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ADVANTAGES AND DISADVANTAGES OF VARIOUS
GRADE-LEVEL ORGANIZATIONS
The grade-level organization of the American school is characterized not by a single uniform pattern but by a variety of grade configurations. Each of these grade configurations has its advantages and disadvantages which have varying weights and influence in local districts as a consequence of local circumstances. For schools districts seeking a definitive answer on “the best” grade-level organization, no definitive answer exists. What exists are various lists of the pros and cons of each grade-level pattern which must be examined and evaluated in light of each local district’s needs.
Advantages and Disadvantages
In 1978, the Jefferson County Public Schools in Kentucky conducted a review of the advantages and disadvantages of the mast popular grade-level structures in use. The Mineola Union Free School District also completed such a study in 1980. In 1981, the Spencerport Central School District undertook a similar review of various grade-level organizations and prepared a listing of the various advantages and disadvantages. These advantages and disadvantages of various grade-level configurations identified by these three studies are listed as follows. In reviewing the listings, it needs to be pointed out that an advantage identified by one district may well be, given circumstances, a disadvantage for another. Any of the suggested advantages and disadvantages must be examined from the perspective of the local school district, its needs, circumstances, and situations.
The 8-4 Plan (Grades K-S, 9-12). The 8-4 plan dominated other plans from the 1920’s through the 1950’s. The four-year high schools enjoyed national popularity for over 40 years, but began to be phased out in favor of the three-year high school, and then again reappeared with the advent of the middle school movement. This plan created large elementary schools (grades 1-
- and grouped pupils in their childhood years with early adolescents, causing educators to move to other organization plans.
Advantages
- Pupils in an 8-4 grade—level configuration would be kept in the elementary school environment longer than those pupils in most other grade-level patterns; thus, the change from an elementary education program to a secondary education program would come later when the pupil would be better prepared to cope with it.
- More emphasis could be given to the traditional so called fundamentals for students in the K-S school; the teacher would be with the pupil for the entire day or most of it and thus could provide better and more continuous instruction and guidance.
- Articulation between the elementary education program and secondary education program could be easily achieved, since only one bridge would be required. Other patterns such as the 6-2-4 plan would require two bridges.
- With pupils remaining, longer in contact with their elementary school and other elementary students, pressure from older students to “grow’ up” socially would occur later.
- Home-school cooperation might be more easily attained, particularly at the elementary (K-
- level since parents would have many years to develop a relationship with and attachment to the school, the staff, and the administration. Staff, administration and students could get to know each other very well.
- Since K-8 schools would probably be nearer the home of the pupil, transportation problems and costs could conceivably be less for students in grades seven and eight when compared to the costs of transporting seventh and eighth graders in other grade—level patterns such as the 6-3-3 or 6-2-4.
- The 8-4 pattern could afford an opportunity for a broader curriculum offering in the high schools than would such grade-level patterns as the 6-3-3 plan as a natural result of developing curriculum for four grades rather than three.
Disadvantages
- The curriculum and program of activities for grades seven and eight in the 8-4 plan could be narrower than the curriculum in the middle grades of a 6-3-3, 6-2-4 or 5-3-4 pattern (without or with much less adequate libraries, shops, science rooms, physical education facilities, homemaking rooms, arts and crafts rooms, guidance provisions) and thus would provide for the needs of these pupils much less adequately. In addition, the opportunities of pupils in grades kindergarten to six might be seriously diminished by making provisions for the older pupils; to provide equivalent opportunity, both capital outlay and current expense costs would tend to be considerably greater.
- Exploratory courses, such as industrial arts, home economics and foreign languages would be more costly if brought to the elementary school than if centralized in a junior high or middle school. If an enriched program was attempted in the K-S schools, it might under certain circumstances and in a number of schools, call for considerable duplication of special rooms and equipment which would not be used fully. Staffing costs in special areas for grade 6, 7 and 8 would be higher than in a centralized model such as the 5-3-4 plan.
- Elementary teachers for grades seven and eight in the 8-4 plan might be difficult to find given existing tenure areas and certification requirements in New York State.
