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In response to the increase in births following W.W.I., crowded high schools and elementary schools necessitated the development of middle level education. Junior High Schools comprising grades 7 - 9 became the norm (George & Alexander, 2003).
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Coming under scrutiny for structure and curriculum, the junior high school is still the most common model for middle level education (George & Alexander, 2003).
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1963 - 1965 America's first new middle schools are constructed in states like Mississippi, New York, and Arkansas, many of the new schools facilitating desegregation.
1965- Alexander and Williams propose guidelines for "A Model Middle School"
1966 - Donald Eichhorn presents a develomental and social rationale for grouping grades 6, 7, 8 rather than 7, 8, 9. Fort Couch Middle School becomes an early model of the middle school movement. (George & Alexander, 2003). -
More middle schools develop in an attempt to resolve school underutilization and crowding.
1977 - National Middle School Association (NMSA) appoints Committee on Future Goals and Directions to establish goals for middle school development. (George & Alexander, 2013). -
1983 - "A Nation at Risk" raises momentum to move 9th grade students to high school
1985 - George and Oldaker identify 160 exemplary middle schools to find they are remarkably similar in regard to: interdisciplinary teams, flexible scheduling, teacher guidance
programs, curricula providing for a student's personal development, and other criteria believed to better accomodate the needs of young adolescent learners (George & Alexander, 2003). -
Middle schools surpass the junior high concept as the most relevant approach to educating young adolescents in America (George & Alexander, 2003).
1995 – NMSA publishes This We Believe 1995 calling for middle schools to be developmentally responsible and to connect to families and communities. (Lounsbury, 1996). -
Carnegie Group releases "Turning Points 2000" attesting to the success of the middle school experiment (George & Alexander, 2003).
References: George, P. S., & Alexander, W.M. (2003). The middle school movement and ccncept. In D. Alpert and T. Williams (Eds.), The Exemplary Middle School (pp. 39 – 50). Belmont, CA: Wadsworth.
Lounsbury, John H. (1996) Key Characteristics of Middle Level Schools. ECAP Collaborative online resource. Retrieved from http://ecap.crc.illinois.edu/eecearchive/digests
