A r c h i v e d  I n f o r m a t i o n

Center for Research on the Education of Disadvantaged Students (CDS)

Project #7119: Syntheses of Research and New Perspectives on Critical Issues of Middle Grades and High School Programs for Disadvantaged Students

Project Description: Syntheses of Research and New Perspectives on Critical Issues of Middle Grades and High School Programs for Disadvantaged Students will summarize and document current knowledge, interpret data to identify the most useful or promising programs, discuss the policy implications of the work, and present ideas for new directions for research to improve the knowledge base. Audiences for these papers include researchers, policymakers, and educators.

This project was designed to extend from Years 1-5. Review and perspective papers have been completed on effective programs for disadvantaged middle school students; strategies for more responsive high schools for disadvantaged students; new directions for addressing the needs of disadvantaged youth; the implications of restructuring schools for changes in policy; a review of literature on evaluation of students by teachers in classrooms, programs that effectively promote the transition from education to work, and a comprehensive review of middle grades education. The project has been completed.

Project Director: McPartland, James M.

Institution: Johns Hopkins University

List of Selected Publications

Statement of Finding(s): Promising programs and practices exist for middle grades and high schools to improve the education of disadvantaged students, reduce dropout rates, and provide effective school-to-work transitions. Effective implementation of these programs and practices in middle grades and high schools is difficult.

Description of Finding(s): A framework for middle and high schools was developed that provides a set of components to guide the improvement of schools for educating disadvantaged students. The typology includes components that provide opportunities for success in schoolwork, provide a climate of caring and support, insure the relevance of school to students' communities and futures, and provide help with students' personal problems which may interfere with their education.

A review of research on the education of early adolescents examines empirical data on three perspectives: a developmental perspective on early adolescent students' emerging needs and how to design schools to meet them; a structural-functional perspective on the consequences of different ways of staffing, scheduling, and grouping the middle grades; and a practitioner perspective on implementing recommendations for reforming education of adolescent students.

An examination of programs to enhance the educational achievement and attainment of students in secondary schools finds some promising practices and programs but few strong evaluations of effects. Promising practices to promote success in school include adjusting academic standards, enhancing the skills and abilities of the students to meet school standards through remedial classes, summer learning opportunities, and the use of peer tutors; and increasing the salience of the school curriculum through such practices as multi-ethnic curricula, career education, and monetary incentives. The Summer Training and Employment (STEP) program and Upward Bound show effectiveness in providing students with opportunities for academic success. Programs designed to provide disadvantaged students with positive social relationships in school -- such as alternative schools -- seem reasonable, but few evaluations of effectiveness exist. The Job Corps, the Boston Compact, and the "I Have A Dream" program exemplify efforts to connect schooling with disadvantaged students' future career success, but evaluations are limited. Comprehensive efforts to deal with secondary school students' out-of-school problems include the Chicago Area Project, KidsPlace in Seattle, and the New York City Dropout Prevention Initiative. Severe implementation problems occur when forming new working relationships to respond to problems that emanate from forces outside the school.

A review of evaluation systems used with disadvantaged students highlights the need to develop responsive evaluation systems that, among other things, include attention to the purposes of direction and motivation, provide standards that are challenging but attainable, and provide more detailed feedback.

A review of over 200 middle grades programs across subject areas found about 80 that had promising components -- none could be labeled effective because of serious measurement and evaluation problems. The "promising" programs emphasize new access to high content or develop new high content; offer learning opportunities that prevent problems from developing or that treat learning problems; expect students to make average progress or accelerated progress, and teach basic skills faster and better or teach basic and advanced skills in ways that deepen students' thinking, understanding, and knowledge.

Are data from the study available? Yes

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