The purpose of this quantitative study was to provide school district leaders and policymakers information of the impact grade configuration had on academic performance using math and ELA ILEARN scores over a three-year period. The study included data from 585 schools that were classified into four groups: Elementary Setting, Intermediate Setting,…

Argues how important it is that reading support continue in middle schools. Describes briefly the Young Hoosier Book Award Program for Indiana middle schools. Outlines conditions in schools that seem to affect participation in such programs. (SR)

This publication describes efforts taken in Indiana to improve middle-grade education. The restructuring of the state's urban middle grades has been supported by Lilly Endowment Inc., which founded the Middle Grades Improvement Program (MGIP), 6 years ago. Despite the lack of an overall middle-grade theme in the state Department of Education and…

Activities and resources developed for Indiana middle school teachers to use for instruction about Native Americans are included in this thematic instruction kit. The resource includes a film review, ideas for field trips, vocabulary words, and geographical information. Each activity lists materials, and directions, and identifies an arts…

During the summer of 1990, a university English education professor in Indiana responded to the writing of 20 fourth through seventh graders via a computer installed in his home. The students wrote daily anything ranging from a 3-line haiku to 10-20 computer-screen stories. The classroom teacher took the students through the steps in the writing…

This document consists of an article and a two-page illustration "Putting Together the Pieces of the Puzzle." Noting that individual schools and communities throughout Indiana continue to struggle to meet the needs of young adolescents, the article discusses the work of the Stakeholder Steering Committee of the Middle Grades Reading…

This pamphlet lists authors and titles of a collection of 554 young adolescent books presented to 40 Indiana colleges and universities. Books in the collection listed in the pamphlet were chosen by librarians, consultants, and teachers from five Indiana middle schools. A chart listing contact persons and the location (curriculum center in…

Noting that reading instruction for young adolescents in Indiana's middle grades schools has been virtually eliminated, this booklet describes how important reading is in the middle grades and why it continues to deserve attention beyond the elementary years. The booklet proposes a series of actions that educators--teachers, administrators, school…

A study determined the perceptions of Indiana public school superintendents regarding their role in influencing the development of a community of readers in Indiana middle-grades schools. In 1993-94, subjects, 292 out of a total of 297 public school superintendents, completed surveys related to 10 selected reading issues, including students'…

This report is a study of present practices and task force recommendations for restructuring education for middle-level learners in the State of Indiana. In spring 1989, a survey was distributed to 445 schools statewide that house students of grades 5-9. The responses from the 243 returns indicate that middle-school theory has not been fully…

This booklet presents descriptions of 19 reading programs that encourage Indiana middle-grade students to read. The programs described in the booklet were part of the Middle Grades Reading Network and were funded with competitive $5000 "minigrants." Essays (descriptions of the reading programs) in the booklet are: "Building a…

This booklet is to help Indiana middle school teachers fill the gap in economics education in their curriculum by supplementing world geography and world history courses. The booklet is composed of five different teaching units: (1) "Economic Survival: Resources, Production, and Scarcity"; (2) "Working and Living Together: The…

Many sixth-, seventh-, and eighth-grade students in this nation are intelligent and talented, but are nevertheless performing at unacceptably low levels. Many middle-school initiatives do not address the need for comprehensive change in the policy and practices of district and state educational systems, nor do they address the content, quality,…

This issue of "Progressions" shares the lessons learned by the Lilly Endowment's Education Division from partnerships with educators, librarians, parents, and community activists. The articles look at individual components of the endowment's overall plan to promote reading among youngsters in grades five through nine, and to introduce…

Involving middle school students in decision making is an important way to make them feel that they are part of the educational process in their school, that they are part of the "school team." A key way to involve students is through the creation of a Student Advisory Board (SAB), such as the one in place at Schmucker Middle School in…