Papers by Steven B Mertens
The Middle Grades Research Journal, 2006
The Encyclopedia of Middle Level Education is designed to be a comprehensive overview of the fiel... more The Encyclopedia of Middle Level Education is designed to be a comprehensive overview of the field. This publication will include seven anchor essays (5000 words) that will over the following topics: the history of the middle school movement; academically excellent curriculum, instruction, and assessment; developmental responsiveness in relation to young adolescents; social equity in middle grades schools; teacher and administrator preparation and professional development; middle school reform models; and future directions in relation to the movement, practices, and policy. Authorship of the anchor essays is by invitation only. In addition to these anchor essays, the encyclopedia will contain alphabetically organized entries (short entries approximately 500 words; long entries approximately 2000 words) that address important concepts, ideas, terms, people, organizations, and seminal publications related to middle level education. A tentative listing of entries and their correspondin...
We should be reassured by the universal focus on high academic expectations for every student whe... more We should be reassured by the universal focus on high academic expectations for every student when we examine the underlying principles of NMSA's This We Believe, the National Forum's vision statement, Comprehensive School Reform (CSR) models, No Child Left Behind (NCLB), and so forth. This focus is so strong that we have even changed our lan guage from high expectations for "all" students to "every" student for fear that the "all" might be equated with "most." This is not just an argu ment of semantics, but an intended commit ment of advocacy for each and every student. But how does this commitment translate into
Two of the biggest misconceptions surrounding the implementation of interdisciplinary teaming in ... more Two of the biggest misconceptions surrounding the implementation of interdisciplinary teaming in the middle grades are that (a) the work is complete after teachers and students have been assigned to teams and the class schedule has been rearranged so that students on each team have all their class es together (i.e., the structures are in place) and (b) the imple mentation of teaming ensures that a school will positively impact teacher and student outcomes. However, the truth is that not only is the most challenging work tackled after teams have been formed, but, without the follow-up work, teaming alone is not like ly to achieve sustained outcomes (Erb and Doda, 1989; Feiner, Jackson, Kasak, Mulhall, Brand, & Flowers, 1997). For many teachers who are assigned to a team for the first time, working on an interdisciplinary team represents a change from the security of their often isolated classrooms to a setting that requires collaboration, teamwork, and ongoing communication with othe...
Files attached below (in order) are "Special Interest Group Descriptions" (part 1), &qu... more Files attached below (in order) are "Special Interest Group Descriptions" (part 1), "Selected National Reports of Middle Level Education 1963-2003" (part 2), and "Selected National Reports of Middle Level Education 1963-2003" (part 3).
Middle School Journal, 2008
In an educational climate characterized by an enormous emphasis on accountability, our nation has... more In an educational climate characterized by an enormous emphasis on accountability, our nation has been busy defining its educational goals to enable us to participate in a global economy. Even in this context, the concept of family and parent involvement in school has remained a top priority. Two examples illustrate this point. First, in 1994, Congress enacted the Goals 2000: Educate America Act. As stated in Goal Eight, “By the year 2000, every school will promote partnerships that will increase parent involvement and participation in promoting the social, emotional, and academic growth of children” (Sec. 102, 8, A). Some of the objectives of this goal included the establishment of programs to increase parent involvement, engaging parents in the support of academic work of children at home, and shared decision making at school. Second, parents are mentioned more than 300 times in various parts of the No Child Left Behind Act (2002), specifically in Section 1118, Title I. This section of the Act is devoted solely to parent involvement. More specifically, this section requires that school districts and schools receiving Title I dollars must have a written parent involvement policy and build school capacity to effectively implement the parent policy provisions. Additionally, this policy must be developed jointly with parents and the local community. For the first time in the history of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA), the law contains a definition of parent involvement: The participation of parents in regular, two-way, and meaningful communication involving student academic learning and other school related activities including ensuring—that parents play an integral role in assisting their child’s learning; that parents are encouraged to be actively involved in their child’s education at school; that parents are full partners in their child’s education and are included, as appropriate, in decision-making and on advisory committees to assist in the education of their child; and that other activities are carried out, such as those described in section 1118 of the ESEA (Parent Involvement). [Section 9101(32).EA]
should be reassured by the universalfocus on high academic expectationsfor every student when we ... more should be reassured by the universalfocus on high academic expectationsfor every student when we examine
Until the late 19th century, education in the United States was single-sex education. Coeducation... more Until the late 19th century, education in the United States was single-sex education. Coeducation gradually entered the American educational landscape in the late 1800s (Bureau of Education, 1883; Butler, 1910; Kolesnik, 1969), and since that time, single-sex education mainly has been confined to private and denominational (mostly Catholic) schools. According to Tyack and Hansot (1990) and Hawtrey (1896), economic factors were the major impetus for the rising "tide of coeducation." Simply put, it was cheaper to educate boys and girls together than to operate separate schools, which would have required duplicating expensive facilities, equipment, and personnel. Feminists of the day also valued coeducation as a necessary step in the women's rights movement and their influence contributed to the passage of Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972, aimed at guaranteeing gender equity in federally financed schools, colleges, and universities. Finally, coeducation was considered "natural" in that it facilitated the development of positive relations with members of the opposite sex, allowed boys and girls the opportunity to learn to work together, and was conducive to happier marriages (Atherton, 1972; Hale, 1929). In the second half of the 19th century, William Harris, superintendent of the St. Louis schools and later U.S. Commissioner of Education, argued that mixing the sexes improved instruction and discipline for boys and girls by merging their different abilities and allowing students of each gender to serve as a "counter-check" on the other (Harris, 1870). As we have seen with most educational reforms and innovations, the fanfare that welcomed coeducation very soon led to concerns and indictments. In his book, Sex in Education, Clarke (1873) purported that academic competition with boys overloaded girls' brains and interfered with the development of their reproductive organs. Single-sex education (also less frequently called single gender and SS) garnered renewed interest in the 1990s from researchers, advocacy groups, and policymakers; and since 2003, there has been an extraordinary surge in interest in single-sex public education. The new regulations, issued by the U.S. Department of Education on October 25, 2006, fueled the fire of this renewed interest. Secretary Spellings, commenting on the "final rule," noted that Research shows that some students may learn better in single-sex education environments. The Department of Education is committed to giving communities more choice as to how they go about offering varied learning environments to their students. These final regulations permit communities to establish single-sex schools and classes as another means of meeting the needs of students. (U.S. Department of Education, 2006) Assessing the relative advantages and disadvantages of single-sex classes and schools is difficult. As singlesex education gains interest and appeal, educators, policymakers, and advocates continue to search for research evidence to legitimize this approach to This article reflects the following This We Believe characteristics: High expectations for every member of the learning community-Multiple learning and teaching approaches that respond to student diversity-Organizational structures that support meaningful relationships and learning is the past chair of NMSA's Research Advisory Board and the executive director of AERA's Middle Level Education Research Special Interest Group.
