- MiddleWeb.com: This site on the World Wide Web explores the challenges of middle-level reform in the districts supported by the Edna McConnell Clark Foundation, including the implementation of academic standards in the districts. It provides links and resources, with a special focus on classroom assessment, academic standards, and performance-based teaching.
- National Forum To Accelerate Middle-Grades Reform: The group of educators, researchers, state and regional school leaders, and representatives of national education associations focuses on improving education for middle-grades students.
- Figuring It Out: Standards-Based Reforms in Urban Middle Grades, by Anne C. Lewis, published by the Edna McConnell Clark Foundation, 1999, examines the efforts of six urban districts to use academic standards to improve their middle schools: (212) 551-9118.
- Education Development Center: The center designs curricula and educational tools, houses one of six dissemination centers for National Science Foundation math and science programs, and is writing curriculum guides to help educators select high-quality materials.
- Gear Up, a federal grant program, is designed to give low-income middle schoolers and their families early awareness of higher education and various pathways to achieve postsecondary education: Gearup@ed.gov.
- “What Works in the Middle: Results-Based Staff Development,” from the National Staff Development Council, is a guide to programs that have demonstrated a contribution to higher student achievement in the middle grades. The publication also includes information on selecting and designing initiatives to improve student performance and strategies for evaluating staff development: (513) 523-6029.
- Safe To Be Smart: Building a Culture for Standards-Based Reform in the Middle Grades, by Anne Wheelock, published by the National Middle School Association, 1998 outlines the challenge of implementing standards in all classrooms for all students: (800) 528-6672.
- Connecting the Curriculum Through Interdisciplinary Instruction, by John H. Lounsbury, published by the National Middle School Association, 1992, provides examples and guidelines for interdisciplinary teaching: (800)528-6672.
- A Middle School Curriculum: From Rhetoric to Reality, by James A. Beane, published by the National Middle School Association, 1993, offers a critique of middle school curriculum and alternatives: (800) 528-6672.
A version of this article appeared in the October 04, 2000 edition of Education Week as Resource Guide
