The transition to middle school is accompanied by countless challenges. Kids begin pulling away from their parents and focusing more on their peer group. They crave independence but still require guidance. They experience hormone changes and rapid growth spurts. In short, middle school can be a nightmare for kids and their families.
The fact that most students transition to middle school without mastery of prerequisite academic skills makes the entire situation worse. Because schools aren’t designed according to the science of learning, students are advanced to the next grade based on their age rather than on mastery of the skills required to learn grade-level content. It is widely believed that age determines what skills a person can learn or master, but this belief lacks scientific support. Conversely, science indicates that learning higher-level content requires mastery of prerequisites. Since schools don’t provide science-driven instruction, most students do not master these prerequisites before being pushed ahead.
The figure above reflects the percentage of U.S. students who scored at or above proficiency on the 2024 National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP). You will notice that a smaller percentage of 8th graders scored as proficient in reading and math compared to 4th graders. Declining proficiency rates as students move up the grade levels has been a consistent trend in U.S. education since the 1970s because schools are not designed according to the science of learning. Ineffective instruction and exposing students to lots of content with no opportunity to practice that content to mastery ensures that essential academic skills are not mastered, yet students are pushed ahead anyway. As a result, more than 60% of U.S. students graduate below proficiency in all academic subjects.
I recently had the privilege of joining a panel of experts to discuss the challenges of making the transition to middle school. I encourage you to watch this episode, where we offer strategies to increase the likelihood that your child will make this transition successively. Click here to watch the episode.