Middle Level Education

Program Requirements for the Middle Grades (Grades 5 – 8)

Grades 5 and 6:

All students shall receive instruction that is designed to facilitate their attainment of the State intermediate learning standards in the seven general curriculum areas: mathematics, including arithmetic, science, and technology; English language arts, including reading writing, listening, and speaking; social studies, including geography and United States history; Languages other than English (pursuant to section 100.2(d) of Commissioner’s Regulations); the arts, including visual arts, music, dance, and theatre; career development and occupational studies; where student need is established, bilingual education and/or English as a second language; health education, physical education and family and consumer sciences with health education pursuant to section 135.3(b) of Commissioner’s Regulations and physical education pursuant to section 134.4(c)(2)(i) of Commissioner’s Regulations.

Grades 7 and 8:

All students shall be provided instruction designed to enable them to achieve, by the end of grade eight, State intermediate learning standards through:

• English language arts, two units of study;
• Social studies, two units of study;
• Science, two units of study;
• Mathematics, two units of study;
• Career and Technical Education, one and three quarters unit;
• Physical education as required by section 135.4(c)(ii) of Commissioner’s Regulations (basically, every other day);
• Health education, one half unit of study as required by section 135.3(c) of Commissioner’s Regulations;
• The arts, including one half unit of study in the visual arts, and one half unit of study in music;
• Library and information skills, the equivalent of one period per week in grade seven and eight;
• Languages other than English pursuant to section 100.2(d) of Commissioner’s Regulations;
• Career development and occupational studies.

Flexibility Available to All Schools with Middle-Level Grades in Section 100.4 of Commissioner’s Regulations (Model A)

Unit of study (seat time) vs. unit of credit (achievement). Units of study, not units of credit, are applicable to the middle grades (specifically, grades 7 and 8).
Unit of study requirements for the middle grades are to be met "by the end of grade 8."
The unit of study requirements for technology education and/or home and career skills may be initiated in grade 5, provided that such subjects shall be taught by teachers certified in those areas.
The unit of study requirement for languages other than English may be initiated in any grade prior to grade 8.
Students who have been determined to need academic intervention services may have the unit of study requirements for one or more of their subjects reduced (but not eliminated).
A student may meet the required half unit of study in music by participation in a school’s band, chorus, or orchestra, provided that such participation is consistent with the goals and objectives for the school’s music program for grades 7 and 8.
The half unit of study requirement for health education may be provided in grade 6, provided that such subject shall be taught by teachers certified in health education.
Library and information skills instruction provided the equivalent of one period per week in grades 7 and 8.
Students in grade 8 shall have the opportunity to take high school courses in mathematics and in at least one of the following areas: English, social studies, languages other than English, art, music, career and technical education subjects, and science courses.
Incidental teaching assignment.

Additional Flexibility Available Under Section 80-5.12 of Commissioner’s Regulations:

(NOTE: This flexibility is not automatic; districts must apply for it)

When a school district is granted an Experiment in Organizational Change (or, as it is commonly called, "Experimental Middle School Status") under Section 80-5.12 of Commissioner’s Regulations, the assignments permissible pursuant to this regulation are:

A certified elementary school teacher (i.e., a teacher of the common branch subjects) may provide instruction in one or more of the common branch subjects exclusive of those defined as special subjects in grades seven and/or eight of a middle or intermediate school; and

A certified teacher of a secondary academic subject may provide instruction only in the academic subject for which he or she is certified in grades five and/or six of a middle or intermediate school.

In February 2005, the Board of Regents approved a three-model (Models A, B and C) strategy to implement the Regents Policy Statement on Middle-Level Education, Supporting Young Adolescents.  To support school districts and their schools with middle grades, regardless of which model they seek approval to implement, the Department has developed the Middle Level Indicators of Achievement Checklists.  These checklists of knowledge and skills assess the strengths and limitations of programs in the non-tested areas, to facilitate student achievement of the New York State Learning Standards.

Middle Level Achievement Checklist Documents

• Family and Consumer Sciences – Home & Career Skills 
• Health Education
• Library Media
• Music Education
• Physical Education
• Technology Education
• Visual Arts Education 

Introduction   

In February 2005, the Board of Regents approved a three-model (Models A, B and C) strategy to implement the Regents Policy Statement on Middle Level Education.  In May 2005, the Regents amended Commissioner’s Regulations to reflect the three model strategies.

