Middle School

Education news, analysis, and opinion about schools typically serving 6th to 8th grades and the students who attend them
Thu., December 11, 2025, 2:00 p.m. - 4:00 p.m. ET
Reading & Literacy K-12 Essentials Forum Supporting Struggling Readers in Middle and High School
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December 11, 2025
Illustration of crossed out cellphone, equal sign and happy face.
F. Sheehan/Education Week + Getty
Teaching Profession Do Cellphone Bans Curb Teacher Burnout?
Researchers examined the impact on teachers in two middle schools.
Arianna Prothero, November 25, 2025
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4 min read
Photo illustration of a female teen hanging from the very top of a tall stack of books. The background is a sky with clouds.
iStock/Getty
Reading & Literacy 4 Tips for Supporting Older Struggling Readers, From Researchers and Experts
No matter the age, reading draws on the same underlying skills. But teens may need different supports.
Sarah Schwartz, November 24, 2025
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5 min read
Students attend Bow Memorial School in Bow, N.H. on Oct. 29, 2025. Bow Memorial School is a middle school that has developed a systematic approach to addressing foundational reading gaps in middle school students.
New data show that many educators report that middle and high school students struggle with aspects of foundational literacy. At Bow Memorial School in Bow, N.H., pictured on Oct. 29, 2025, students work with reading specialist Loralyn LaBombard, who has helped pioneer a systematic approach to addressing foundational reading gaps in grades 5 to 8.
Sophie Park for Education Week
Reading & Literacy Secondary Students Are Struggling With Reading, Too. A Look at the Landscape
Exclusive survey findings outline how educators perceive the obstacles affecting older students' reading.
Stephen Sawchuk, November 24, 2025
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5 min read
High school teachers learn how to teach reading to struggling older readers during an AIM training at Marietta High School in Marietta, Ga., on Nov. 10, 2025.
Most secondary educators don't get much teacher preparation to help students struggling to read. Realizing that its teachers needed help, the Marietta district in Georgia has invested in PD that gives high school teachers techniques for integrating word-reading, vocabulary, and other skills, like this workshop at Marietta High School on Nov. 10, 2025.
Jason Drakeford for Education Week
Professional Development Teachers Need Help Reaching Teens Who Missed Basic Reading Skills. Can PD Help?
There are far fewer PD providers to train secondary teachers on reading fundamentals.
Caitlynn Peetz Stephens, November 24, 2025
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9 min read
High school teachers learn how to teach reading to struggling older readers during an AIM training at Marietta High School in Marietta, Ga., on Nov. 10, 2025.
High school teachers learn how to teach reading to struggling older readers during an AIM training at Marietta High School in Marietta, Ga., on Nov. 10, 2025.
Jason Drakeford for Education Week
Professional Development Video How One District Is Getting Secondary Teachers Up to Speed on Reading Support
A district invests in improving secondary teachers' knowledge to help students needing reading support.
Caitlynn Peetz Stephens, November 24, 2025
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1 min read
Students attend Bow Memorial School in Bow, N.H. on Oct. 29, 2025. Bow Memorial School is a middle school that has developed a systematic approach to addressing foundational reading gaps in middle school students.
Though states have put an emphasis on reading intervention, most don't specify how to help students beyond grade 3. Older students may need more support on vocabulary development, or understanding how word parts convey meaning. Middle school students learn about suffixes at Bow Memorial School in Bow, N.H. on Oct. 29, 2025. The school has developed a systematic approach to addressing foundational reading gaps in grades 5-8.
Sophie Park for Education Week
States State Reading Laws Focus on K-3. What About Older Students Who Struggle?
Should lawmakers push reading legislation to address the needs of students beyond elementary grades?
Evie Blad, November 24, 2025
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8 min read
A student shows their spelling of the word “knew” during an exercise in a fifth grade structured literacy class at Bow Memorial School in Bow, N.H. on Oct. 29, 2025. Bow Memorial School is a middle school that has developed a systematic approach to addressing foundational reading gaps in middle school students.
Bow Memorial School has developed a systematic approach to addressing foundational reading gaps among middle schoolers, integrating sound-letter skills with a rich diet of reading materials. A student shows their spelling during an exercise in a 5th grade class at the school in Bow, N.H. on Oct. 29, 2025.
Sophie Park for Education Week
Reading & Literacy When Older Students Can't Read: How This Middle School Is Tackling Literacy
Structured literacy classes at a New Hampshire middle school have helped some students crack the code.
Sarah Schwartz, November 24, 2025
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14 min read
AI Reading BS
Ashley Gutierrez for Education Week
Artificial Intelligence Video These Students Are Using AI to Visualize Their Reading Comprehension
Students learn how to write AI prompts while demonstrating reading comprehension in this middle school classroom.
Jaclyn Borowski & Kaylee Domzalski, November 13, 2025
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2:40
Xavier Reed, principal of Maple Grove Middle School in Maple Grove, Minn., high fives a student.
Xavier Reed, principal of Maple Grove Middle School in Maple Grove, Minn., high fives a student.
Courtesy of Xavier Reed
School & District Management The Middle School Transition Is Tough. How Educators Can Help
A new partnership aims to ease the transition from elementary school to middle school.
Jennifer Vilcarino, November 11, 2025
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4 min read
Flat vibrant vector illustration depicting science education and learning concept. Illustration is showing different ways of learning: listening, watching, observing, exploring, experimenting, asking questions, talking and communicating, reading, drawing, and writing. The female teacher is placed on the right side and there are also two pupils each one representing different theme; one girl asking question and learning by listening and a boy holding a hand up to answer a question.
DigitalVision Vectors/Getty
Science Opinion Science Scores Are Down. But We Know What Would Improve Them
The when, where, and how of science instruction needs rethinking.
Emma Banay, Christine Cunningham & James Ryan, October 9, 2025
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4 min read
Middle school students learn about the value and shape of matter while building containers to hold liquid during an 8th grade science class at Boys’ Latin School of Maryland on Oct. 24, 2024 in Baltimore, Md.
Eighth graders learn about the value and shape of matter while building containers to hold liquid during a science class at Boys’ Latin School of Maryland on Oct. 24, 2024, in Baltimore. Nationally, 8th graders lost ground in science, according to the 2024 National Assessment of Educational Progress.
Jaclyn Borowski/Education Week
Science What's Behind the Drop in Students' Science Scores on NAEP?
Survey results from the National Assessment of Educational Progress show 8th graders do less scientific inquiry now than five years ago.
Sarah Schwartz, September 10, 2025
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4 min read
070125 ISTE KD 22 BS
Jennifer Watkins, who runs a STEM program for the Fouke school district in rural Arkansas, shared how she uses inexpensive ed-tech tools to help students understand robotics at the ISTE+ASCD annual technology and learning conference this summer.
Kaylee Domzalski/Education Week
Classroom Technology How One Teacher Built a STEM and Robotics Program on a Shoestring Budget
This rural Arkansas elementary and middle school teacher gives her students rich STEM experiences by using a creative mix of tools.
Alyson Klein, September 4, 2025
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4 min read
A student works on math problems in a fourth grade classroom in Compton, Calif. on February. 6, 2025.
A student works on math problems in a classroom in Compton, Calif. on Feb. 6, 2025. At least one state, Louisiana, is now investing in training all its middle school math teachers on how they can build on skills learned in elementary math.
Eric Thayer/AP
Professional Development Why This State Is Requiring 50 Hours of Math Training for Teachers
Some teachers said they still wanted more practical strategies to support students who were multiple grade levels behind.
Sarah Schwartz, July 30, 2025
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8 min read
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