The neglected middle classes

The news from a national testing program was terrific, at least for 9-year-olds. In the most recent set of multi-state reading and math tests, fourth-graders scored much better than they did a few years ago. And the test scores of black and Latino students improved by bigger margins, catching up to the rest.

Eighth-graders, though, showed mixed results: a small improvement in math, flat in reading. High school students actually dropped a bit in both.

The same pattern appears on a wide variety of assessments. U.S. high school students test in the mediocre-to-dismal range in international comparisons on math, science and reading; eighth-graders also score below average. Yet fourth-graders are close to the top in reading and science, and above average in math.

Something is going on between fourth grade and high school. Mostly, it’s called middle school. Gains made in early years are slipping away after fourth grade. Yet middle schools have been all but ignored in most state, national and local reform efforts.

Consider the L.A. school board’s recent decision to require all high school students to complete the full range of college-prep courses. Supporters of the requirement readily admit that the problem lies with inadequate preparation in the middle schools. Yet their plans so far add money only to high schools.

Elementary schools have received extra money for smaller class sizes; high schools are shifting to trendy “small learning communities.” But middle school teachers are left to struggle.

A handful of schools across the nation provide models for reform. The nonprofit Knowledge Is Power Program charter schools (for grades five to eight) lengthen the school day and year and provide immediate rewards for good work. They confront the tendency to skip homework by immediately calling surprised parents. A principal in Baltimore puts students in learning groups that stay with the same teachers throughout their middle-school years, making the school more personal and accountable. New York Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg has made middle school the latest target of his education efforts, recently announcing plans to hold back failing seventh-graders, but coupling that with a promise of $40 million for remedial help.

There’s no single solution to the middle-school miasma. But it’s clear that the current focus on high schools is ignoring a group of students that needs more attention and more help.