- With .pupils forced to make a rapid adjustment from elementary to high school, the gap between elementary and secondary education might easily 1 be so wide that it would be extremely difficult for students to bridge. Adequate guidance and necessary experience to facilitate bridging the gap to secondary education might be difficult to provide. - Early adolescents would be denied a school of their own and a broader curriculum offering appropriate to their needs. In addition, the seventh and eighth grade social scene may cause difficulty for the elementary school children. - Elementary schools spanning K-S might become too large with students and teachers getting lost in the crowd. - Extracurricular activities, particularly interschool athletics, might suffer given the need to address the requirements of all students grades K-S rather than a more limited grade span such as K-5, 6-8, 9-12.
- Seventh and eighth graders could be short-changed on extracurricular activities since the focus might well be on students in grades 9—12. There could also be less personal attention to seventh and eighth grade students by guidance and other supportive staff than to students in grades 9-12.
The 6-3—3 Plan (Grades K-6, 7-9. 10-12). By the 1960’s, this plan had become by far the most popular, succeeding the 8-4 plan. It emerged as a result of educators’ recognition of the special needs of the early adolescent. The plan successfully existed in many districts for several years until more recent research studies revealed two major shortcomings: (1) ninth graders were more like the 10th, 11th, and 12th graders and (2) the junior high schools were becoming more like high schools. These findings, in part, caused the demise of the junior high and the emergence of the middle school movement.
Advantages
- The long stay in one elementary school compared to the 5-3—4 plan or the 4-4- plan would facilitate better relationships for pupils, staff and parents and would maintain a neighborhood school concept.
- Interaction among a wider range of age levels would be provided in the elementary school compared with the 5-3-4 plan or the 4-4-4 plan, with fifth and sixth graders able to provide appropriate role models for younger students. Early adolescents in the 7th, 8th and 9th grade school and young adults in the 10th, 11th and 12th grade school would be given schools of their own. Leadership opportunities would be available to ninth graders as opposed to being at the “bottom of the ladder” in a 5- 3—4 or 6-2-4 pattern.
- The 6-3-3 plan would provide for a gradual change from self-contained classrooms to complete departmentalization. A counseling program for students in grades 7, 8 and 9 could be offered; for grades 7, 8 and 9 a better, more appropriate organization of academic studies could be developed with specialists to teach subjects. The 6-3- plan would allow for a subject-centered program in the upper grades.
- The 6-3-3 plan could enable the school to develop a program of extracurricular activities and to provide experiences and leadership specifically for early adolescents: pupils in grades 7, 8 and 9 could have pride in a school of their own.
- The 6-3-3 plan is congruent with New York State’s teacher training and teacher certification requirements, and State Education Department regulations which are based upon a K-6, 7-12 split.
Disadvantages
- Ninth graders are physically different than seventh and eighth graders. Two thirds of the girls and one third of the boys in the eighth grade have gone through puberty. All, or almost all, of the ninth grade boys and girls have gone through puberty. A ninth grader is too sophisticated for seventh and eighth grade children who want to imitate ninth graders and grow up too fast. Also, some sixth grade students can be negative role models for younger children.
- Pupils between 12 and 14 years of age could be pressured to place their childhood behind them; the 6-3-3 plan could force an immediate break from elementary schools which might make it difficult for some pupils to adjust to the new school situation.
- In the 6-3-3 plan the possibilities for varied programs in seventh and eighth grades might be limited by the ninth-grade Carnegie unit scheduling requirements. The 10th, 11th and 12th grade school could have fewer course offerings because of the lack of a 9th grade. A 6-3-3 pattern could force limited course offerings, especially for the academically talented and gifted. When ninth grade is separated from the 10th, 11th and 12th grades, certain courses and equipment must be duplicated resulting in greater costs than plans which have grades 9, 10, 11 and 12 together in one school.
- Specialized curriculum offerings would tend to make teachers more subject matter conscious than child conscious; the 6-3-3 plan might not allow sufficient identification with a teacher for those secondary school pupils needing individual attention.
- Sometimes a junior high school is a “little high school” and not a school with its own identity; it has “junior” status. Some parents and pupils feel that a junior high school “doesn’t count,” or at least not the 7th and 8th grades.
The 5-3-4 Plan (Grades K-i, 6-8, 9-12). The 5-3-4 plan is the most generally accepted plan presently being implemented in the United States. In 1974, more than 66% of all middle schools housed grades 6 through 8.
Advantages
- Organizing grade 6 students with students in grades 7 and 8 supports many research findings which show that today youngsters enter adolescence a year earlier than they did 50 years ago due to better nutrition and improved socioeconomic conditions.
