High stakes tests should assess what the public values from education, but they too often fall short of measuring the many and varied student learning outcomes that actually occur in classrooms. For example, in...

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...

"Let me give you a math story problem." This sentence often strikes fear in many middle grades students as well as some teachers. As international comparisons, national commissions, and state assessment results...

The faculty lounge crackles with disagreements about the new grading policies suggested by the standards-based grading committee. The English department debates whether or not grammar proficiency is a requisite for...

When I talk to colleagues about being a “connected” educator, the first response is often “I don’t have time!” followed by “Why? What’s in it for me?” I can relate....

This mid-point report from a seven-year study about building a college culture investigates how a multifaceted approach including mentoring, technology, campus visits, parent involvement, and tutoring impacts at-risk...

The complexity and magnitude of changes young adolescents experience during the middle school years are profound. Providing them with a learning environment that fosters the development of meaningful relationships is...

The Association for Middle Level Education (AMLE) strongly supports efforts to prevent future acts of violence in our nation’s public schools. As an organization we especially know first-hand what is needed to...

The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between oral reading fluency and performance on a statewide reading achievement test for middle grades students. Participants in this study were 75 seventh...

In December 2007, Walled Lake Consolidated Schools in Michigan faced a dilemma: how to revise the 30-year-old pre-referral process that identified students for special education services. The old process—Student...