NASSP Set to Release Middle

Level Reform Recommendations

 

Following the March release of Breaking Ranks in the Middle, NASSP developed policy recommendations for middle level reform.  This policy paper will guide decision makers on defining the most effective way in which support can be provided to improve middle level education.  The paper supports practitioners in their mission to create effective middle level learning environments.  These recommendations are rooted in Breaking Ranks in the Middle.

 

The synopsis of the recommendations is as follows:

▪ A rigorous, challenging, and developmentally appropriate curriculum with instructional strategies that reflect knowledge of brain research and best practices in middle level education.

▪ Programs that help middle level schools create personalized learning environments.

▪ Programs that support school wide initiatives to improve literacy skills of all students, particularly those not reading on grade level.

▪ Resources to bring low-performing students to grade level.

▪ Multiple assessments that align with standards and include performance-based measures to provide schools with individual student data to improve teaching.

▪ Programs that foster collaborative, inclusive leadership and strategic use of data.

▪ Initiatives that improve teachers’ subject area competency and pedagogy, with a focus on adolescent learners.

▪ Technical assistance for schools identified as “in need of improvement.”

 

Policymakers at all levels of government should actively support and endorse the improvement of middle level education.  We want to “Create the Middle Level Education we need for the high schools we want.”