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[quote=Anonymous]Have taught MS and disagree with the PP who sees MS primarily as a holding pen between ES and HS.

More and more public middle schools in this country practice "flex tracking," at least in high-performing districts.  Under flex tracking, a student can be moved up, or down, a track at any point during the school year after a student, parent, counselor or admin initiates a structured tracking review.  The reviews are designed to help those involved reach a consensus on maintaining, or changing, a student's track, without kids (particularly low-income minorities) getting trapped on low tracks. Consider the case of the handful of BASIS 5th graders who are encouraged to take a full year of algebra.  Why should these super bright kids have to wait until 7th or 8th grade to take algebra in class? Seeking to hold high fliers back at school is a recipe for unleashing a host of avoidable social and academic problems, particularly high SES flight from urban schools.

Most other rich countries don't bother with MS.  College prep programs start at the equivalent of 6th or 7th grade and runs through 12th grade on a single campus, like some DC charters do. Good idea.

When I look in on the most advanced 6th grade ELA pullout group in at JA in the fall, I realized that my Brent student had mastered the material being taught to the group at least a year earlier, possibly two. Teachers can only offer so much challenge to high-performing kids when they sit in class with peers who are 2, 3 even 4 grade levels behind.  Every DC public MS should flex track.

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