In spring 2000, the Southern Regional Education Board, through its Middle Grades Assessment, gathered information from 5,000 eighth-graders and 1,800 middle-grades teachers in 60 schools in 14 states. This brief report describes what that information revealed: a significant difference between the achievement scores of the highest performing 25 percent of students and the lowest performing 25 percent of students. These gaps were true for both white and African American students, and they existed in all three subjects assessed: reading, mathematics, and science. Smaller gaps also existed between white and African American students in both the highest performing and the lowest performing 25 percent of students. The report discusses possible reasons for these gaps based on an analysis of responses to questions from teachers and students about their schools and classrooms. The report also discusses other gaps that affect student learning and achievement: the varying quality of leadership, parents' and teachers' expectations of students, academic guidance, and teaching practices. The report concludes with recommendations on what schools, districts, and states can do to close these gaps in the middle grades. (WFA)