More Talk on Deleveling the Middle Schools

Driven by documented gaps in achievement between white and black students, educators in South Orange and Maplewood are rethinking middle school and how best to teach adolescents. On the table is a plan to end the practice of separating students based on their academic proficiency in seventh grade.

Superintendent of Schools Brian Osborne prefers the term "level up" instead of deleveling, but no matter the name, the plan has ignited controversy on both sides of the debate. Still, only small handfuls of parents attended meetings on Wednesday night with middle school principals to share their concerns and learn more about the proposals.

At South Orange Middle School, 21 parents, including three school board members, spent two hours with Principal Kirk Smith, demanding specifics on how the changes will be implemented and measured if adopted by the Board of Education.

"This plan gives middle schoolers a chance to shine," said Smith, defending the recommendations presented last month to members of the Board of Education and community.

Motivating the move to delevel is an achievement gap, the discrepancy on standardized test scores between students, with white students outperforming their black peers. School leaders believe leveling—which begins in middle school, in sixth grade until a few years ago—contributes to the disparity. They point to educational studies that maintain that schools can't close the achievement gap until they close the curriculum gap created by tracking.

Students change rapidly between the ages of 11 and 14, Smith said. "We must take full advantage of providing greater access to the most challenging courses so that they raise the level of their performance," he noted.

Students are placed in levels based on their scores on the state standardized test (NJ ASK), teacher recommendations and grades. The highest level classes are predominately white, Smith said. At South Orange Middle School, in language arts, 63 percent of the students in Level 4 classes (the highest academic level) are white. In Level 3, 68 percent of the students are black. Level 2 classes are overwhelming comprised of black students—90 percent, according to district data.

The issue received national attention with a radio documentary "Mind the Gap: Why Good Schools Are Failing Black Students." The report was produced for National Public Radio by journalist and local resident Nancy Solomon and explored the disparity at Columbia High School.

A 60-person task force was brought together last fall to propose remedies for closing the gap. Their recommendations—which also include changes at the elementary schools and high schools—were presented to the Board of Education last month.

School administrators have been meeting with teachers in anticipation that the plans will move forward. A series of community forums have also taken place, and last night, a similar meeting was held at Maplewood Middle School. About 25 community members attended that gathering, including two school board members, according to Principal Jeffrey L. Truppo.

On June 14, the school superintendent will ask Board of Education members to approve the changes effective this coming September.

At the middle schools, those changes would increase the time sixth-grade students spend in core subjects to 100 minutes weekly in language arts, social students, science and math. The extra time would be to allow for more research, labs and basic skills instruction. The change eliminates Spanish in the sixth grade.

In seventh grade, the plan creates classes of mixed abilities in language arts, social studies and science, effectively merging levels 3 and 4. (Math would remain leveled until the results of a district-wide audit are analyzed. And Level 2 would remain in place.) Classes would be taught at the highest Level 4 curriculum, challenging students and providing opportunities for more students to move along a college track, Smith said.

No changes are planned for eighth grade.

Parents at South Orange Middle School on Wednesday night criticized school leaders for moving too quickly and failing to proceed in a practical, systematic way in dismantling the tracking system.

Smith acknowledged the validity of those questions. "I will not mislead you," he said. "I wish we had more time."

The superintendent's full report on findings by the Task Force on Equity & Excellence is posted on the school district's website.