For all students, the transition to high school may lead to lower academic achievement and adjustment problems. Black students are at greater risk for academic and social decline during this transition. Holcomb-McCoy identifies four obstacles that make black students more vulnerable as they navigate the transition into high school: stereotyping in…

Several schools that eschewed the middle school model and remained K-8 discovered anecdotally that their students showed fewer behavioral problems and higher academic achievement than many students enrolled in middle schools. On the basis of studies that verified these observations, school district leaders in Milwaukee, Baltimore, and Philadelphia…