School & District Management Report Roundup

Middle School Performance

By Debra Viadero — February 05, 2008 1 min read
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The study was conducted by Just for the Kids-New York, which is the state affiliate of Just for the Kids, a national nonprofit organization based at the University of Texas at Austin.

Higher-performing middle schools share many of the same practices and attributes, concludes a study of 15 New York state middle schools that serve larger-than-average percentages of poor students.

Researchers compared practices at 10 successful middle schools and those at five average-performing middle schools with similar demographic profiles and funding levels. They found that the better-performing schools stressed teamwork, collaboration, and common educational goals. Educators at those schools also worked to give students a sense of social and emotional well-being and routinely gathered and analyzed data to help them make decisions about programs and instructional practices.

The study was conducted by Just for the Kids-New York, which is the state affiliate of Just for the Kids, a national nonprofit organization based at the University of Texas at Austin.

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A version of this article appeared in the February 06, 2008 edition of Education Week

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