Middle school presents a unique time for learning and growth for adolescents. Understanding how students transition from elementary school settings while maintaining academic growth is vital to supporting all Connecticut children. Academic growth for Connecticut students may flatten as they go through middle school. This project will investigate this potential pattern. This project will investigate three districts with promising middle school growth trajectories to better understand how districts are able to avoid this downward trend. This CCERC project uses a mixed methods approach to determine the breadth and depth of the problem as well as solutions that schools and districts can implement. Methodologies include quantitative analysis of academic growth data and qualitative analysis of interviews, focus groups, and curriculum documents.

Start Date: March 2025
End Date: January 2026

Research Team:

Principal Investigator: Shannon Holder, Central Connecticut State University
Co-PI: Jinhai Yu, University of Connecticut