The middle school: A review of current literature

Education in the United States has presented many patterns of school organization. Separate junior and senior high schools were suggested in the early 1900 1 s, but the grade levels and ages for distinguishing these divisions were unclear (Wiles & Bondi, 1981). The junior high was designed to bridge the gap between elementary and high school. It usually included grades 7-8-9. An alternative to the junior high school, the middle school, began to emerge in the late 1950 1 s. The middle school was designed to facilitate grades 6-7-8. Its development was primarily to relieve overcrowding and to provide an educational environment to effectively educate young teens (Wiles & Bondi, 1981). Many experts in the field of education support the middle school concept as a means to better meet the educational and developmental needs of adolescents. The middle school concept can concisely be defined as an educational environment created to meet the unique needs and characteristics of emerging adolescents