The purpose of this study is to understand how a policy that provided college-prep coursework for low-skill students may affect instructional organization within schools, and how such effects on instructional organization may have unintended consequences on academic outcomes of high-skill students who were not targeted by the policy. The author…

Researchers have identified ninth grade as one of the most critical periods of time for intervention to prevent the loss of motivation, failing grades, and dropping out of school. This Information Capsule is concerned with the efficacy of ninth-grade centers or academies which isolate ninth-grade students into separate school buildings or in wings…

Seemingly endless tinkering and adjustment of the structure of education in the United States over the past century have led to the adoption of different school forms (grouping particular grades into separate schools) at different times. These different school forms necessitate transitions between schools (e.g., from a middle school to a high…

The development of the junior high school as a distinct and separate unit of the public-school system is one of the most remarkable and striking chapters in the history of public education in the United States. From humble beginnings in a few scattered cities the movement has gathered momentum until hundreds of school systems have been profoundly…

Junior and junior-senior high schools enroll a large proportion of our early adolescent population. The programs they provide, the services they offer, their administrative practices, and the character of their staffs have far-reaching effects. These programs, services, practices, and staff characteristics constitute the scope of the present…