This paper discusses the modern American junior high and middle school from the perspectives of an interested observer, the educational researcher, and the students themselves. Discussed briefly are three factors that place junior high/middle school education in a unique context--the developmental stage of the students who are served, the historical rationale for creating such schools, and the current move to establish "middle" rather than "junior high" schools. Next, examples are provided of the ways teachers, students, and subjects are organized in these schools. This is followed by a discussion of the academic and social maturity requirements students must meet in order to perform successfully in junior high/middle schools. Also described are types of teaching practices that have been observed to be most effective at this educational level. Demands that are placed on students as they move from elementary to junior high/middle schools are summarized, as is a theme that runs throughout the paper, involving three aspects of a student's instructional program: (1) nature of academic tasks; (2) socio-organizational structure of the classroom; and (3) management and accountability systems employed by teachers. (JM)