The relationship between schools to watch(c) designation and academic achievement: A study of Colorado, New York, Ohio, and Virginia

The purpose of this quantitative study was to examine existing data to determine if there was quantitative evidence that the middle school philosophy, when fully implemented, provides an increase in academic achievement. The primary focus of this study was to compare the academic success of schools designated as Schools to Watch(c) (meaning they have been reviewed, and are following middle school tenets as defined by the National Forum of Middle Grades Reform) to schools without such designation, but with similar demographic parts.;For this study, academic achievement was measured using results from the 2013 state-based criterion-referenced test in the areas of mathematics and reading/Language Arts for Colorado, New York, Ohio, and Virginia. Schools for the study were selected from each of the four participating states using propensity score matching on the criteria of percentage of minority students, percentage of students in poverty, and the total population of the school. A MANCOVA analysis was conducted to look at the multivariate difference in math and language arts/reading scores. A linear mixed model analysis was conducted to examine the univariate difference in scores for both math and language arts/reading when taking into accounts the clustering of schools within the states.;Results of the study showed small, but not statistically significant, gains in academic achievement in both areas (math, and reading/language arts) when looking at the multivariate analysis. The univariate analysis suggested statistically significant gains in language arts/reading when taking into account the clustering of schools within states. The univariate analysis for math, showed small, but not statistically significant gains when taking into account the clustering of schools within schools. Recommendations for future research included research to help establish a causal relationship between the implementation of the middle level model and academic achievement as well as duplication of study methodology to include more schools and states.