Explaining the Negative Impact of the Transition from Middle to High School on Student Performance in Mathematics and Science

Abstract

This article draws on 5 years of data from a nationally representative sample of students to explore how institutional discontinuities between middle and high schools affect the mathematics and science progress of students with varied backgrounds. The study finds evidence that changes in safety, academic environment, teacher push, and student autonomy to select courses affect student progress across the transition. The analysis found little evidence of a differential impact based on student background characteristics; only the measure of the degree to which parents participate in nonschool activities surfaced as a predictor of student progress across the transition, reaffirming what other studies have found about the importance of this variable. Recommendations focus on targeting education policy in ways that can ease this problematic transition for students.