Everyone agrees that early adolescence can be a difficult time. These are normal symptoms of development at this age, part and parcel of making the transition from childhood to young adulthood. Most of us remember well how hard these years can be, and we sympathize. Unfortunately, sympathy for young adolescents can be too much of a good thing. In some middle schools, concern for students' emotional and psychological needs overshadows expectations for high achievement.
High expectations yield high performance.
Thanks to a recent trend, high student achievement has jumped to the top of the agenda in many middle schools. Educators are asking how to inject middle schools with content-rich curricula in algebra, social studies, science, English, and other subjects. As new curricula are developed and adopted, they seem to be producing good results. Teachers are seeing a change in students, who appear to like school more, to be happier and more motivated. Most important, students seem to be leaving middle school with higher levels of skills.