海角社区官网

“There is no obvious academic justification for middle schools,” writes economist David R. Johnson, the report’s author. “For boards already facing declining enrolment聽鈥� either overall or in specific catchment areas聽鈥� this could be a compelling reason to reconsider or phase out middle schools.鈥�

The study comes as the Ford government signals it may close some under-enrolled schools聽in boards now under provincial supervision. It also rekindles long-running debates over whether middle schools support or 聽compared with kindergarten to Grade 8 (K-8) schools.聽

Johnson’s analysis 聽that standalone middle schools hurt student learning. But聽there’s also research suggesting the switch聽.

Why some research has found middle schools work

Heather Brittain, a PhD candidate at the University of Ottawa’s Faculty of Education, studies the impact of school transitions on student mental health and achievement. She says moving to a middle school can be challenging聽鈥� new environment, peer dynamics, academic demands and the onset of puberty聽鈥� but when kids feel they belong, it can improve well-being and performance. Her research has found that the.

Brittain thinks the mixed findings in the research may have more to do with differences in students’ past experiences and the supports in place, rather than the transition itself being clearly good or bad.聽 She believes there’s no reason to phase out middle schools, but that more long-term research is needed to fully understand the nuances and potential impacts of this move.

She said this most recent report by Johnson “is sending a signal that there could be something going on with the middle schools, and we need longitudinal research to find out ... Who is being affected negatively and how can we help them?”聽

The new Ontario research on middle schools

Johnson analyzed three consecutive years of Education Quality and Accountability Office (EQAO) results in grades 3 and 6聽鈥� data ending in 2023-24. He then adjusted for socioeconomic factors such as family income, parental education, recent immigration and single-parent households. The goal was to , regardless of its demographics, says Johnson,聽an emeritus economics professor at Wilfrid Laurier University, who himself attended a middle school.

Overall, his research聽found that Catholic and French-language schools score higher than public schools in grades 3 and 6. The data also revealed that students who moved to middle schools in Grade 6 are less likely to meet provincial standards. Provincewide, 78 per cent of students meet the literacy benchmark in Grade 6 and 45 per cent meet the math standard, but in middle schools the figures drop about five percentage points in both cases.聽

闯辞丑苍蝉辞苍’蝉听聽suggests the academic impacts extend into high school. He found that students who attended middle schools scored lower on the Grade 9 EQAO math test, compared with those who had gone to K-8 schools聽鈥� with the gap even wider among students from disadvantaged backgrounds.聽

Elizabeth Dhuey, an economics professor at the University of 海角社区官网who has聽,聽says the evidence is clear that middle schools hurt student achievement, though the reasons aren鈥檛. It may be the larger school size, the disruption of switching schools, or the challenge of putting so many kids together during puberty.

“It has something to do with the actual middle school experience ... putting this group of children together in large schools with a different structure that is not good for academic achievement,” she said.

Johnson’s report comes at a sensitive time. Earlier this month, Education Minister Paul Calandra said all options are on the table for boards under provincial supervision, including closing underused schools. It was the first sign that the government might lift an eight-year moratorium on school closures, which boards say has strained budgets.聽

The Education Ministry did not respond to specific questions about middle schools. But a spokesperson noted that while EQAO results have improved in recent years, they still don’t meet parents’ expectations. That’s why the government says it is building on its “back-to-basics” focus on reading, writing and math; will analyze聽test results; and take steps to support students and teachers.聽

“The minister has been clear: our top priority is supporting students and teachers in the classroom,” said his press secretary Emma Testani.

In Ontario, the vast majority of middle schools are in public boards, particularly in Peel and Toronto, both of which are grappling with declining enrolment. Neither board commented on Johnson’s findings.

Kathleen Woodcock, president of the聽Ontario Public School Boards’ Association (OPSBA), said the inability to close schools “has hindered any good thinking about middle schools and their value.”聽

How did middle schools come to Ontario?

Middle schools first appeared in the United States聽in the early 20th century because educators believed grouping preteens together best met their developmental needs. The model spread to Canada, including Ontario, where it was introduced for practical and educational reasons.

According to OPSBA, rapid population growth often meant elementary schools were overcrowded, prompting boards to build separate schools for the middle years; then the introduction of full-day kindergarten further ate into available space. Also, it was believed that middle schools helped prepare kids for high school because students were put on rotary timetables with subject specialists teaching different courses, much like high school itself.

But the middle school model was never聽widely adopted in the Catholic system because of costs, says Patrick Daly, executive director of the Ontario Catholic School Trustees’ Association.聽Before the province centralized school funding in 1997, Catholic and rural public boards received less money than urban public boards.

“It really was a matter of funding,” said Daly, noting that building and staffing another school is costly and Catholic boards weren’t in a position to do it.

In recent decades, some , citing . And Ontario has seen a gradual movement away from middle schools for academic reasons, because they鈥檙e seen as less cost-effective and linked to more behavioural issues 鈥� anecdotal evidence suggests student-on-student violence is lower in K鈥�8 schools.

Many parents also prefer the K鈥�8 model for its continuity and stability, and even older students like the chance to serve as role models for younger children.

Some 海角社区官网middle schools are seeing success

Despite the research, some middle schools thrive and some kids are doing well.

One of the province’s top performers is Toronto’s Zion Heights Middle School. Key Kasravi, a former parent council co-chair whose three children attended the school,聽credits its “extremely dedicated” teachers, engaged parents and a culture of academic excellence.

A big part of the school’s success, he says, was the rotary timetable, which let the principal hand-pick teachers for subjects they were passionate about, bringing more energy to the classroom and benefiting students.聽(Rotary is less common today, with many聽middle schools using a mixed model: rotary for some subjects and the homeroom teacher for others.)

But Kasravi says the school’s recent shift away from rotary has left parents frustrated and worried it will hurt student achievement.聽

At Toronto’s聽Queen Alexandra Middle School聽鈥� it performs slightly above the provincial average聽 鈥斅燙rysteen Xiao says her daughter’s move to middle school went smoothly, both academically and socially. The biggest adjustment was the increased load in homework.聽

Her daughter, now in Grade 8, had longtime classmates from her previous school 鈥� friends since kindergarten 鈥� which eased the transition, says Xiao. “She’s quite happy.”