Obviously, few schools have figured out how to improve middle school student achievement. It was never a good idea to put students who were developmentally not ready for any independence in the middle school situation. For some, coming unglued begins in 6th grade and goes steadily downhill. Elementary students in the similarly challenged K-8 are also losers in these schools. Perhaps someone will be brave enough to rethink the middle school and K-8 concept which also does not work.

When we moved to the middle school concept in order to address the "whole" child, achievement went down the tubes in both the middle and high schools. The teenage brain needs the extra years to mature to deal with more complex academic materials and middle school never addresses those needs. The pendulum will swing back and we will continue to reap the "benefits" of middle school mentality for years to come.