This article identifies Alec Clegg as the leading figure behind the English middle-school movement from the late 1960s. It is argued that the rise of middle schools was sustained by Clegg's astute understanding, which he transmitted to other local education authorities, that the political imperative of comprehensive reorganisation need not…

In this article, the coeditors of "Voices from the Middle" present an interview with James Maguire, author of "The American Bee: The National Spelling Bee and the Culture of Word Nerds." During the interview, Maguire talked about his experiences with the National Spelling Bee to provide some insight to middle-level teachers and students. Maguire…

During the twenty to twenty-five years after World War II, children in the United States were increasingly taught to understand their nation, its history, and its economic greatness--as an "economy"--rather than in social, moral, philosophical, or political terms. During this time period, not only did an economics education movement…

In the May 2009 issue of "English Journal", we reported on our analysis of data from the National Assessment of Educational Progress to provide a first look at changes in the teaching of writing over the past 30 years. In this article, we provide a more detailed look, drawing on data collected from visits to 260 English, math, social…

A debate over the quality of teacher education programs has been ongoing for nearly 100 years. The most current round in this debate started with "A Nation at Risk" (National Commission on Excellence in Education, 1983) and has escalated in recent years to involve an increasing number of participant-constituents, each of whom has voiced…

Full-day pre-K students from the 2001-2002 cohort were more likely to pass the 2010 7th-grade reading TAKS than were kindergarten students from the 2002-2003 cohort who were assumed eligible for pre-K but did not attend pre-K in 2001-2002. There is a full report and a separate executive summary report. [For the executive summary of this study, see…

In the United Kingdom, television for schools is 50 years old in 2007. The anniversary provides a reason to undertake an exploratory history of school broadcasting, an area that has received very little attention from historians of British education. The first part of this article examines the origins of school radio broadcasting, focusing…

The International Baccalaureate (IB) programs and Montessori education both claim to promote values associated with global citizenship in order to help prepare students for new challenges presented by an increasingly globalized world. While the IB's secondary programs are widespread in international schools, Montessori programs at that level are…

For the last 40 years, the author has had the privilege of being a participant/observer/reporter in middle grades education in a wide variety of circumstances, both in the United States and abroad. During this lengthy period, the author has observed and reported on what he considers to be a continuing series of accomplishments in middle grades…

In February 1899, the Committee of Physical Culture of the Chicago Public School Board approved an intensive "anthropometric" study of all children enrolled in the city's public schools. The study was a detailed attempt to measure the height, weight, strength, lung capacity, hearing, and general fitness of Chicago's student population.…

This article, reprinted from "Arithmetic Teacher" in 1979, as part of the "MT" 100 celebration, discusses the importance of fractions.

Usiskin takes another look at fractions, years after writing the article "The Future of Fractions" for "Arithmetic Teacher."

What is the "best" way to pay teachers? Should teachers be paid based only on their experience and education, or does this merely reward mediocrity? Would it be better to base teachers' pay on their performance in the classroom or their students' learning, or would this undermine cooperation among colleagues and encourage an unhealthy…

For over 30 years, arts education has been a low priority in the nation's public schools. Arts teaching positions were cut, and arts education in schools has dwindled as schools try to increase test scores in mathematics and reading within the time constraints of the school day. Some communities have responded with initiatives aimed at…

Four Chinese middle school students represented China during the third International Geography Olympiad (IGEO) held in 2000 in Korea and that was the first time for China to participate in the IGEO. In 2005 the China Society of Geography and the Beijing Normal University decided to co-organise the China National Geography Competition (CNGC) for…