Focus on the Wonder Years Challenges Facing the American Middle School

by Juvonen, Jaana; Le, Vi-Nhuan; Kaganoff, Tessa; Augustine, Catherine; Constant, Louay

• ISBN13: 9780833033901
• ISBN10: 0833033905
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2004-03-16
• Publisher: RAND Corporation

Summary

Young teens undergo multiple changes that seem to set them apart from other students. But do middle schools actually meet their special needs? The authors describe some of the challenges and offer ways to tackle them, such as reassessing the organization of grades K-12; specifically assisting the students most in need; finding ways to prevent disciplinary problems; and helping parents understand how they can help their children learn at home.

Table of Contents

Preface	p. iii
The Rand Corporation Quality Assurance Process	p. v
Figures	p. xi
Tables	p. xiii
Summary	p. xv
Acknowledgements	p. xxi
Abbreviations	p. xxiii
Goals, Terms, Methods, and Organization	p. 1
A Brief History of the U.S. Middle School	p. 9
Core Practices of the Middle School Concept	p. 20
Academic Achievement	p. 28
Conditions for Student Learning	p. 46
Principals	p. 64
Promoting Teacher Competence Through Training	p. 73
Parental Involvement	p. 84
Whole-School Reform Models	p. 98
Conclusions and Recommendations	p. 112
Characteristics of U.S. Public Schools Serving Middle Grades	p. 120
International and National Data Sets	p. 125
Factor Analysis of Health Behavior in School-Aged Children	p. 130
Research Recommendations	p. 133
References	p. 137
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