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- Students’ ages in a 6th, 7th and 8th grade school would more nearly parallel the period of human growth and development between childhood and adolescence called transcendence. Research indicates children are in pubescence between ages 11 and 13, the ages of students in grades 6-8.
- The 5-3-4 plan would group pupils who are more alike than either elementary or secondary age pupils. This middle age group would need personal attention which they would not receive sufficiently in any of the other organizations. These students are at an awkward stage and would need to be together with excellent teaching personnel.
- Students in a 6th, 7th and 8th grade school are at an academic age where they would need reinforcement and extension of skills through application (i.e., a continuation and extension of basic education). Pupils would be exposed to various areas of specialization at an earlier age on an exploratory basis. Specialists would be available to help sixth graders branch out easier than they might be able to in an elementary school. Sixth graders would be provided the opportunity to use specialized facilities such as science labs, home economics rooms, and industrial arts shops. Sixth graders would receive greater stimulation and department- alization of teaching and special facilities and equipment, e.g., shops and labs, to advance according to their ability.
- The 5-3-4 plan would facilitate a flexibility in grouping children for instructional purposes and would afford an opportunity for a broader curriculum offering in the high school than does the 6-3-3 plan. The restraint of organizing part of a school to meet high school graduation requirements (Carnegie units) required in grade 9 of the 6-3-3 pattern would be
- The difference between age 14 (ninth grade) and age 18 (twelfth grade) is great which could make it very difficult for some ninth graders to adjust to the new school. Some ninth graders might be too young and immature to be placed with senior high students. The academic pressure caused by teachers who are accustomed to working with senior high students and the competition of advanced senior high students might be too much for some ninth graders. Many ninth graders might not be able to accept the social pressure placed on them in a 9-12 grade school.
The 4-4-4 Plan (Grades K-4, 5-8, 9-12). The advantages and disadvantages of the 4-4- plan are virtually the same as those stated for the 5-3—4 plan. The appropriateness of the inclusion of the fifth grade in middle schools has raised questions among educators. Although some research indicates that many children do enter pubescence at ages 9 and 10, many research reports suggest this occurs between ages 11 and 13.
Advantages
- Organizing students in grades 5, 6, 7 and 3 together supports many research findings which show that today youngsters enter adolescence a year earlier than they did 50 years ago due to better nutrition and improved socioeconomic conditions.
- The 4-4-4 plan would group pupils who are more alike than either elementary or secondary age pupils. This middle age group would need personal attention which they would not receive sufficiently in any of the other organizations. These students are at an awkward stage and would need to be together with excellent teaching personnel.
- Students in a 5th, 6th, 7th and 8th grade school are at an academic age where they would need reinforcement and extension of skills through application (i.e., a continuation and extension of basic education). Pupils would be exposed to various areas of specialization at an earlier age on an exploratory basis. Specialists would be available to help, sixth graders branch out easier than they might be able to in an elementary school. Sixth graders would be provided the opportunity to use specialized facilities such as science labs, home economics rooms, and industrial arts shops. Sixth graders would receive greater stimulation and departmentalization of teaching and special facilities and equipment, e.g., shops and labs, to advance according to their ability.
- The 4-4-4 plan would facilitate a flexibility in grouping children for instructional purposes and would afford an opportunity for a broader curriculum offering in the high school than does the 6-3-3 plan. The restraint of organizing part of a school to meet high school graduation requirements (Carnegie units) required in grade 9 of the 6-3-3 pattern would be removed. College admission and state high school graduation requirements are based upon the assumption of a 9-12 program.
- The 4-4-4 pattern would provide orderly transition from elementary school methods and materials to secondary school methods, materials and complete departmentalization (i.e., from self-contained to a departmentalized environment).
- Emphasis on parties, dances and competitive athletics for students in grades 7 and 8 would be reduced compared with the 6-6 plan in which these grades participate in many secondary school activities.
- A transitional school should have at least three grade levels in it to allow sufficient time for the students to develop an identity with the building and for the faculty to know and work
with the students. Continued articulation of 9-12 educational programs in all areas, curricular and co-curricular including athletics, would be facilitated.
- Today’s ninth graders are more mature and sophisticated than those of 50 years ago, when the junior high school was created, and can handle and profit from the high school and extracurricular pressures. The end of eighth grade is a natural developmental break for youth. Many ninth graders are mature enough to fit in and profit by the high school program. They feel like and want to be senior high school students. The 4-4-4 pattern would provide opportunity for advanced ninth graders to take higher level courses without traveling to another school.
