A comparative study of middle school and K--8 school value-added gains in the areas of reading, language, math, science, and social studies

One purpose of the study was to determine if academic performance, as indicated by the Tennessee Value Added Assessment System 1997--99 mean gains, was different for students enrolled in K--8 schools in the East Tennessee Region than it was for those enrolled in middle schools. Another purpose was to determine to what degree, if at all, both differences and similarities of performance were related to the grade configuration of the schools.;The researcher utilized data from 119 schools, a total of 57 middle schools and 62 K--8 schools from the East Tennessee Region. The schools were representative of a range of school settings which included urban, suburban, small town, and rural areas.;Data were obtained from the Tennessee Department of Education and consisted of Report Card Supplements from 32 school systems, representing the East Tennessee Regional Office. Data from each K--8 school and middle school were processed using the SPSS statistical program. These data were analyzed in order to determine the effect sizes. Selection of effect size, as a basis of comparison, was deemed to be an appropriate statistical measure since this was a population study. Each effect size was determined by subtracting the middle school mean gain from the K--8 school mean gain and then dividing the difference by the middle school standard deviation. An effect size of .5 and above was considered to have a large educational significance.;Four large effect sizes were found: (1) seventh grade math (-.72) favored middle schools, (2) seventh grade science (-.61) favored middle schools, (3) eighth grade reading (78) favored K--8 schools, and (4) sixth grade reading (.71) favored K--8 schools.;The conclusions were: (1) A K--8 organizational structure is more appropriate than a 6--8 structure for sixth grade. (2) A 7--8 middle school organizational structure is more appropriate than a K--8 structure for seventh grade. (3) One cannot say that either K--8 or middle school (6--8) configuration is best for all students. (4) Factors other than grade configuration may have a relationship on whether schools were higher or lower gain schools.