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.