A school that submits a Model B or Model C application must document alternative strategies which ensure that students receive instruction in all 28 of the New York State Learning Standards, including those in the non-tested* areas (Commissioner’s Regulation 100.1(t)).  Applicants may seek relief from time requirements, but middle level schools cannot eliminate instruction in any standards area. Examples of alternative ways to meet the New York State Learning Standards include integrating instruction with other standards areas, team teaching across subject areas, mini-courses, etc.

To support school districts and their schools with middle grades, regardless of which model they seek approval to implement, the Department has developed the Middle Level Indicators of Achievement Checklists.  These checklists of knowledge and skills assess the strengths and limitations of programs in the non-tested areas to facilitate student achievement of the New York State Learning Standards.   

* A non-tested area is a content/program area that does not have a required State assessment(s).

How to Use the Checklists    

The Middle Level Indicators of Achievement Checklists are tools to provide practical guidance to school districts.  Administrators and instructional staff should use the checklists to assess their instructional programs to determine areas of strength and alignment with the appropriate State learning standards and to identify areas where there are instructional program gaps that put students at risk of not meeting the New York State Learning Standards (Commissioner’s Regulation 100.1(t)).

Each checklist serves two important functions:  It is a blueprint to communicate the high expectations of program quality.  It is also a program self-assessment tool that local educators can use for program improvement.  A strong education program, well supported by the school district and aligned with the State learning standards, is the essential foundation for ensuring student attainment of the New York State Learning Standards. 

This document contains a checklist for each of the non-tested content areas.  Administrators and instructional staff will use a four-point rubric to evaluate the program indicators on the checklists.  The checklists also include an Acceptable Evidence column, where schools will list program- and student-based evidence for determining the program’s effectiveness in helping students meet and exceed the New York State Learning Standards.  Each checklist will have common program indicators.   Some of the checklists have modified program indicator names and additional program indicators that reflect the individual and unique qualities of the content areas.   These additional indicators have been included based on feedback from our Middle Level Indicators of Achievement Checklist Advisory Committee.   Additionally, some content areas have reprioritized the order of their program indicators.   However, all program indicators must be assessed to ascertain a program’s level of achievement in meeting the New York State Learning Standards. 

The common program indicators included on each checklist are:

• Student Performance
• Collaboration
• Curriculum/Integration            
• Youth Development                 
• Professional Staff
• Administrative Support
• Scheduling/Student Access
• Instructional Technology
• Facilities/Equipment
• Resources/Collections

In 1996, the Board of Regents adopted a set of learning standards and performance indicators that emphasize a variety of intellectual skills that ask all students, prekindergarten through 12th grade, to compare and contrast ideas, identify cause and effect, draw inferences and make conclusions, evaluate evidence, probe assumptions, maintain a skeptical attitude toward questionable arguments, distinguish fact from opinion and handle diverse interpretations and perspectives.  The Department, working with many teachers across the State, developed and issued core curricula aligned to the New York State Learning Standards, which outlines the topics and skills that must be incorporated into local school curriculum and instructional practice. 

The core curriculum respects the tradition of local choice in New York State that empowers educators to select textbooks and materials and use a rich array of instructional strategies and activities to meet individual student learning needs.  The core curricula are designed to provide assistance, while allowing for creativity in the development of local curriculum and instructional programs.  The New York State Learning Standards, performance indicators and the core curricula are the foundation upon which local school districts develop their curriculum and make determinations regarding instructional practice. The Department encourages curriculum development that promotes deep understanding of content as opposed to rote drill and memorization.  We continually encourage local curriculum design and instructional practice that promotes students’ abilities to problem solve and use information for critical analysis and conceptual understanding. 

The Department will also begin to design a strategy to update course content in the non-tested content areas.  Curriculum guidance for Home & Career Skills and Technology Education will be reviewed and updated beginning in summer 2005.

A quality program environment is a factor that ensures student attainment of the New York State Learning Standards.  Results will be reported in the meeting minutes of the local school board, and annually by the district and middle level schools to the State Education Department.  Those reports will include information on the:

implementation of the Model B, C-1 or C-2 proposal contained in the approved application;
measurable indicators/evidence of school change and improvement as proposed in the application (which may be all or some of the evidence from the SED-approved research-based survey instruments used to collect a common set of data from all Model B, C-1 or C-2 schools);
school’s Performance Index;
State-developed checklists of knowledge and skills in those areas where there are no State assessments; and
compliance with the six Educational Conditions outlined in the application package.

