Section 1 Short title
This Act may be cited as the “Success in the Middle Act of 2021”.
Success in the Middle Act of 2021
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 local educational agency 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:
Research shows that Federal funding for students in middle school and high school, particularly grades 6 through 12, is significantly lower than funding for elementary and postsecondary students.
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 66 percent of students in grade 8 read below the proficient level on the 2019 National Assessment of Educational Progress. Average reading scores were lower at grade 8 for all racial/ethnic groups compared to 2017 except for Asian/Pacific Islander students.
In mathematics, 37 percent of students in grade 8 show skills at or above the proficient level on the 2019 National Assessment of Educational Progress, which is not a significant change since 2017. Nationwide, 19 percent of 8th grade public school students in the Nation who took the mathematics assessment had teachers who reported that a lack of adequate instructional materials and supplies was a moderate or serious problem.
Evidence demonstrates substantial learning loss for the Nation’s students, including students from the middle grades, resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic. Black and Hispanic students, in particular, were less likely to have access to the prerequisites of learning—devices, internet access, and live contact with teachers. Left unaddressed, these opportunity gaps could translate into wider achievement gaps.
By grade 6, a student who attends school less than 80 percent of the time, receives unsatisfactory marks for mild but sustained misbehavior, or who fails English or mathematics, has only a 10 to 20 percent chance of graduating on time. Without effective interventions and proper supports, these students are at risk of subsequent failure in secondary school, or of dropping out.
According to Gallup, student engagement is strong at the end of elementary school, with nearly 3/4 of 5th graders (74%) reporting high levels of engagement. But similar surveys have shown a gradual and steady decline in engagement for older students, with approximately 1/2 of students in middle school reporting high levels of engagement.
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
teachers can provide effective instruction and adequate assistance to meet the needs of at-risk students.
Middle grade teachers face unique challenges due to the increased individual subject matter focus of the curriculum combined with the physical, intellectual, and emotional changes faced by early adolescents transitioning from elementary school to high school.
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 an institution of higher education 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.
Appropriate academic accommodations, age-appropriate discipline, access to assistive technology, and evidence-based interventions must be used with students with disabilities, particularly in the middle grades, as—
the dropout rate for learning disabled students is nearly 3 times the dropout rate of all students;
more than half of young adults with learning disabilities have been involved in the justice system; and
students with disabilities have a graduation rate nearly 20 percentage points lower than the graduation rate for general education 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, “English learner”, “evidence-based”, local educational agency, outlying area, high school, secondary school, and State educational agency have the meanings given the terms in section 8101 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.
Eligible entity— The term eligible entity means a partnership that includes—
not less than 1 eligible local educational agency; and
One of the following:
An institution of higher education.
An educational service agency.
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 school or secondary school that contains not less than 2 successive grades of grades 5 through 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 67 percent or less;
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)(2) of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 6311(b)(2)) in mathematics or reading or language arts.
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.
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).