- The middle school would have an identity of its own which would enhance pupils’ sense of belonging. Children could have a fresh start in a new school earlier than students in either the 5-3-4 plan or the 6-3-3 plan. That is, they could detach themselves from old labels, make new friends and be introduced to new subjects and teaching styles.
Disadvantages
- Some fifth and sixth graders might be better off in the protective environment of an elementary school than in a 5th, 6th, 7th, and 8th grade school. Some fifth and sixth graders might be too young to be pushed very hard academically or socially.
- Filth and sixth graders would lose the benefit of an elementary school program and would not be available for safety patrol, student council and other leadership roles.
- The elementary school challenge to teachers of working with children at the filth and sixth grade levels would be missing.
- The leadership role carried by sixth grade and ninth grade students in a 6-3— pattern could be reduced or eliminated.
- The difference between age 14 (ninth grade) and age 18 (twelfth grade) is great which could make it very difficult for some ninth graders to adjust to the new school. Some ninth graders might be too young and immature to be placed with senior high students.
- The 4-4-4 plan often evolves from desegregation plans without adequate consideration of other factors.
- The 4-4-4 plan assumes, without sufficient evidence, that the maturation patterns of filth grade pupils are more like those of the sixth, seventh, and eighth graders than they are like those of the third and fourth graders.
The 6-2-4 Plan (Grades K-6, 7-8, 9-12). The 6-2-4 plan focuses on the population which middle schools are designed to serve and is frequently found in the state of California. The major problem with this plan is that most school districts either have too few pupils at this age level to justify a school facility or the buildings are being underused with such small numbers of students.
Advantages
- The seventh and eighth grade pupils, the target population for a middle school program, are given special attention.
- Sometimes a junior high school is a “little high school” and not a school with its own identity; it has “junior” status. Some parents and pupils feel that a junior high school ‘doesn’t count,” or at least not the seventh and eighth graders.
Grade Centers. School systems which have designated certain buildings as grade centers, housing one or more grades, seem to have done so either for desegregation purposes, or because of the lack of space for a more desirable organization. While accomplishing the goal for which the organizational plan was designed, certain advantages and disadvantages may be seen.
Advantages
- Academic grouping and appropriate placement within the grade range of the centers would be provided. Activities appropriate to the age of the pupils housed in the centers could be provided.
- An atmosphere which generates fewer discipline problems would exist and the spread of unrest from pupils of other ages would be minimized.
Disadvantages
- Additional expenditures to meet the need for a wide range of library books and textbooks in all centers would be needed.
- The opportunity for cross-grouping from lower to higher levels and vice versa would be eliminated. The opportunity for deviant learners to be placed academically with younger pupils for instruction, but with pupils of their own age for physical education or social purposes would be decreased. The opportunity for cross-age tutoring would be eliminated.
- The opportunity for siblings to walk or ride to school together and the age range of peer relationships would be diminished.
- Communication would decrease among past, present and future teachers of the pupils.
The Middle School and the Middle School Student
Many of the advantages and disadvantages of the various grade-level configurations stem from the special needs and characteristics of students between the ages of 11 and 14. Following is an examination of the middle school and its students to better understand the characteristics of middle-school students that might influence decisions about grade-level organization.
Students between the ages of 11 and 14 are called many things -inbetween-angers, young teens, etc. This age group experiences the most dramatic growth period in the development of the human organism since infancy. Characteristics of the period are:
- resentment of authority figures
- ambivalence concerning dependence
- transfer of recognition from adults to peers
- emancipation from the home
- fluctuation of emotions
- development of changing values
- concern about physical growth
- development of self-concept
- social and sexual maturation
- beginning intellectual maturation.
The middle school, a fairly recent phenomenon in public education in America, proposes to provide appropriate educational experiences for students aged 11 to 14. Some advantages of the 6-7-3 middle school, as described in report prepared by the Mineola Union Free School District (1930),are as follows:
I. Eleven to 14 year olds share certain broadly defined qualities or attributes. The middle school can provide a specialized curriculum tailored to meet the unique needs of these students.
- The middle school combines into one organization and facility a school program that bridges, yet differs from, the childhood (K-5) and adolescent (9-12) programs.
