California Department of Education
Taking Center Stage – Act II

Table of Contents

Part II: Developmental Responsiveness

“A bona fide middle school is not an organizational structure consisting of a specific grade level configuration, set of components, and name that include the word middle. It is, however, any organizational structure consisting of developmentally appropriate programs, policies, and practice tailored to maximize young adolescent learning while nurturing affect (Clark & Clark, 1993; Cuban, 1993, Epstein, 1990, Hough, 1989, Johnston, 1984, Romano & Georgiady, 1994.)”1

Developmental Responsiveness is the second of the four criteria for high performance developed by the National Forum to Accelerate Middle Grades Reform (Outside Source). The School Self-Study and Rating Rubric (DOC; 413KB; 9pp.) is a tool designed by the Schools To Watch™-Taking Center Stage program to help schools analyze their progress toward excellence based on the National Forum’s criteria. Key elements of developmental responsiveness include the following:

  1. The school provides access to comprehensive services to foster healthy physical, social, emotional, and intellectual development.
  2. Teachers use a wide variety of instructional strategies to foster curiosity, exploration, creativity, and the development of social skills.
  3. The curriculum is both socially significant and relevant to the personal interests of young adolescents.
  4. Teachers make connections across disciplines to help reinforce important concepts and address real-world problems.
  5. The school provides multiple opportunities for students to explore a rich variety of topics and interests in order to develop their identity, discover and demonstrate their own competence, and plan for their future.
  6. Students have opportunities for voice—posing questions, reflecting on experiences, developing rubrics, and participating in decisions.
  7. The school develops alliances with families to enhance and support the well-being of their children. It involves families as partners in their children's education, keeping them informed, involving them in their children's learning, and assuring participation in decision-making.
  8. The school provides students with opportunities to develop citizenship skills, uses the community as a classroom, and engages the community in providing resources and support.
  9. The school provides age-appropriate co-curricular activities.

“ The middle school concept boils down to this belief: 10–14 year-olds learn differently than younger and older students do, and therefore, middle school educators need to restructure curriculum and instruction and diversify our approaches to meet early adolescents' unique needs. In doing so, we don't de-emphasize student learning—we increase it.”2

Developmental Responsiveness – The Chapters

Three Taking Center Stage—Act II chapters explore the TCSII recommendations and research relating to Developmental Responsiveness:

Footnotes
1David Hough, “A Bona Fide Middle School: Programs, Policy, Practice, and Grade Span Configurations,”  What Current Research Says to the Middle Level Practitioner (Outside Source), Columbus, OH, National Middle School Association, 1997, p. 287.
2Rick Wormeli, “ Misleading in the Middle: A Rebuttal to Cheri Pieron Yeke” (Outside Source), Educational Leadership, Vol. 63 (Summer 2006, online only).

Back to Top