One of the hallmarks of middle level education is the process of understanding students and responding to their needs. In recent years, researchers have stressed the role of assessment in this process. As expectations...

Research has shown that, particularly in high-poverty environments, students' middle grades experiences are critical in launching them toward achievement and attainment or placing them on a path of frustration,...

A caring classroom environment is a key factor in students' success in school (Kohn, 2005; Noddings, 1995). Young adolescents, in particular, need the support and encouragement of an adult advocate who cares and...

Teacher quality is an important school-level factor in student achievement (Rivkin, Hanushek, & Kain, 2005) and the focus of ongoing effort by policy makers and practitioners to ensure that all students have...

High Expectations In accord with the Association for Middle Level Education's (AMLE) This We Believe tenets (National Middle School Association, 2010), teachers of middle level grades should implement curriculum that...

Over the last several decades, discussion regarding the most appropriate methods for educating children with disabilities has abounded (Itkonen, 2007). The term inclusion arose as a result of this discussion, but,...

A professional learning community (PLC) is more than a group of individuals meeting together to read a common book or discuss a relevant issue. According to Huffman and Hipp (2003), PLCs are a way of working; "a...

Assessment is important for middle level teachers and their students. In fact, the Association for Middle Level Education (AMLE) highlighted curriculum, instruction, and assessment in This We Believe: Keys to...

Interdisciplinary teams with common planning time have been a hallmark of the middle school organizational structure since the 1960s, yet research on the effective use of common planning time is limited. This study...

As the number of immigrants and refugees grows in the United States, the linguistic and cultural diversity that comprises the middle grades classroom continues to increase. Given the need for resources and specific...