Middle School Students

About 96 percent of middle school students - that bridge between gradeschool and highschools comprised of grades 7 8 and 9 - believe that it is very important or somewhat important to make good grades. An awkward age, these students are between childhood and adolescence, experiencing the physical, emotional and cognitive changes associated with this stage of human development. Nine in ten (90%) said they felt prepared and expected to succeed.

I remember this age well, because it was before my time as a student at Xaverian High School in
New York. You can find more information on my interests in
educational trends at http://www.roccobasile.net/, where I list many aspects of my charity work via supporting the school's Joe DiMaggio Award Gala where we raise funds for the school. Xaverian includes one of New York City's only International Baccalaureate Programs. Xaverian attracts about 1,400 students annually, and in addition to its reputation for academic excellence, the school is renowned for graduating young men of strong moral character .

According to the National Association of Secondary School Principals (NASSP), Lumina Foundation for Education, Phi Delta Kappa International (PDK) and their KnowHow2Go campaign, commissioned Harris Interactive last March 2007 to conduct a poll called "Voice From the Middle." They polled 1814 seventh and eighth graders who shared their perspectives about current school experiences and expectations for high school. (Source: http://www.pdkintl.org/ms_poll/ms_poll.htm)

The middle school survey also found the following:
• 93 percent of students say there is “no chance” that they will drop out of high school and not graduate. (This is compared to the nearly 500,000 students who drop out annually as estimated by the NCES and the Bureau of Labor Statistics.)
• 83 percent of students know little or nothing about the classes they need to take to graduate from high school.
• About 32 percent say that they have “quite a bit” or “a great deal” of information about the classes they need in preparation for college.