RMLE Online
Abstract Currently, there is a paucity of research concerning the National Forum to Accelerate Mi... more Abstract Currently, there is a paucity of research concerning the National Forum to Accelerate Middle Grades Reform’s Schools to Watch national school improvement program. Of the handful of existing studies, very few have examined or addressed student learning or achievement. In this this study we systematically collected and analyzed data from the 34 Illinois Horizon Schools to Watch (IHSTW) schools participating in the National Forum’s Schools to Watch (STW) program. Using multiple sources of data, we examined the demographic characteristics and teacher-reported levels of best middle grades school practices in the IHSTW middle level schools that have participated in the STW program since 2003. In addition, we conducted an analysis of state-level, standardized student achievement test scores for participating IHSTW schools. We found that IHSTW schools that have participated in the program for longer periods of time demonstrated higher levels of middle school practices and standardized student achievement outcomes.
This large-scale, longitudinal study examines teacher attrition data from over 6,500 teachers in ... more This large-scale, longitudinal study examines teacher attrition data from over 6,500 teachers in Illinois over a 14-year period from 1997 to 2010. Attrition rates between teachers who participated in a Professional Development School (PDS) versus students prepared traditionally are compared. The effects of teacher preparation experiences on persistence in education employment were examined for students participating in four different teacher preparation programs at Illinois State University. The findings indicate that PDS-prepared teachers are more likely to persist in employment as compared to their traditionally prepared counterparts and the education program area strongly influences persistence, perhaps more than teacher preparation model. These findings can inform teacher education programs and preparation in regard to resources allocation as well as pre-service field experience design. NAPDS Essentials Addressed: #2/A school–university culture committed to the preparation of fu...
tional success of middle grade students (Anfara, Andrews, Hough, Mertens, Mizelle, & White, 2003;... more tional success of middle grade students (Anfara, Andrews, Hough, Mertens, Mizelle, & White, 2003; Clark & Clark, 2002; Jackson & Davis, 2000). What makes up this role and how it plays out in middle grades settings is a complex and poorly understood phenomenon. At the same time that national atten tion is being placed on the role of leadership in improving school achievement, educators and policymakers have become increasingly concerned about a potential principal shortage and apprehen sive that a shortage of qualified principals will seri ously affect middle grades reform. For example, the Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE) reports that by 2005 almost 40% of public school administrators will be eligible to retire and that through 2006 the state will need approximately 2,100 new public school principals, assistant principals, and other school administrators (ISBE, 2003). Since middle grades comprise a majority of Illinois schools and serve a significant part of the student popu...
Middle School Journal, 2001
confounding issues currently facing schools, districts, and educators. Contrary to what administr... more confounding issues currently facing schools, districts, and educators. Contrary to what administrators, teachers, and parents may feel about the effectiveness of smaller schools, the national trend has been to create larger schools, particularly middle and high schools. Research has found that middle schools with larger enrollments (800 or more students) increased dramatically over a five-year period from 1988 to 1993 (McEwin, Dickinson, & Jenkins, 1996). The benefits typically cited for promoting larger schools include greater variety of curriculum and programs, alternative student grouping strategies, and greater student and teacher diversity. Unfortunately, research examining the effect of school size on student learning is not as substantial as one would hope. While there is no one definitive answer to the school size issue, there is evidence supporting smaller schools, as well as a variety of strategies that educators have adopted to transform a large school into smaller, more ...
Middle School Journal, 2000
However, when a team can crystallize its goals and tasks, its mem-bers can work together to influ... more However, when a team can crystallize its goals and tasks, its mem-bers can work together to influence curriculum and instruction, which in turn influences the learning process. In fact, schools engaged in interdisciplinary teaming have a more positive school climate, have more ...
Middle School Journal, 2002
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Papers by Steven B Mertens