Editor's Note

Editor, Pat George

All eyes seem to be focused

on the middle level lately—specifically on the important role it plays in ensuring students succeed not only in high school but in college and beyond. Clearly, middle level is more than a "bridge" between elementary and high school. It often is described as the "last best chance" to ensure students are on track to succeed.

Research and field work by Robert Balfanz and colleagues at the Everyone Graduates Center, at Johns Hopkins University's Center for Social Organization of Schools, and at the Philadelphia Education Fund support the contention that it's during the middle grades that students reach a fork in the road. They move toward achievement and success or "slide off track" and stumble down the path of failure and frustration.

Read about Balfanz and colleagues' strategies for keeping students on track in this month's issue of Middle Ground, beginning on page 8. Be sure to read the full report, Putting Middle Grades Students on the Graduation Path: A Policy and Practice Brief, at www.nmsa.org

Another significant publication, ACT's The Forgotten Middle, finds that eighth grade academic achievement is the best predictor of college and career readiness by high school graduation. Being on target for college and career readiness in eighth grade puts students on the path to success, according to ACT's extensive research. See page 11 for more findings and recommendations.

And, a new report from the Southern Regional Education Board (SREB) argues that if schools don't implement successful intervention strategies in the middle grades, it might be too late for high schools to reach and retain struggling students. The report, Keeping Middle Grades Students on the Path to Success in High School, argues that while there have been modest gains in meeting state standards for middle level reading and math in SREB's 16 member states, "When students reach the middle grades, they begin to lose momentum and often reach the ninth grade unprepared."

Among other recommendations, the SREB report suggests making college and career exploration an essential element of the middle school curriculum. Check out the report at www.sreb.org

We hope you will find in the pages that follow, food for thought and practical strategies you can implement in your school to keep students on track toward high school graduation and beyond. Their future just may begin in your classrooms this year.

Best wishes for a wonderful start to your school year. We look forward to seeing you in Indianapolis in November for NMSA09. Get a sneak peek at some of the treats we have in store by reading NMSA Conferences and Events Director Al Summers' article (page 18).