ABSTRACT
The experience students have in middle school may be the most important factor of successful post-school outcomes. This may seem to be an over-enthusiastic statement made by a zealous middle school advocate, but there is growing evidence on the impact middle school education can have on keeping students in school until they graduate. Research has shown that students likely to drop out of school before graduating can be identifi ed as early as the sixth grade and that schools can impact school retention through the use of identifi ed promising practices (Institute of Education Sciences, 2008; Jerald, 2006). Students who graduate from school with a diploma are more likely to go on to postsecondary education and fulltime employment (National Longitudinal Transition Study 2, 2005). Therefore, middle schools play an important role in keeping students engaged in school until they enter and graduate from high school, thus improving their postsecondary outcomes (Alliance for Excellent Education, 2009).
