Thursday, February 23, 2012

Education Research Report: Attending middle school increases risk of dropping out of high school

Education Research Report: Attending middle school increases risk of dropping out of high school:

Attending middle school increases risk of dropping out of high school

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As compared to students in K-8 elementary schools, middle school students also score lower on achievement tests. Losses amount to as much as 3.5 to 7 months of learning.


A new study of statewide data from all Florida public schools, “The Middle School Plunge: Achievement tumbles when young students change schools,” finds that moving to a middle school in grade 6 or 7 causes a substantial drop in student test scores relative to those of students who remain in K-8 schools, and increases the likelihood of dropping out of high school.

In the past ten years, urban school districts such as New York City, Baltimore, Milwaukee, Philadelphia, and Charlotte-Mecklenburg have reorganized some middle schools along the once-prevalent K-8 model. The study’s findings support these school conversions and “are also relevant to the expanding charter school sector, which has the opportunity to choose grade configurations” when schools are established.

Data on state math and reading test scores for all Florida students attending public schools in grades 3 to 10 from the 2000-01 through 2008-09

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