As we continue to work with our field representatives, additional information, including topics regarding students with disabilities and English language learners, will be addressed.

Action Plan Template

The Action Plan Template, on the final page of each checklist, is a companion tool to the checklist.  School districts should use the Template to identify areas where there are gaps in their programs and to list strategies to close the gaps.  The Template also includes a timeline for implementing strategies, the staff person responsible, projected costs and anticipated funding sources.

Additional Resources  

Additional resources, including existing resources that teachers can use to strengthen and enrich their programs, follow each checklist.  State-developed resources, including the New York State Learning Standards for each non-tested content area, are listed first, followed by national resources, international resources, and resources produced by the content area professional organizations.  Links to listed documents have been included, where available.

Links to information created and maintained by other public and private organizations are included in this document. These links are provided for the user's convenience. The Education Department does not control or guarantee the accuracy, relevance, timeliness, or completeness of this outside information. Further, the inclusion of links to particular items is not intended to reflect their importance, nor is it intended to endorse any views expressed, or products or services offered, on these outside sites, or the organizations sponsoring the sites.

Board of Regents Middle Level Policy and Definitions of the Three Model Strategies

Board of Regents Strategy to Implement the Middle Level Policy
Description of Models A, B, C-1, and C-2

• Model A (Comply with Existing Regulations):
• Districts would continue to comply with the current regulations, making full use of the existing flexibility provisions in the regulations (e.g., offering exploratory courses in grade 6). 
• Model B (Strengthen the Academic Core): 
• Districts would be able to propose a program that strengthens core academic subjects and effective academic intervention services.  This program will provide all students with exploratory subjects that address the learning standards, are of high interest to students, and further reinforce core academic learning.
• Model C (Restructuring or Building on Success): 
• C-1 - Districts would be able to propose new ideas for restructuring the full educational program or
• C-2 - Districts would be able to propose specific program enhancements and be granted relief from programmatic regulatory requirements, while ensuring that all students receive opportunities to achieve all of the New York State Learning Standards. 
• Model C is based, in part, on the Next Generation Schools proposal in the May 2004 report to the Regents.  It is designed to enable schools to engage in a planned and thoughtful process of innovation and experimentation, based upon their need and capacity, and to document successful implementation of programs that could be replicated in other schools.

Schools submitting a Model B or Model C application must document alternative strategies that ensure students receive instruction in all 28 of the New York State Learning Standards, including those in the non-tested areas.  Examples of alternative ways to meet the standards include integrating instruction with other standards areas, team teaching across subject areas, offering mini-courses, etc.

Applicants may seek relief from time requirements, but not from instruction in the standards areas.  In their applications, districts must demonstrate that these alternative strategies will result in meeting the State learning standards at the intermediate level. 

There are several requirements with which the applicants must comply to receive approval of their applications, including adhering to the design principles, providing evidence of consultation with and identifying concerns of the shared decision-making team, completing a self-study process (required for Model B and Model C-1) and meeting school improvement plan requirements.

The Department will not approve any application that requests to eliminate instruction in a standards area. 

New York State Learning Standards

The New York State Learning Standards for the non-tested content areas is the first item included under Additional Resources for each Middle Level Indicators of Achievement Checklist.

Questions and Answers About the Middle Level Indicators of Achievement Checklists

Is there a requirement for the Middle Level Indicators of Achievement Checklist in the Middle Level Education Application?

Answer:  No; however, district personnel are encouraged to use the Checklist to create a baseline to evaluate the success and impact of the program, and to use it annually to monitor program progress and student achievement.

Who completes the Checklist?

Answer:  Administrators, teachers and members of the shared-decision making team should be involved in completing the Checklist.

Is the Checklist about student performance or program performance?

Answer:  The 10 common program indicators and the rubrics are essential parts of every instructional program. However, while the Student Performance indicator has student-based evidence, the other indicators have program-based evidence that link program effectiveness to student achievement of the New York State Learning Standards.

Why is there a focus on program rather than on what students know and can do?

Answer:  Evidence should show that student achievement meets the New York State Learning Standards. A well-developed program is necessary for student attainment of the New York State Learning Standards.

What types of information would be examples of acceptable evidence in a content area for each of the Checklist categories?

Answer:  Examples of acceptable evidence should illustrate or demonstrate that the instructional program or student achievement meets the New York State Learning Standards for the content area. As an example, for Music Education, acceptable evidence would be: NYS School Music Association (NYSSMA) solo/ensemble ratings, NYSSMA Major Organization ratings, school schedule, music budget, increasing or stable numbers of students in the performing organizations, and student population well represented in the music program.

