What works in middle schools
Posted in Program innovation, ResearchDistricts aiming to raise scores of middle school students shouldn’t count on hiring a messianic principal or jiggling the grade configuration of a school or making vague commitments to excellence – or any single tie-it-in-a-bow policy.
The hard work – and success – come from aligning instruction in every grade to state standards, setting measurable goals, committing to see that all students are prepared for the rigors of high school and staying true to the practices that bring results. Lower-income schools that follow these strategies can overcome the drag of demographics and achieve the success of middle schools in middle-income neighborhoods.
That’s among the key findings of an extensive study of 303 California middle schools covering 204,000 students – the most comprehensive survey of those grades – by the non-profit EdSource and Stanford University Professor Michael Kirst, the lead researcher. With an unusually high 88 percent response rate, 3,572 English language arts and math teachers, including teachers at 27 charter schools, 303 principals and 157 superintendents filled out a survey with 900 specific items on school strategies.
(Read more and comment on this post)
The hard work – and success – come from aligning instruction in every grade to state standards, setting measurable goals, committing to see that all students are prepared for the rigors of high school and staying true to the practices that bring results. Lower-income schools that follow these strategies can overcome the drag of demographics and achieve the success of middle schools in middle-income neighborhoods.
That’s among the key findings of an extensive study of 303 California middle schools covering 204,000 students – the most comprehensive survey of those grades – by the non-profit EdSource and Stanford University Professor Michael Kirst, the lead researcher. With an unusually high 88 percent response rate, 3,572 English language arts and math teachers, including teachers at 27 charter schools, 303 principals and 157 superintendents filled out a survey with 900 specific items on school strategies.
(Read more and comment on this post)
