School Climate & Safety Report Roundup

Middle Schools

“A National Sample of 8th-Grade Students: The Impact of Middle-Grade Schools on Academic and Psychosocial Competence”
By Sarah D. Sparks — October 24, 2017 1 min read
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Students who attend a middle-grades school may take a hit to their self-confidence in reading—but not to their actual grades, according to a new study in the Journal of Early Adolescence.

New York University researchers analyzed test scores and social-emotional indicators for more than 5,700 students in a nationally representative sample. After controlling for prior achievement and school climate, they found that 8th graders attending 6-8 or 7-9 schools showed no academic difference compared to peers attending K-8 or K-12 schools.

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A version of this article appeared in the October 25, 2017 edition of Education Week as Middle Schools

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