Will the non-tested content areas be less visible if there is a focus on integration and collaboration?

Answer:  The quality and level of the guidance that you provide will stimulate local initiative and drive the quality of the program. An annual report will be presented to the Board of Regents.

Is there a strategy for the Department to update course content in the non-tested areas as outlined in the February 2005 Report to the Board of Regents?

Answer:  Yes; curriculum guidance for Home & Career Skills and Technology Education will be reviewed and updated beginning in summer 2005. A schedule for review and update of the course content in the other non-tested areas is under review.

Acknowledgements

Many teachers and administrators contributed to the development of the Middle Level Indicators of Achievement Checklists.  We are very grateful for the time and expertise contributed to the development of this document.  Listed below are the names of those educators representing Health Education, Home & Career Skills, Library Media, Music Education, Physical Education, Technology Education and Visual Arts Education who submitted or reviewed the materials that appear in this document, as well as the names of Department staff who contributed to its development.

Name School/Organization

• Niels Andersen/Lockport Central School District
• Rick Amundson/Webster Central School District
• Heather Bacon/Genesee Valley BOCES
• Pat Barbanell/Schenectady City School District
• Gary Bates/Lawrence Central School District
• Jessica Bayer/Hewlett-Woodmere School District
• Jane Berzner/Valley Stream Central School District #24
• Bob Binggeli/Newark Central School District
• James J. Cassara/Northport Central Schools, Retired
• Dodie Cechnicki/Schenectady City School District
• Colleen Canorro Corsi /New York State Association of Health, Physical Education, Recreation and Dance
• Jennifer Childress/College of St. Rose
• Rhonda Cole/New York City Public Schools
• Katie Colletti/Creative Possibilities, Woodstock, NY
• Linda Cooper/Pratt Institute
• Mary Jeanne/Dicker Guilderland Central Schools
• Owen Donovan/SUNY Cortland
• Gary English/New York Statewide Center for Healthy Schools
• Rosanna Frank/Family and Consumer Science Association
• Jeanne Gray/Webster Central School District, Retired
• Kim McLaughlin/Genesee Valley BOCES
• Alta Jo Longware/Ausable Central School District
• Jennifer Matott/Liverpool High Central School District
• Catherine Marriott/Orchard Park Central Schools
• Judy Marsh/Wayne Finger Lakes BOCES
• William J. Mercer/Liverpool Central School District, Retired
• Kerry A. Mero/Elizabethtown Lewis Central School District
• Greg Montague/Clarkstown Central School District
• Kate Nichol/Chatham Central School District
• James Orgar/Brighton Central School District
• Donna Tuman /Long Island University, C W Post Campus
• Michael Parks/Buffalo State University
• Theresa Phillips/Oneida Central School District
• Rosemarie Posillico/Shenendehowa Central School District
• Mary Ratzer/Shenendehowa Central School District, Retired
• Charlene Reagan/Mamaroneck Central School District
• JoAnn Sabourin/Waterford Central School District
• Dawn Scagnelli/Scotia Glenville Central School District
• Natalie Schifano/The School of Visual Arts, New York, New York
• George H. Smith/Bethlehem Central School District
• Rocco Staino/North Salem Central School District
• Barbara Stripling/New York City Public Schools
• Linda Traynor/Pittsford Monroe Central School District
• Linda Tuggey/Utica City School District
• Janet Tully-Kuzman /Guilderland Central School District
• Patrick Veltri /Kenmore Tonawanda Central School District
• Shirley Ware/New York State Association of Family and Consumer Sciences
• Susan Westover/New York City Public Schools
• Rod Wheeler/North Colonie Central School District
• Ronald Whitcomb/Victor Central School District
• Barbara Wurz/Scotia Glenville Central School District
• Kathy Bunney/New York State Education Department
• Mary Ellen Colella/New York State Education Department
• Judith Golombiski/New York State Education Department
• Kent Gray/New York State Education Department
• Patricia Kocialski/New York State Education Department
• Edward Marschilok/New York State Education Department
• Gordon Odermann/New York State Education Department
• Helen Paruolo/New York State Education Department
• David A. Payton/New York State Education Department
• Frances Roscello/New York State Education Department
• Alan Silverman/New York State Education Department
• Eric Suhr/New York State Education Department
• Patricia Webster /New York State Education Department