Middle-level education: Its implications for the at-risk student

The purpose of this study was to examine if there were differences in the dropout rate of high schools where the middle level philosophy as proposed by the National Middle School Association was adhered to when compared with schools that followed more traditional junior high school practices. A second purpose was to examine if there were differences in middle level emphasis of junior high schools (grades seven through nine) and middle schools (grades six through eight, five through eight, or four through eight). A questionnaire was mailed to five randomly selected teachers and one administrator in each of thirty randomly selected middle schools and junior high schools in Nebraska. This questionnaire measured the degree to which each school followed the middle level philosophy as proposed by the National Middle School Association. The high school dropout rate was determined over a five-year period from the school years 1984-85 to 1988-89, using the numbers of students that dropped out of school in each of the schools for grades seven through twelve. That number was divided by the total number of students in those grades to give a dropout rate expressed in a percentage. Pearson correlation coefficients found no significant correlation between the dropout rate of a school and the degree of middle level emphasis of the school. Independent t-tests found no significant difference in middle level emphasis between junior high schools of seven through nine configuration and middle schools of either grades six through eight, five through eight, or four through eight. Although no significant correlation or significant differences were found in the schools studied, it was recommended that further study using similar procedures but with a nationwide sample be conducted to determine if Nebraska could be an exception and that middle level emphasis can make a difference for the at-risk student