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Building Bridges Between
Middle Schools and High Schools
In preparation for a conversation among middle school and high school teachers
and principals, we posted this question on the Middle-L middle grades listserv:
"When high school people criticize middle schools for failing to adequately
prepare students to succeed academically in 9th grade, how do you react?
Is this legitimate criticism? What should principals and teachers from both
sides be doing to better insure a successful transition?"
Here are some answers we received by public and private mail. We might add
that during our live conversation at a professional development conference,
one 9th grade teacher told our group that her high school had cut its 9th
grade retention rate *in half* by opening up a significant, on-going conversation
about curriculum and teaching practices with 8th grade teachers at its feeder
middle school.
We've also included e-mail from a pair of university
researchers who publish a newsletter about transitioning from middle
school to high school.
From a middle school principal in Alaska--
"I think both groups need to improve communication. Middle schools
are supposed to be caring places focused on the learner's needs academically,
socially, emotionally and physically. We're all about making choices and
making it possible for students to explore new ways to apply their skills
to their own interests and experiences. Somewhere in here is high academic
standards, but we are preparing students for more than high school. We must
allow students to connect what they are learning with the real world .
"Our high school counterparts place more emphasis on academics, while
they forget that the passage through adolescence is a difficult period for
students. I believe ninth grade teachers need to do more of what we are
doing - giving students a lot of support and opportunities to grow personally
as well as academically.
"Many students in middle school could go directly to high school and
be successful. Many, however, cannot, and we must provide for both groups
of students.
"The research is clear that kids can succeed at a high level. But sometimes
teaching knowledge and skills must take a back seat to the attitudes and
values which kids must have prior to become productive citizens, successful
learners, and having high self esteem."
But a middle school coordinator in California says--
"We have to quit using adolescent development as an excuse for not
teaching kids the skills and knowledge they have got to have to make it
through high school and out into the world. Yes, they need lots of support.
Yes, they need to believe in themselves. Yes, they can be difficult to teach
if you expect them to sit in rows all day while you lecture at them. That's
why we have special schools and special teachers for them. They need something
special and different."
Another middle school principal in the Midwest says--
"I take the viewpoint of the quality movement. Our customers are the
parents, the teachers in the next grade level, and the community. So we
see high school teachers as part of our customer group, and our teachers
need to spend time talking with them. We all share responsibility for the
final 'product' - a young adult with the skills and knowledge to succeed."
A high school math teacher in Texas wrote--
"I'm a high school teacher who tries not to criticize the middle school
teacher. But I know I must have at some point, because I am human and I
get frustrated.
"I had an experience that made me more understanding, however, when
a student I had in Algebra I showed up in my Algebra II class the next year.
The number of things that he had learned and then forgotten was scary. He
used the line that 'my last teacher didn't teach me that' --then cringed
when he realized I was that person!
"Retention is one of our biggest enemies and may be the basis of much
of the inter-school finger-pointing. I realize that some teachers are stronger
than others, but I can't believe that the 15-year-old kid in my room hasn't
had some great teachers along the way."
A high school teacher in Louisiana says--
"Too many times there is no vertical conversation between subject area
teachers in middle school and high school. The teachers are usually on different
campuses and don't have a clue about what their counterparts are teaching-other
than what the kids say is going on. We need some really structured conversations.
"I would like to visit with the middle school and elementary teacher
to find out what their current scope and sequence is. I would rather they
spent more time on the basics and corresponding word problems and less time
on abstract thinking. Most of the kids aren't ready for the abstract thinking
and spend so much time on it that they come to high school not knowing basic
multiplication facts or being able to tell the difference in simple +, -,
x, or division problems."
A middle school principal in Michigan says that in his school district
. . .
". . .This is an on-going conversation between high school and middle
school people. We answer by stating that our level of academic rigor is
very high and no time nor effort is sacrificed from that rigor to be used
for nurturing and stimulating individual and social growth among our students.
There is time enough for both.
"Academic rigor and stimulting and nurturing growth are not mutually
exclusive, but rather, are mutually supportive and should be each teacher's,
each school's, each educational level's dual mission. It is not that we
are doing too much nurturing at the expense of academic rigor; it is that
high schools are doing too little! But I'm afraid trying to change the high
school mindset about this is like tilting at windmills."
A middle school teacher in Virginia says her school has had conversations
with their elementary school feeders--
"We met in vertical groups to discuss scope and sequence. We call it
backward mapping. We began by focusing on language arts. We identified what
we teach at each grade level which helped us begin a conversation with the
elementary teachers about what we assumed they were teaching. There were
lots of surprises!
"We had some friendly disagreements, but it has worked out well in
developing a true continuum and increased awareness and communication. I
think we could have the same experience with 9th grade teachers, and even
include the 10th grade. It's something we look forward to doing.
