Section 1 Short title
This Act may be cited as the “Success in the Middle Act of 2015”.
Success in the Middle Act of 2015
A BILL
To provide grants to States to ensure that all students in the middle grades are taught an academically rigorous curriculum with effective supports so that students complete the middle grades prepared for success in secondary school and postsecondary endeavors, to improve State and district policies and programs relating to the academic achievement of students in the middle grades, to develop and implement effective middle grades models for struggling students, and for other purposes.
Sec. 2 Findings
Congress finds the following:
International comparisons indicate that students in the United States do not start out behind students of other nations in mathematics and science, but that they fall behind by the end of the middle grades.
Approximately 64 percent of students in grade 8 read below the proficient level on the 2013 National Assessment of Educational Progress. A little over one-third of students in grade 8 in the United States, and approximately 3 percent of such students who are English language learners, can read with proficiency, according to the 2013 National Assessment on Educational Progress (referred to in this section as “NAEP”).
In mathematics, 35 percent of students in grade 8 show skills at or above the NAEP proficient level in 2013. However, the percentage of students in grade 4 at the NAEP proficient and above level was 42 percent. In grade 8, the gaps between the average mathematics scores of white and black students and between white and Hispanic students were approximately as wide in 2013 as in 2009.
Combining measures of academic achievement and motivation, social engagement, and self-regulation—the behavioral domains essential for success across the school and work continuum—provides a more holistic picture of students, including their likelihood of enrolling in college following high school graduation. This information, available in middle school, allows for early identification of and intervention with students who may be less likely to complete secondary school and attend an institution of higher education.
Higher education readiness should begin in middle school. A student in grade 8 has at least a 75 percent chance of dropping out of secondary school if the student attended school less than 80 percent of the time in grade 8 and failed English or mathematics in that grade.
Middle grades students are hopeful about their future, with 93 percent believing that they will complete secondary school and 90 percent believing they will find a good job after high school graduation.
Students who do not attend school regularly, who are subjected to frequent disciplinary actions, or who fail mathematics or English have less than a 15 percent chance of graduating secondary school on time and a 20 percent chance of graduating 1 year late. Without effective interventions and proper supports, these students are at risk of subsequent failure in secondary school, or of dropping out.
Student transitions from elementary school to the middle grades and to secondary school are often complicated by poor curriculum alignment, inadequate counseling services, and unsatisfactory sharing of student performance and academic achievement data between grades.
Middle grades improvement strategies should be tailored based on a variety of performance indicators and data, so that educators can create and implement successful school improvement strategies to address the needs of the middle grades, and so that teachers can provide effective instruction and adequate assistance to meet the needs of at-risk students.
To stem a secondary school dropout rate nearly 3 times the average—
students with disabilities in the critical middle grades must receive appropriate academic accommodations and access to assistive technology;
high-risk behaviors in such students, such as chronic absenteeism and course failure, must be monitored; and
problem-solving skills with broad application must be taught to such students.
Local educational agencies and State educational agencies often do not have the capacity to provide support for school improvement strategies. Successful models do exist for turning around low-performing middle grades, and Federal support should be provided to increase the capacity to apply promising practices based on evidence from successful schools.
Sec. 3 Definitions
In this Act:
ESEA definitions— The terms educational service agency, elementary school, local educational agency, outlying area, secondary school, and State educational agency have the meanings given the terms in section 9101 of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 7801).
Chronic absenteeism— The term chronic absenteeism means the percentage of individual students missing 10 percent, or more, of the days of school in a school year.
Digital literacy skills— The term “digital literacy skills” has the meaning given the term in section 202 of the Museum and Library Services Act (20 U.S.C. 9101).
Eligible entity— The term eligible entity means a partnership that includes—
not less than 1 eligible local educational agency; and
an institution of higher education;
an educational service agency; or
a nonprofit organization with demonstrated expertise in high-quality middle grades intervention.
Eligible local educational agency— The term eligible local educational agency means a local educational agency that serves not less than 1 eligible school.
Eligible school— The term eligible school means an elementary or secondary school that contains not less than 2 or more successive grades beginning with grade 5 and ending with grade 8 and for which—
a high proportion of the middle grades students attending such school will attend a secondary school with a graduation rate of less than 65 percent;
more than 25 percent of the students who finish grade 6 at such school, or the earliest middle grade level at the school, exhibit 1 or more of the key risk factors and early risk identification signs, including—
student attendance below 90 percent;
a failing grade in a mathematics or reading or language arts course;
2 failing grades in any courses; and
out-of-school suspension or other evidence of at-risk behavior; or
more than 50 percent of the middle grades students attending such school do not perform at a proficient level on State student academic assessments required under section 1111(b)(3) of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 6311(b)(3)) in mathematics or reading or language arts.
English language learner— The term English language learner means an individual who is limited English proficient, as defined in section 9101 of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 7801).
Institution of higher education— The term institution of higher education has the meaning given the term in section 101 of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1001).
Middle grades— The term middle grades means any of grades 5 through 8.
Principles of scientific research— The term “principles of scientific research” has the meaning given the term in section 200 of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1021).
Scientifically valid research— The term scientifically valid research has the meaning given the term in section 200 of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1021).
Secretary— The term Secretary means the Secretary of Education.
State— The term State means each of the 50 States, the District of Columbia, and the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico.
Student with a disability— The term student with a disability means a student who is a child with a disability, as defined in section 602 of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (20 U.S.C. 1401).