Amherst Insider: Should sixth-graders attend middle school?

By NOAH HOFFENBERG

Published on August 14, 2009

It's a deceptively simple question: Should the Amherst Regional public schools' sixth-graders be in middle school?

The new superintendent, Alberto Rodriguez, says yes.

The decision to move the sixth grades from elementary schools in Amherst, Pelham, Leverett and Shutesbury, however, will be up to the Regional School Committee.

Rodriguez  who will make a recommendation in a report Tuesday to the committee  said he's based his opinion on one thing: sound educational practices.

"My pre-eminent priority is pedagogy. It's not facilities, it's not transportation schedules, it's not even about whether we save money or not, because that's not what this conversation is about," Rodriguez said in an interview Tuesday.

Rodriguez said his report (www.arps.org/node/922), which includes a number of appendices and studies that are critical of moving sixth grades into a middle school model, is designed to begin a dialogue on the issue, and doesn't foretell of a unilateral decision. "We need to start talking about this. It has an impact on four distinct towns," said Rodriguez.

Rodriguez, who came on the scene last month with a critical report on the school system, is in favor of moving the children, noting that a sixth-through eighth-grade configuration is most common in the country. About 75 percent of U.S. schools use a middle school model, according to reports.

However, one piece of research not included in Rodriguez's report is "Should Sixth Grade Be In Elementary or Middle School?" - a 2007 study by researchers at the Terry Sanford Institute of Public Policy at Duke University. It, in so many words, says no.

According to that study, which looked at public school data from North Carolina, there's a strong case to keep sixth-graders in elementary schools.

The study notes that:

" Sixth-grade students attending middle schools are much more likely to be cited for disciplinary issues, a detail that remains even when socioeconomics and demographics were factored in, and which tend to continue through the ninth grade.

" Test scores were lower for middle school sixth-graders, as compared to elementary school counterparts.

" Exposure to older adolescents may have a negative impact on sixth-graders in middle schools.

The Duke researchers said sixth-graders would be better off staying in elementary schools.

Rodriguez says he had heard of the report, but said it was brought to his attention after he had written his position paper.

"You can paint an equally compelling picture for each side," said Rodriguez.

That's because up through fourth and fifth grades, Rodriguez said, the U.S. is on par with the rest of the world. But come sixth through eighth grades, the country begins to lag. He said middle schools have failed their students in this country because of misplaced priorities.

"The (American) middle school has basically shifted too much toward the socio-emotional development of the child, and strayed away from the content- and standards-based curriculum. The mistake that middle schools have (made) is that you have to do one or the other and they're mutually exclusive," said Rodriguez. "I trace it back to that we've watered down our expectations."

Sixth-grade teachers in elementary schools do not typically hold credentials in specific areas of study, while middle school instructors do, Rodriguez notes. In his report to the committee, Rodriguez will make the case that more intense studies - such as in-depth exploration of algebra, scientific methods, literature, grammar and writing, politics and geography - will better prepare students not only for high school but for the world.

Rodriguez said that this change in curriculum would boost enrollment in honors and advanced placement courses, and enable intervention programs for struggling students to begin earlier. Rodriguez aims to minister to the social and emotional needs of students, but in concert with, not at the expense of, education.

Among the studies finding both merit and drawbacks in bringing sixth grades into middle school is a 1990 report from the Austin Independent School District. It notes the following:

" During the first year of having sixth-graders in a middle school, elementary sixth-graders tested better than middle school sixth-graders on achievement tests. However, there was no appreciable difference in testing in subsequent years.

" When elementary sixth-graders reach seventh grade, they do not score as well as seventh-graders who attended sixth grade in middle school.

" In the eighth grade, there is minimal difference in testing between the two groups.

" Whether attending a middle school (grades six, seven and eight) or a junior high (grades seven and eight, or seven, eight and nine), the achievement gap begins to widen.

" There were higher discipline rates and lower attendance for middle school sixth-graders, as opposed to elementary sixth-graders.

Rodriguez said he included the negative findings about moving sixth-graders to middle school so that the shortcomings could be explored by the committee.

The Regional School Committee may take its time considering this issue, or it may decide to table it. It is not likely to be on the fast track, Rodriguez admits.

"This is not something about ramming it through. This is about starting a conversation, which I think all the towns need to be involved in," he said.