The disruptive transition from middle to high school: opportunities for linking policy and practice

Abstract

Educational transitions are points during which students move from one level or unit of the schooling process to the next; they are generally associated with a cluster of discontinuities that can disrupt student progress. This article focuses on one type of transition that all students in US public schools must traverse: the systemic transition from middle to high school. More specifically, the study establishes the transition as a problematic occurrence receiving insufficient attention from education professionals, and considers policy options that have the potential to influence educational practice to be more supportive during these disruptive periods. The first section defines the transition of interest in the study and discusses the ways in which this seemingly ‘invisible’ organizational policy can be addressed in practice. The second section analyses a nationally‐representative data set to demonstrate the negative impact of the transition on pupil performance in mathematics and science. The final section explores potential policy responses to this disruptive organizational feature of US public educational systems that may overcome the heretofore insufficient responses in practice.