Study Suggests Middle School Transition Linked To Academic Setbacks

Education Week (11/29, Sparks) reports, "While policymakers and researchers alike have focused on improving students' transition into high school, a new study of Florida schools suggests the critical transition problem may happen years before, when students enter middle school," finding "that students moving from grade 5 into middle school show a 'sharp drop' in math and language arts achievement in the transition year that plagues them as far out as 10th grade, even risking thwarting their ability to graduate high school and go on to college." According to the study, "after the 6th grade transition, middle school students fell by .12 standard deviations in math and .09 standard deviations in reading compared with students at K-8 schools." Additionally, "students who had attended a middle school were 18 percent more likely than students who attended a K-8 school before high school to not enroll in grade 10 after attending grade 9-an indicator that they may have dropped out."