As students enter the middle grades, many lose academic momentum and thus reach ninth grade unprepared. This lack of preparedness snowballs: It leads students to disengage from their studies, causing them to miss opportunities to get back on track in high school and thrive in the years beyond. Sixth grade is a particularly critical juncture.…

While all school transitions are important, the middle to high school shift stands out. It coincides with biological, social, and cognitive changes in young people that began in early adolescence but continue into high school. These changes can be quite stressful, often disrupting students' academic performance and social and emotional well-being…

The purpose of this qualitative case study was to understand teacher and administrator perspectives regarding how a ninth-grade transitional course that began during the fall of 2019 meets student needs during the transition from middle to high school. The high school in which this study was conducted, is referred to as "Midwestern High"…

Some effective components of effective transition programs include using a freshman academy or school-within-a-school model, teacher and peer mentoring and summer bridge programs. This study analyzed the effectiveness of the Gold Program, a middle to high school transition program for at-risk youth in a large urban high school in the southwestern…

Normative transitions between educational settings can be important life events for young people, having the potential to influence mental health trajectories across the life course. Interventions to target transitions have been used to support children and young people as they transition between school settings, but there is limited synthesis of…

Transition is about change, and change comes with its challenges. School transitions are challenging events in students' educational paths, with possible negative effects on their development. The transition from middle school to high school is one of the most difficult, generating many school dropouts. Recovering from disrupted educational…

German primary school students' reading skills have declined between 2016 and 2021, with a deficit of up to one third of a school year. The most significant portion of the decline is attributed to the COVID-19 pandemic experiences. These delays are critical because children have to catch up on skills and knowledge they should already have while…

The transition period of a student from middle school to high school is of critical importance because students who can successfully navigate the first-year physical, academic, and social pressures of high school have the greatest chances for successfully completing high school in four years (Allensworth & Easton, 2005). Students who cannot…

Nearly one quarter of all youth with disabilities attend rural schools. Supporting the successful postschool transitions of these youth can be a complex and challenging endeavor. In this study, we used "community conversation" events as a methodology for identifying the practices and partnerships needed to improve transition outcomes for…

The effects of transitions impact students across academic levels in many ways. The transition to high school can be a vulnerable time; moreover, it may be an optimal time for preventive interventions. As students matriculate and transition from middle to high school, a concentrated effort must be made to improve the practices to best support…

The planning and implementation of effective transition services for students with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) have emerged as crucial aspects of middle school special education. This action research study examines the impact of professional development and collaborative practices on improving transition services for middle school students with…

Some students with disabilities, particularly those with emotional and behavioral disorders, may struggle with transitions, demonstrating inappropriate behaviors during them. Visual supports, previously determined to be an evidence-based practice for students with autism, is a proactive classroom management strategy addressing transitioning. In…

This brief explores the potential of bilingual programs to support access to core content courses for students classified as English Learners (ELs). The most common types of bilingual education programs in Oregon are: (1) dual language: instruction is in English and a partner language, with goals of biliteracy and bilingualism. This is also known…

At The Hockaday School, a private, single-sex school in Texas, many students struggle as they make the transition from eighth to ninth grade. Students feed into the ninth grade from within the school, or from other public and private schools, and come from either boarding or day-school backgrounds. Students may be local, domestic, or…

The expansion and universalization of educational opportunities in many parts of the world raised expectations that education inequality could be alleviated. Contrary to expectations, however, empirical evidence on educational inequality has been revealed. This is because qualitative differentiation of education programs at a certain level of…