On Top of the News
The Middle School Conundrum
New York Times| June 18, 2012

Behind the Headline
The Middle School Plunge
Education Next | Spring 2012

They’re debating what to do about middle school over at the New York Times Room for Debate blog. “Would these preteens be better off staying in an elementary school that covers kindergarten through eighth grade? Or is there a reason why this age group needs to be sectioned off into a separate middle school?”

Ed Next tackled this issue in a cover story in Winter 2011, “The Middle School Mess”

A study by Marty West and Guido Schwerdt that appeared in the Spring 2012 issue of Ed Next found that moving to a middle school causes a substantial drop in student test scores (relative to that of students who remain in K–8 schools).

A study by Jonah Rockoff and Benjamin Lockwood that was published in the Fall 2010 issue of Ed Next found the same thing.