The purpose of the study was to compare the academic achievement of students having a junior high school experience to those having a middle school experience. sample consisted of eighth-grade students from the Mississinewa Community Schools in Gas City, Indiana. The scores of 420 students having a junior high school experience were compared to the scores of 762 students following the reorganization of the middle grades into a middle school.The Iowa Tests of Basic Skills, (Form 7) were used as a measure of academic achievement. The test results were compared based upon sex and ability group differences. The Cognitive Abilities Tests, (Form 3) were used to determine ability group. A two-by-two-by-three multivariate analysis of variance was used to statistically analyze the data.Findings1. A significant difference was found in favor of the middle school in the areas of vocabulary,reading, spelling, math concepts and math problems.2. Both males and females attained higher academic achievement scores in the middle school setting than in the junior high school setting.3. Students in average, below average and above average ability groups attained higher academic achievement scores in the middle school setting than in the junior high school setting.4. Larger academic achievement gains were made by students with greater ability levels.Conclusions1. The academic achievement was higher for eighthgrade students having a middle school experience than for those having a junior high school experience.2. The middle school is more beneficial to the academic achievement of both males and females than the junior high school experience.3. Students with higher ability levels attained higher academic achievement gains in the middle school than students with less ability.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:BSU/oai:cardinalscholar.bsu.edu:handle/175296 |
| Date | January 1987 |
| Creators | Bryan, Thomas Scott |
| Contributors | Drake, Thelbert L. |
| Source Sets | Ball State University |
| Detected Language | English |
| Format | vi, 93 leaves : ill. ; 28 cm. |
| Source | Virtual Press |
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