed in the article, please return after January 5 and the links will be included in the article)