From his knowledge of the brain and learning, the author argues that Horace Mann's classroom system is the core cause for the outdated state of public education and attendant problems. He asserts that the conventional classroom is brain-antagonistic and the continued use of graded classrooms, ruinous. (Author/WD)

Jerome B. Jones, superintendent in Providence (Rhode Island), explains why a return to K-8 grade organization may solve this city's declining enrollment and other educational problems. (JM)

Traces the middle school movement from the early 1960s through the year 2,000 and beyond. (JM)

Defines grade level as an age grouping that yields an achievement distribution approximating a normal curve, with the distribution average at grade level in a typical school. With an average teacher, an average child gains a year. Educators must accept this normal range of reading achievement and adjust instruction to it. Includes eight…

"Elemiddle" schools serve the needs of young adolescents, aged 10 to 14, in any combination of grades 5 through 8, as part of an organizational structure that includes lower grades. Research has shown that middle schools with 6-8 grade spans and K-8 schools are most likely to implement child-centered programs, practices, and policies than schools…