In this article, the author presents an interview with Sue Swaim, the National Middle School Association's (NMSA) longest-serving executive director. During the interview, Swaim reflects on her personal experiences leading NMSA. For fourteen years, Swaim's tenure provided a continuous, consistent voice for young adolescent education. Upon…

Examines the relationship between a journey and a destination in terms of the educational experience, where learning is the journey but test scores have become the destination. Focuses on the loss of curriculum areas that are untested in favor of the destination of math and reading scores. Asserts that middle school students deserve both measured…

Maintains that the No Child Left Behind initiative is a morally neutral force that can be used to ensure that all students learn to their fullest capacities or to reinforce educational inequalities by limiting the curriculum of some students. Expresses fear that middle school curricula in failing schools will be limited to getting students ready…

Points out the following problems with standardized testing and reforms at the middle school level: (1) misalignment of test-based reforms and standards-based reforms; (2) geographic disadvantages; and (3) disadvantages for learning disabled. Presents example of two students' standardized test scores as illustrations of the non-alignment problem.…

Discusses the importance of joining the middle school concept to organizational health and briefly introduces this journal issue's articles on the subject. (EV)

Maintains that promoting good character by focusing on two criteria for high performing middle schools--social equity and developmental responsiveness--is becoming more difficult. Asserts that the single most important factor in character education for young adolescents is a classroom managed by a caring adult who fosters strong relationships with…

Asserts that concern for academic success across the curriculum should extend beyond raising test scores. Contends that in the wake of the terrorist acts of 9/11/01, issues of public security and civil liberties present an opportunity for teachers to teach the Constitution and its amendments in an effort to fight citizen ignorance. (SD)

Maintains that commercial pressures for profitability threaten best practice in fields such as broadcast journalism and history publishing. Asserts that similar pressures for improved student standardized achievement test scores force educational quality to be sacrificed to the demands of the marketplace. Contends that it is time to reflect on…

Draws upon three articles in this issue that highlight the struggle to establish developmentally and culturally appropriate programs for young adolescents in New Zealand, and the difficulty encountered in institutionalizing best practices for middle grades learners in Kansas. Advocates following the Carnegie Council on Adolescent Development's…

Highlights this journal issue's focus on teaching diverse learners, discusses teaching a common curriculum to students who learn in different ways, and notes that standardized instruction must give way to differentiated instruction. Dedicates issue to Donald Eichhorn, pioneer in middle school educational approaches. (DLH)

Discusses the value of middle school reform involving interdisciplinary teaming, advisory programs, and developmentally appropriate practices, noting that true middle schools improve academic achievement and standardized test scores. Argues against a pendulum swing away from middle school reform and toward standards-based curriculum. (JPB)

Summarizes growing body of evidence relating small school size at elementary and middle grades to positive student outcomes. Notes that positive outcomes associated with small size relate to teacher commitment and effectiveness as well as student attachment, persistence, and performance. Concludes that smaller, more intimate schools are better…

Addresses the issue of how educators can begin to improve poorly performing urban middle level schools. Suggests poor infrastructures, school size, and the lack of qualified professionals as reasons why many school underperform. Contends that solutions need to come from those who control the resources, specifically politicians and government…

Proposes a new role for middle school teachers in the aftermath of the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks. This role involves reexamination of curriculum content in world cultures, geography, history, and comparative religions to give students a fuller idea of their place in the world and the concepts of justice and fairness as practiced in the…

Urges renewal and revitalization to sustain middle school reform. Discusses the nature of middle school reform as an ongoing process of refining middle school concepts, practices, or programs to make them better for students. Highlights articles in this issue. (JPB)