School Structures and Classroom Practices in Elementary, Middle, and Secondary Schools

This paper analyzes data from the Pennsylvania Educational Quality Assessment (EQA) and the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) to provide a description of grouping, staffing, and scheduling practices that currently exist in elementary, middle, and high schools. The practices are found to follow a continuum from elementary through high school that proceeds from an early emphasis on "pupil orientation" to a later emphasis on "subject-matter" orientation. These emphases drive decisions about the scheduling, staffing, and grouping practices that foster the particular learning environments and activities that define a school's instructional program. The paper specifically examines the implications of these practices for middle schools. Survey data are displayed in graphs and tables and 29 references are included.