- The three-grade (6-7-8) organizational pattern can provide more stability to the overall program than a two-grade (7-8) pattern. More time exists in which to develop programs, promote teacher/pupil relationships, and provide individualized instruction to meet the highly variable needs and ability levels of this age group.
- The middle school facilitates extending guidance services to sixth grade students. The guidance counselor •is an integral part of the organization, working closely with teachers and students. 5. The middle school de-emphasizes sophisticated social activities often found in high schools. Emphasis is on active student participation in interest groups and low-keyed athletics and social activities.
- Because teachers are not tied to day-long classes, the middle school facilitates the introduction in grade 6 of some staff specialization and team teaching.
- The middle school provides an opportunity for gradual change from the sell- contained classroom to complete departmentalization.
The Mineola study also found three disadvantages of a 6-7-8 middle school:
- Some students entering 6th grade are physically immature and may be intimidated being with 7th and 8th graders.
- Sixth graders are exposed to the 7th and 8th grade social scene, possibly before they are capable of handling the resulting demands, pressures, and responsibilities.
- Having to relate to many teachers making different demands may be a difficult adjustment for students who are accustomed to working with only one or two teachers.
- Children at this age are heavier and taller than their counterparts fl years ago.
Psychological Development:
- Children at this age experience widely varying moods and display erratic and inconsistent behavior.
- Children at this age begin to develop their own aspirations.
- Children at this age want to be “adult” without losing the safety of childhood.
- The emotional patterns of children at this age are becoming established.
- Children at this age tend to be sell-conscious and easily embarrassed.
- Children at this age are struggling to form constructive self-images.
- The dramatic changes of puberty dominate the thoughts of children at this age.
Social Development:
- Heterosexual interest develops in children at this age.
- Children at this age increasingly seek approval from their peers, decreasingly from adults.
- Children at this age tend to increasingly resent adult restrictions.
- Differences in social development are considerably greater in children at this age than in children younger or older.
- Children at this age tend to model their behavior on that of alder students; it may be disadvantageous to have, as models, older children who are experiencing adolescence (students in grades 9-12) and its related problems.
- As children of this age develop socially, it is advantageous to have a larger, more diverse population of peers.
- Children at this age experiment with language and other social behaviors they have never tried before and will not try again.
- The dramatic changes of puberty dominate the social interactions of children of this age.
- While children at this age are struggling to become independent, they tend to get lost without the security of family, peers, and school.
The Jamesville-DeWitt Central School District stressed the fact that teachers of children at this age need special training to help students during this period of intellectual, physical, psychological and social developments.
In 1975, the Education Research Service (ERS) published a Summary of Research on Middle Schools and, in 1983, prepared a report on Organization of the Middle Grades: A Summary of Research as an update and expansion of the 1975 publication. The new document addresses the development of junior high schools and middle schools as well as the early research in the earlier version on junior high schools and grade organization. The range of topics include:
- The initiation and development of junior high schools, middle schools, and elementary schools;
- Comparisons between junior high schools, middle schools and elementary schools;
- The effects of grade arrangement on student achievement and attitudes;
- The attitudes of teachers and administrators toward grade organization.
Some of the general conclusions presented in the new ERS (1983) publication are:
- Researchers tend to agree that a school program’s quality is far more important than its grade-level organization.
- Brain growth activity at the 6th and 9th grade levels and a plateau at the 7th and 8th grade levels have implications for curriculum and program development in middle schools.
- Studies on the level of maturity of 9th grade students indicate that these students more closely resemble 10th grade students than 8th grade students.
- Research to determine the best entry level for students entering middle school indicates that the 6th grade rather than the 5th grade is the best entry point for maturation reasons.
- Grade-level organization seems to have little significant effect on the academic achievement of 9th grade students, on the personal-social adjustment of 7th grade students, on the academic achievement or attitude of 6th grade students, and on the organizational climate of the school.
The Herricks Union Free School District (1978), which switched from a 6-3-3 grade-level configuration to a 5-3-4 pattern, found five advantages of the 5-3-4 pattern:
a. Middle school reorganization can itself “shake up the system” and help the adoption of more flexible teaching and administrative strategies as well as a more individualized curriculum.
b. The removal of ninth grade from the junior high school and its placement at the senior high school would be more appropriate given the earlier physical and social maturation of ninth graders and their needs for more diverse educational experiences.
c. Middle schools can provide sixth grade students with a more diversified curriculum and a greater range of facilities than can most elementary schools.
