Middle school report provides ‘umbrella’ for reform efforts in Maryland

Some districts, including Montgomery, already have reform plans; graduation rates at stake, Grasmick says

State Superintendent Nancy S. Grasmick established the steering committee in 2006. It comprises 55 teachers, principals, administrators and representatives from business, the state Department of Education, public and private universities, education organizations, the state teachers union and a parent.

‘‘When we think about education we think about structure and content and we haven’t spent enough time thinking about the learner,” Grasmick said Tuesday.

Completing algebra by the end of eighth grade is among the most important recommendations in the report, she said.

‘‘It is a gateway,” she said.

In Montgomery County, 56 percent of eighth-graders passed Algebra I during the 2006-2007 school year, up from 43 percent in 2000-2001.

‘‘If we’re going to have students excel in those STEM areas — science, technology, engineering and mathematics, they’re going to have to have rigorous mathematics in middle school,” Grasmick said.

Enrolling students in a sequential foreign language course by sixth grade and preparing teachers specifically to work with middle school students are also key recommendations, she said.

Forty years ago, many school systems began going away from junior high schools to teach students at the ‘‘mini-level” in middle schools that included grades six through eight, said Gerald Scarborough, a Harford County schools assistant superintendent and steering committee co-chairman. Middle schools focused on the emotional and social development of students, as well as academics.

‘‘I think the biggest change that we’ve seen in the last 10 to 12 years ... [is] to really focus on the individual child and their academic success,” Scarborough said. ‘‘There is more of a focus on increased academic rigor than we really had in the early years.”

State test scores show student achievement slowing in middle school.

On the 2007 Maryland School Assessments, 80.5 percent of third-graders achieved a proficient score in reading and 78.6 percent scored proficient in math. Proficiency was lower among eighth-graders, with 68.3 percent scoring proficient in reading and 56.7 percent scoring proficient in math.

‘‘Too many 8th graders are leaving middle school without the knowledge and skills they need to do high-school-level work,” the report said.

Not all the recommendations will work for all school systems, committee members conceded.

The report provides ‘‘an umbrella that allows school systems to think about their own needs,” Co-Chairwoman Ilene Swirnow said.

‘‘Different school systems are in different places and can do different things,” said Swirnow, director of elementary and middle school initiatives for the state Department of Education.

Some school systems, including Montgomery County’s, have already embarked on middle school reforms. The school system launched reforms last year at Benjamin Banneker in Burtonsville, Roberto Clemente in Germantown, Montgomery Village, Sligo in Silver Spring and Earle B. Wood in Rockville.

When the Montgomery County Council cut the county school system’s requested operating budget for the upcoming school by $41 million, to $2.07 billion, the district was forced to scale back its middle school reform plans from 10 schools to six. The other four will be partially funded. The reform emphasizes the use of technology and includes advanced English, social studies and science courses.

Key recommendations

The state Middle School Steering Committee’s report includes 16 recommendations; to read the report, go to www.gazette.net⁄links. Among the recommendations are:

Offer extended-day, extended-year and summer programs as needed.

Prepare students to complete algebra by the end of eighth grade.

Integrate math, science and technology instruction with a focus on problem-solving and real world application.

Enroll students in a foreign language in sixth grade.