Use this chart to research key components of state and national initiatives that relate to relevance.
Initiatives that Support Student Achievement
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Key Components that Relate to Recommendation 4 of the California Department of Education's 12 Recommendations for Middle Grades Success
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No Child Left Behind
(NCLB)
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Determine what educational programs and practices have proved to be effective through rigorous scientific research. |
National Forum to Accelerate Middle Grades Reform (Outside Source)
California Schools to Watch™-Taking Center Stage (STW-TCS) School Self-Study and Rating Rubric
(DOC; 413KB; 9pp.)
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Developmental Responsiveness #4, 5, 6, and 10
- The curriculum is both socially significant and relevant to the personal and career interests of young adolescents.
- Teachers use an interdisciplinary approach to reinforce important concepts, skills, and address real world problems.
- Students are provided multiple opportunities to expo lore a rich variety of topics and interests in order to develop their identity, learn about their strengths, discover and demonstrate their own competence, and plan for their future.
- The school provides age-appropriate, co-curricular activities to foster social skills and character, and to develop interests beyond the classroom environment.
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Essential Elements #3, 6, 7
- The school must be committed to full implementation of the AVID program with students enrolled in the AVID year-long (9-10 months) elective class provided as an integral part of the academic school day. (If the AVID elective is offered in a “zero” period, there must be other academic classes offered at that same time.)
- Inquiry, including levels of questions and tutorial preparation, is used in the AVID class to engage students with their own thinking processes.
- Collaboration, including structured AVID tutorials (as opposed to one-on-one tutoring or homework study sessions), is used to bring students together to develop their critical thinking skills and enable them to take responsibility for their own learning.
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Multicultural College-Going Identity; Intensive College-Going Support |
Breaking Ranks in the Middle
(Outside Source)
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Cornerstone Strategy #7
Institute structural leadership systems that allow for substantive involvement in decision making by students, teachers, family members, and the community and that support effective communication among these groups. |
Turning Points Principle
(Outside Source)
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Create a school culture to support high achievement. |
This We Believe (Outside Source)
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Fundamentals for Student Success in the Middle Grades (Outside Source)
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Curriculum is relevant, challenging, integrative, and exploratory.
Teach students to be managers of their own learning.
Teaching teams provide structured opportunities for engagement. |
Comprehensive School Reform Quality Center
(PDF; Outside Source)
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Key issues in middle school
“ . . . the time has come for the federal, state, and local governments to form a national partnership that transforms middle schools and high schools into centers of learning and engagement that prepare students for rewarding and meaningful lives” (U.S. Conference of Mayors, 2003, page 1).
When students become disengaged from school, absences may increase and grades may plummet (page 58).
Improving middle and high schools requires systematic action and the full engagement of students, parents, schools, and communities (page 92). |
Comprehensive School Reform Quality Center—Report on Middle and High School Comprehensive Reform Models
(PDF; Outside Source)
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Analyzes middle school reform models
This report provides specific details about research results on key school reform models in the middle and high school levels.
Developed by American Institutes for Research (AIR) for the Comprehensive School Reform Quality Center, October 2006. |