from EdSource

Educators widely recognize that the quality of preparation in middle school often determines whether our young people will succeed in high school and beyond. This is a particularly important challenge in California—the nation’s largest and most diverse state—which educates one out of eight middle grades students in the United States.

What district and school policies and practices are linked to higher student performance in the middle grades? To find out, a research team led by EdSource spent 18 months conducting the most extensive study ever of middle grades.

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This study did not find a consistent or strong association between student outcomes on standards based tests and school grade configuration or organizational models of teachers and instruction.

In fact, based on the survey data it seems that a school’s organization of classroom instruction cannot always be assumed from the school’s grade configuration. In particular, almost all 6-8 and 7-8 middle grades schools appear to be more alike than different in how they configure core instruction and in their use of subject matter departments. This appears to be true whether they take an interdisciplinary approach or have teachers assigned to only one subject.

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FINDING: An intense schoolwide focus on improving academic outcomes most
distinguishes higher- from lower-performing middle grades schools.

FINDING: In higher-performing schools, curricula and instruction are closely aligned
with state academic standards.

FINDING: Higher-performing schools use assessment and other student data extensively to improve student learning and teacher practice.

FINDING: Higher-performing middle grades schools emphasize early identification
and proactive intervention for student academic needs.

FINDING: Every role in a professional community of educators is important to making gains in middle grades student outcomes.

FINDING: Leadership of the superintendent and support from the district were strongly associated with higher student outcomes.

FINDING: The changing role of the principal in driving student outcome gains,orchestrating school improvement efforts, and serving as the linchpin between district and teaching staff members, was documented in multiple ways in this study.

FINDING: Teachers with strong competencies, substantive evaluation of their practice, and adequate availability of support, time, and resources work collectively to improve student outcomes schoolwide and individually to improve instruction.

FINDING: The school’s environment and organization of time and instruction were not
strongly associated with improved student outcomes, although some practices were
associated with higher-performing schools.

Besides EdSource, the team included professors Michael Kirst (as principal investigator) and Edward Haertel (as technical director) of Stanford University; senior research scientist Jesse Levin (as principal data analyst) at American Institutes for Research. Special consultants included William Padia (retired) deputy superintendent of Assessment and Accountability, California Department of Education; and Robert Balfanz, principal research scientist, Everyone Graduates Center, Johns Hopkins University. Bios for full team below.

The study surveyed more than 4,000 California teachers, principals, and superintendents about a wide range of middle grades practices. To see what higher-performing schools did, the responses were then analyzed against school-level student outcomes on standards-based state tests in English language arts and math, controlling for student background.

The major contribution of this study is the set of inter-related, actionable practices that middle grades educators and leaders can implement now by making smart, strategic choices.

Narrative Summary - Gaining Ground in the Middle Grades: Why Some Schools Do Better - This 22-page report provides a broad overview of the methodology, limitations, and findings of EdSource's large-scale study of 303 middle grades schools in California. February 2010

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Initial Research Report - Gaining Ground in the Middle Grades: Why Some Schools Do Better

74 pages February 2010

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Gaining Ground in the Middle Grades: Research Methodology and Analyses

21 pages February 2010

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Gaining Ground in the Middle Grades: Descriptive Statistics of the Middle Grades Study Schools

13 pages February 2010

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Gaining Ground in the Middle Grades: Findings and Domain Comparisons

53 pages February 2010

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Gaining Ground in the Middle Grades: Full Research Bibliography

18 pages February 2010

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Letter from Reed Hastings and Carl Cohn

1 page
February 2010

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Press Release - Gaining Ground in the Middle Grades: Why Some Schools Do Better

3 pages February 2010

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About the Research Team - Gaining Ground in the Middle Grades

4 pages February 2010