Gaining Ground in Middle Grades: Why Some Schools Do Better
A new middle grades report from EdSource provided further affirmation of the capacity building efforts of California GEAR UP. What is particularly interesting for GEAR UP schools is the findings suggest schools who have high functioning Leadership Teams that focus the school community on a shared “future oriented” mission are far better off.
Gaining Ground in the Middle Grades: Why Some Schools Do Better, is based on surveys from 303 principals, 3,752 English language arts (ELA) and math teachers in grades 6-8, and 157 superintendents in California. Educator responses were analyzed against spring 2009 scores on California’s standards-based tests in ELA and math in grades 6, 7, and 8, which were taken by close to 204,000 students.
The study was designed to identify the practices and policies that differentiate higher- from lower-performing middle grades schools that serve similar student populations.
But the single most important overarching finding was in how these higher-performing schools create a shared, school-wide intense focus on the improvement of student outcomes:
- They set measurable goals on standards-based tests and benchmark tests across all proficiency levels, grades, and subjects;
- Their school mission is “future oriented,” with curricula and instruction designed to prepare students to succeed in a rigorous high school curriculum;
- They included improvement of student outcomes in evaluations of the superintendent, the principal, and the teachers; and
- They communicate to parents and students their responsibility as well for student learning, including parent contracts, turning in homework, attending class, and asking for help when needed.
Go here to learn more about California GEAR UP middle grades capacity building model. To read the report in full, please visit EdSource report.
Tags: California GEAR UP, EdSource, high performing schools, middle grades reform, middle school reform
[...] student outcomes is the middle grades. Particularly powerful was the monumental 2010 “Gaining Ground” study by EdSource, Michael Kirst, and the American Institutes for Research. Here at California GEAR [...]