Middle schools are increasingly diverse places where students see and interact with peers different from themselves. However, students with and without intellectual disability (ID) have few opportunities to interact--they are together infrequently within extracurricular settings and the classroom. As such, students with ID are on the margins of…

As more and more states make a commitment to specialized middle level teacher preparation, teacher education programs across the country must make the necessary adjustments to ensure middle level teachers are prepared to be successful. Unfortunately, individual state and institutional requirements often make this challenging and can result in…

College assessment models for our future middle school teachers must be varied, on-going, engaging, equitable and empowering. Traditional assessments do not often model the critical components of what makes assessment appropriate for middle level students. To provide the appropriate model for future middle level teachers, the establishment of…

More than 2,300 teachers in 241 schools across 25 states participating in a professional development approach to character education classroom management known as Development Designs 1 and Developmental Designs 2 (DD1 & DD2) were studied throughout the 2008-2009 academic school year. Data from this longitudinal program evaluation indicate that…

Background: Teachers of sexuality education can often be uncertain about what theoretical basis and pedagogical strategies to use in their teaching. Sexuality educational programmes designed by teachers can often show few evident theoretical principles that have been applied in its construction. Thus, there seems to be a dearth of evidence of ways…

Over the last decade, high-stakes test preparation has crept into the inventory of developmentally responsive middle level instructional practices. Amid calls for increased accountability and more rigorous curriculum and academic standards, the middle school movement now finds itself in a spotlight of intense scrutiny. This article examines the…

In "This We Believe," a National Middle School Association position paper revised in 1995, 12 beliefs were identified that would "clarify a vision that will guide the decisions of those responsible for determining young adolescent educational programs." Middle schools across the country have used these beliefs as guidelines.…

Adolescents are challenged to adjust to a new physical sense of self, new intellectual abilities, and cognitive demands; expand verbal skills; establish emotional and psychological independence from parents; establish adult vocational goals; develop productive peer relationships; manage their sexuality; and develop self-control. Transitional…

Middle schools can be developmentally responsive and meet requirements for high-stakes accountability. School cultures must change. The hope for highly implemented, successful programs lies in the principal's facilitation of comprehensive restructuring with broad-based involvement in establishing new visions of teaching and learning and…

To meet recently promulgated standards, teachers are challenged to teach more rigorous, extensive subject-area content, develop varied instructional strategies, and reach a wider range of students. Teachers should be guided by a high-quality curriculum characterized by academic rigor, equity, and developmental responsiveness. (MLH)

Safe, developmentally appropriate play is difficult to achieve when middle schools move into the competitive interscholastic arena. Problems associated with middle-level sports programs include students' predisposition to physical injury, psychological unreadiness, high attrition rates, improper coaching, and liability issues. Improving…

This summary highlights implementation strategies from the full report for restructuring middle grade education in Texas. The task force was guided by a central theme--a vision of Texas schools using each other as resources and the campus planning process as a vehicle for implementing research-based concepts and practices in the middle grades.…

Many young adolescents, possibly as many as half, feel boxed in and bored in their middle schools. Research suggests that schools, parents, and the rest of the community must do more to make middle schools places where young adolescents thrive. In spite of the emergence of the junior high school and later the middle school in the 20th century,…

Researchers and policymakers have pointed to the lagging scores of eighth graders on international, national, and state assessments as evidence that students are not prepared to meet high academic standards and that middle grades reform is needed. In response to these concerns, educators have introduced reforms designed to provide middle-level…

This report envisions Texas schools using one another as resources and the campus planning process as a vehicle for implementing research-based concepts and practices in the middle grades. Since Texas' restructuring effort will not succeed without commitment to staff development from all levels of the education community, the need for teacher and…