Education Level: Middle Grades
Middle Grades
Grades 5-8
In early adolescence, interventions are critical to move students up the path to academic success and keep them from veering off course. No transition is more important than the often-difficult one from 8th to 9th grade.
A New Mission for the Middle Grades
Preparing Students for a Changing World
Report of the SREB Middle Grades Commission
The report of the SREB Middle Grades Commission issues an urgent call for states to improve achievement in the middle grades so students are ready for success in rigorous high school courses and better prepared to graduate and proceed to college or technical training. A New Mission for the Middle Grades offers a comprehensive roadmap for change,
Powerful Science Instructional Practices
Explore how SREB’s eight
Powerful Science Instructional Practices engage
students in gathering, analyzing and reasoning with data,
designing studies and experiments, learning and using the
language of science and engineering, cultivating strong literacy
and math skills, and much more.
MDC Is an Obsession for One North Carolina Teacher
Claudia Rodriguez sums up her excitement about the Mathematics Design Collaborative training with one word — obsessed. “I’m obsessed with the formative assessment lessons (FALs),” the North Asheboro Middle School mathematics teacher explains, referencing the formative assessment lessons she used during MDC training. “The FALs are really so rich in content — in math content and precision — that I love it!”
Principal is Key for Math Teachers’ Professional Development
The role of the administrator — attending professional development sessions with teachers and principals and participating in classroom observations and coaching visits — is critical to the successful implementation of the Mathematics Design Collaborative. To support teachers, leadership must understand math achievement gaps in students and the classroom process that teachers are taught to address the gaps.
Beginning With the End in Mind
Katrina Zimmerman is a science and technology teacher at Turrentine Middle School in Burlington, North Carolina. Zimmerman spearheads STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) at her school and is creating a whole new curriculum for it. She began using the Literacy Design Collaborative (LDC) strategies in February 2015, adding it as a curriculum tool for her classroom.
Keeping Middle Grades Students on the Path to Success in High School
This report, part of the Challenge to Lead education goals series, documents the stall of progress in middle grades reading and math achievement. It analyzes results on state assessments and the National Assessment of Education Progress (NAEP) and indicates steps that will help states regain progress in achievement. It also lays out five specific strategies states can use to keep middle grades students on the path to success — from building a better- aligned sequence of math courses, to increasing professional development for middle grades teachers.
Smart Class-Size Policies for Lean Times
This policy brief summarizes class-size reduction policies across the region, reviews research on the issue, and offers recommendations on how states might make sensible adjustments without jeopardizing student achievement.