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TURNING POINTS 2000:
A LOOK AT ADOLESCENCE

Coming a decade after Carnegie's first Turning Points report that served as a catalyst for middle school reform, the Carnegie Corporation of New York this month released the latest in this series, Turning Points 2000: Educating Adolescents in the 21st Century. This volume calls for a rigorous curriculum, instructional methods that will prepare all students to achieve higher standards, targeted professional development opportunities for teachers and involved parents and communities, amount other items.

"Turning Points 2000 provides a perfect blend of practical guidance and grand vision, looking with hope toward a day when the developmental needs of all children are met," said Dr. James Comer, Maurice Falk Professor of Child Psychiatry, Yale Child Study Center. "The authors skillfully bridge the gap between research and practice as they share strategies for families, communities and institutions to collaboratively prepare adolescents for life."

The report's recommendations for middle grades include:

* Teach a curriculum grounded in rigorous, public academic standards for what students should know and be able to do, relevant to the concerns of adolescents and based on how students learn best.

* Use instructional methods designed to prepare all students to achieve higher standards and become lifelong learners.

* Staff middle grades schools with teachers who are expert at teaching young adolescents, and engage teachers in ongoing, targeted professional development opportunities.

* Organize relationships for learning to create a climate of intellectual development and a caring community of shared educational purpose.

* Govern democratically, through direct or representative participation by all school staff members, the adults who know the students best.

* Provide a safe and healthy school environment as part of improving academic performance and developing caring and ethical citizens. * Involve parents and communities in supporting student learning and healthy development.

"There is mounting evidence that when educators stay the course of comprehensive reform, student outcomes improve," said Davis, former national director of the Middle Grade School State Policy Initiative (MGSSPI).

"If we have learned anything over the past 10 years, it is that gains in student achievement and other positive outcomes for students require comprehensive implementation of reforms over an extended period of time," Davis reported. "Moreover, comprehensive reform is difficult work, fraught with unanticipated barriers. Yet, we are seeing some successes."

"If [the authors'] deep understanding of what's needed and what works for adolescents were shared by every policy maker and educator, we would indeed see a major transformation in the education of our young" said Linda Darling-Hammond, Stanford University. "This book is a must-read for everyone who works with children and youth. For that matter, it's essential for everyone who cares about the health of our young people and our society."

The book indicates that effective instruction must mesh with three other aspects: "the standards and resulting curriculum outlining what student should learn; the assessments students will use to demonstrate their knowledge and skills; and the needs, interests and learning styles of the students themselves."

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This material is taken from the National Middle School Association website, where Turning Points 2000 can be purchased.

Here are some of the highlights of this remarkable book, from the Foreword by David A. Hamburg, M.D., President Emeritus, Carnegie Corporation of New York

"The original Turning Points provided a valuable framework for middle grades education that resonated deeply with practitioners. Turning Points 2000 provides much more 'flesh on the bone' to guide practitioners in their efforts to implement the model."

"Combines the most up-to-date research with what has been learned from the follow-up Middle Grade School State Policy Initiative (MGSSPI) and other middle grades school efforts - a blend of wisdom from practice and data from systematic research."

"Helps to bridge the gap between research and practitioners, putting practitioners in touch with research in the frameword of a comprehensive and comprehensible model."

"Shows how changes in school organizational structures (schools-within schools, teams, and so on), which have been the hallmark of middle grades education thus far, are necessary but not sufficient for major improvement in academic achievement. These structural changes must be accompanied by substantial improvement in teaching and learning."

"A milestone on the long road to excellence in education for all adolescents."

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