To promote academic success for young adolescents, schools must meet the following developmental needs: (1) positive social interaction with adults and peers; (2) structure and clear limits; (3) competency and achievement; (4) creative expression; (5) physical activity; (6) meaningful participation in their families, schools, and communities; and…

A survey of middle-level teachers in rural and remote South Dakota schools found that teachers generally supported middle-school concepts but felt professionally isolated and limited by scarce resources. Principals can help by providing inservice education and staff development, alternative scheduling for increased collaboration, and encouragement…

Consists of three sections bound together by a common theme and reference list. The first section, by Gail Burnaford, addresses teacher action research as essential for motivating students and giving teachers a voice in curriculum. Section 2, by James Beane, explores common assumptions behind action research and integrative curriculum. Section 3,…

Assesses the concerns raised by a group of middle-level teachers when developing and implementing interdisciplinary curriculum, teaming, and teaching. Participants progressed through various stages, including information, personal, management, and collaboration. Concerns at each level had to be resolved before teachers could reach the final…

Best way to prevent high school students from dropping out is to address problems at elementary or middle school. At-risk students do not differ greatly from other middle-school students but need specific individualized assistance with academic skills and warm, nurturing advocate to help build self-esteem and achieve success in school work. Middle…

The Future Problem Solving process engages middle school students in real-world issues by creating a multidisciplinary "think tank" environment requiring them to apply both divergent (brainstorming, creativity, flexibility) and convergent (analysis, synthesis, evaluation) strategies to political problems. The process can accurately…

By coupling the creative synergy of a school's staff with some field-tested planning strategies, any advisory program can be improved and focused on students' concerns. This article describes a middle school's efforts to link thematic units for learning with advisement opportunities. Step-by-step lesson plans for exploring stereotypical…

Students find performance-based assessment exciting because the tasks are intriguing and mirror real-life experiences. As this vignette of a middle school interdisciplinary coastal ecology unit shows, hands-on, teacher-made assessments can effectively evaluate students' mastery of process skills such as observing, classifying, inferring,…

Testing is a technology, a socially mediated, value-laden endeavor. Technologies embody trade-offs between what is desired and real-world constraints of cost, time, thought, and energy. Although alternative assessments offer exciting prospects for middle schools, these new forms must not be misused or naively accepted as defensible, consummate…

Examines what is measured by current testing instruments and details the components of a comprehensive assessment system that includes testing and alternative, authentic measures as the basis for judgments about student progress. Types of tests include norm-referenced, criterion-referenced, and performance-based assessments. The more accurate the…

The essential idea of alternative assessment modes is for students to create some product and reflect on it. The authenticity of tasks means using regular classroom instruction as an opportunity for student assessment. Reflective self-evaluation should be an integral part of every classroom assignment, not an obligatory afterthought. Developing…

Discusses motivation systems theory and the complexity of motivation. Recommends that teachers reframe traditional dual dichotomies concerning intrinsic versus extrinsic orientations in motivation, intellectual challenge versus self-esteem development, or personal growth versus shared standards by blending the best assets from both to create…

Describes a whole-class strategy called Imagine, Elaborate, Predict, and Confirm designed to improve reading comprehension and writing among middle school students. Reviews research and describes modeling, prereading, reading, post reading, and follow-up stages for classroom procedures. Includes sample lessons for science, literature, and social…

Describes a special language arts/social studies unit inspired by students' response to a Channel One newscast about starving Somalians. Letter-writing and fund-raising activities helped these middle-level students make closer connections with the world, construct powerful meanings around their own concerns and those of society, integrate self and…

A brief history of East Ridge Middle School in Connecticut illustrates the strong economic and demographic pressures that can work against a middle school. The principal plays a crucial role in preserving both the structure and the programs of an effective middle school. Points out strategies to protect and develop middle schools in tough economic…