A Maryland middle school teacher reveals the resentment some middle
school teachers harbor toward their high school critics when she says--
"We middle school teachers spend so much time telling the kids how
strict it is in high school and how many rules there will be. On our "field
trip" orientation to the high school, students were informed by the
assistant principal that the most exciting thing about high school would
be getting to eat and drink in the classroom! During the time that we were
assembled in the auditorium, high school students wandered in and out, yelled
out to friends and were generally disruptive. The administrators presenting
the orientation did not react at all.
"Needless to say, upon our return to school, the kids were more wound
up about all the freedom they would have, and little else. It was very discouraging
to those of us who have spent the entire school year encouraging responsibility
and telling our students they need to prepare for high school's academic
challenges. No wonder our students have problems when they get there!"
A Florida middle school teacher thinks high school teachers are
arrogant--
"High school teachers have a superior attitude about what they do.
Most of them wouldn't last a week in middle school, especially if they tried
to ignore the non-academic needs of these kids. I agree we need to get together
and have a conversation about what they expect our kids to know. But I'm
not sure they can treat us as peers and colleagues, and if they can't, it
won't work."
A high school teacher in the Southwest wrote--
"For administrators that may be reading this, please consider some
of your in-service time for vertical teaming across campuses. Teachers don't
have time to do it on their own. Let all the teachers work in multiple vertical
groups, not just the select few that always do it. But keep the groups small
so that everyone will participate."
Two university researchers offer
findings
from their study of middle/high transitions--
My colleague Lena' Morgan and I have been actively pursuing the middle school
to high school transiition for the past four years. What started as a query
(I'm a former middle school principal and she's former high school AP) because
I was concerned that the students I sent to the high school (brazen, bold,
self-confident) became shy and concerned that they wouldn't make it at the
high school.
We conducted an initial study of 17 middle schools and the 14 high schools
that the students attended located within our university's service area.
We found that the most at-risk population was the Caucasian female. A focus
group we held with several of the participating faculties provided us with
some background for this conclusion. It was their opinion that the Caucasian
females (we looked at gender and race--in our area that is Caucasian and
African-American) had developed the "Barbie Doll Syndrome" (they
wanted to be "stick skinny," blond-haired, and blue-eyed). The
African-American females, we were told, were very self-assured and satisfied
with their self-concept. Our data supported these notions.
We then expanded our study to include all of the school systems in the states
of Georgia and Florida. From our initial mailing, we selected 97 middle
schools and the high schools to which they send their students (56 high
schools in all). We gathered demographic data on each of these schools,
grouped them by size, "middle schoolness" (m.s. only), SES, and
transition practices implemented at both or either of the schools and then
developed a matrix of the schools. We also looked at the ninth grade retention
rates and the high school's drop out rates of the schools involved in the
study.
From our findings we found that some schools (middle and high) conducted
only a building tour and followed that with the high school counselor assisting
the 8th grade students in high school registration. These schools had the
highest dropout and retention rates. The bottom line was that the more extensive
the transition program, the lower the drop out rate and retention rate (9th
grade).
We also looked at the Pupil Control Ideology of the faculties of the 8th
and 9th grade. This scale places school professionals on a continuum from
humanitarian to custodial. Believe it or not, the high schools were significantly
more custodial (controlled the students, watched over them, etc.) than the
middle school. In addition, we looked at the leadership style of the administrators
of the two schools. Using a scale that provided results as Authoritarian,
Democratic, and Laissez-Faire, we found that the administrators in the middle
school were significantly more Democratic (asked for faculty input-type)
than their high school counterparts. The high school administrators were
significantly more Authoritarian (control-oriented, micro-manage) than their
middle school counterparts.
As we have been working with schools throughout the country, we have had
interesting results from those schools who have implemented transition programs
or have increased their transition practices. These schools have lowered
their retention rates in 9th grade and lowered their dropout rates at the
high school. In fact, in our part of the country, where success of programs
is measured by the success of the school's football team, one of the systems
actually moved from a class AA football school to a class AAA football school
because class is based on student enrollement.
A spin-off from our studies has been the development of the Center for Transition
Studies here at Augusta State University. We have presented our findings
at conferences around the country and publish a FREE newsletter entitled
"Transition Out Update" which keeps our readers aware of our research.
This newsletter is published in January and August and within it we include
recommendations to ease the transition for students going from middle school
to high school.
Our next study (mailouts were done TODAY) is in conjunction with the National
Association of Secondary School Principals and will include 400 radomly
selected middle schools throughout the country. Further information about
our work can be obtained by dropping us an e-mail or phone call. To be included
on our newsletter mailing list, just give us an e-mail.
C. Jay Hertzog
Professor and Chair
Center for Transition Studies
Department of Clinical and Professional Studies
Augusta State University
Augusta, GA 30904-2200
P. Lena' Morgan
Associate Professor
George Mason University
Fairfax, VA
Here's a pertinent poem we shared with our high
school/middle school discussion group.
Here are some good ideas about transitioning from
fifth to sixth grade . . .
And here's some comments from an NASSP national
principal of the year about transitioning in her Kentucky school system
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