It has been suggested that regardless of …show more content…
It is learned that school transitions, contributes to the inability to maintain social relationships and the lack of success during the elementary to middle school transition. Interviews with school officials indicated that transitions taking place following grade five or grade six is a crucial developmental time for youth. During either of these transitions, the transitioning youth are typically, ten, eleven and even twelve years of age. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services state that between the ages of ten and fourteen years old, adolescents are experiencing important developmental, physical and behavioral changes. School officials expressed their concern regarding the changes that the students are experiencing and contribute these changes to the inability to have a successful transition to middle school; in addition to having trouble forming relationships with peers and staff. A common concern among the conducted interviews, is the fact that during these ages the children’s bodies are changing physically and mentally; some are maturing mentally faster than their primary social circle of peers and it is these adolescents that are seeking acceptance from other social groups. Wigfield, Lutz &Wagner (2005), states that during the fifth and sixth grade, students are experiencing body changes and when subjected to new environments and new expectations, this can lead to lowered …show more content…
Middle school transitions, also impact academics pertaining to test scores and graduation. Stated during the interviews, school officials shared that it is evident that academic grades are affected during middle school transitions. Principal of a Transitional kindergarten through eighth grade school disagreed, and commented that his school did not have a noticeable decline in test scores or grades among his sixth, seventh, or eighth grade students. Taking into account research presented by Rockoff and Lockwood (2010), middle school systems decrease on time high school graduation by 1to3 percent. This information supports the notion that students not required to transition to a middle school, are more likely to have better academic grades and graduate on