The Mythos of the Eighth to Ninth Grade Transition Greg Marshall Bradford High School First Year Presenter

Limitations This inquiry focuses on only those middle and high school students in Bradford County, Florida

The Middle Schools Bradford County has two middle school centers: Bradford Middle School, in Starke Lawtey Community School (grades k-8) in Lawtey.

The High School Bradford County has two public schools serving grades 9-12: Bradford High School, in Starke The Bradford-Union Vocational Center, also in Starke.

The Population The socioeconomic distribution of the school populations and the minority percentages were not considered in this inquiry in an attempt to limit the variables.

The Focus: Discipline As this transition is perceived to manifest itself in many aspects, this inquiry is focused on only the area of discipline.

The Perception At Bradford High School, 9 th grade students earn more discipline referrals and have a greater truancy/tardy rate than the 10 th -12 th grades combined. This 9 th grade behavior is most often explained by teachers, counselors and administrators as the result of the 8 th to 9 th grade transition…

The Question Is it true that these students are using this time to adjust to the “higher level of thinking, more homework, more freedom and more responsibility” normally associated with high school? Or is the behavior they exhibit in high school merely a continuation of their middle school behaviors?

The Data The following slide compares the total number of referrals for… …the th graders in Bradford County… …the th graders in Bradford County (to date)… …and extrapolated 9 th grade data.

Total Referral Comparison Total Referrals Number of Referrals Total 8th Grade 9th Grade to Date Extrapolated 9th Grade

???! improved The county school board records seem to indicate improved behavior during the 9 th grade year! What if the referrals for this population were broken down into more specific categories?

Refined Data The eighty-two discipline codes for referrals in Bradford County Schools were combined into eleven categories: These are violence, skipping/attendance, disrespect, disruptive, drugs alcohol and tobacco, property violation, sex infraction, theft, tardies, other major offenses, and other minor offenses.

The Data The following slide compares the total number of referrals in these categories for …the th graders… …the th graders (to date)… …and extrapolated 9 th grade data.

th Grade Referrals vs th Grade Referrals Referral Type Number of Referrals Tot 8th Gd 9th Gd T/D Extrap 9th Tot 8th Gd th Gd T/D Extrap 9th VS/ADDRUD/A/TPSTTARO/MJO/MNTotals Referral types: V = Violence S/A = Skipping/Attendance D = Disrepect DRU = Disruptive D/A/T = Drugs, Alcohol/Tobacco P = Property Violation S = Sex Infraction T = Theft TAR = Tardies O/MJ = Other Major Offenses O/MN = Other Minor Offenses

Some Insights It is interesting to note that 9 th grade behavior was significantly worse in only one of the 11 categories listed: skipping referrals. The Drugs, Alcohol and Tobacco referral category also shows an increase for 9 th grade, but at an increase of only two incidences (or 4 incidences, extrapolated for the year).

Some Insights Statistically speaking, the Disrespect referral category may also show a slight increase for 9 th graders by the end of the year. In every other category, 9 th grade behavior is actually improved over 8 th grade behavior! In every other category, 9 th grade behavior is actually improved over 8 th grade behavior!

The Survey In March 2007, 9 th graders enrolled in Bradford High School science classes were given a survey to ascertain their impressions of the 8 th to 9 th grade transition. (Students enrolled at the Vo-Tech in Agriculture were not polled due to logistics problems).

The Survey A total of 151 surveys were returned, representing… 122 students from Bradford Middle School 8 students from Lawtey Community School 2 students from the Alternative School 3 students from private schools or home- schools 16 students from other counties or states

The Survey Responses about adjusting that included: (A)“very easy” (B)“easy” (C)“fairly difficult” (D)“difficult” (E)“very difficult” …were grouped as either positive (A/B) or negative (C/D/E) to facilitate the display of the results.

Survey Results 2. Overall feelings about the 8 th to 9 th grade transition 3. Getting used to Bradford High School Rules 4. Being a part of the youngest group of high school students (+) Question 2 Question 3Question Q2a/b Q2c/d/e Q3a/b Q3c/d/e Q4a/b Q4c/d/e (+) (-)

Survey Results Their Teachers Quest a/b 5c/d/e 6a/b 6c/d/e 7a/b 7c/d/e 8a/b 8c/d/e Quest. 6Quest. 7Quest Getting used to high school teachers work expectations 6. Getting used to the amount of homework assigned 7. Getting used to the difficulty of homework assigned 8. Getting used to attitudes of the teachers towards students (+) (-)

Survey Results Attitudes Towards Students 8a/b 8c/d/e 9a/b 9c/d/e 10a/b 10c/d/e Quest 8Quest. 9Quest (+) (-) 8. Getting used to the attitudes of teachers towards students 9. Getting used to the attitudes of administrators towards students 10. Getting used to attitudes of students towards teachers and each other

Survey Results School Size Quest.11 Quest. 12 Quest a/b 11c/d/e 12a/b 12c/d/e 13a/b 13c/d/e (+) (-) 11. Getting used to all the clubs, sports, organizations 12. Getting used to the size of the high school campus 13. Getting used to the size of the high school classes

Rule Enforcement How well were rules enforced at the two school levels, according to the students? Perhaps students behave differently at the two grade levels because of different expectations regarding school rules? The following graph illustrates the students’ view on this matter…

Rules Enforcement: MS vs. HS Rules Enforcement A.Rules always enforced B.Rules usually enforced depending on teacher or administrator C.Rules sometimes enforced D.Rules only enforced with certain teachers or administrators E.Rules hardly ever enforced A B C D E A B C D E (Middle School) (High School)

Statistically speaking, the students’ view of rule enforcement is virtually identical at the two grade levels! Rules enforcement does not seem to be a factor in referral rates between 8 th and 9 th graders.

Conclusion The perception that the misbehavior of 9 th graders at Bradford High School is the result of the transition to the high school environment appears to be flawed. Overall, discipline at this school appears to LESS of a problem for 9 th graders, with the exception of skipping class, (and to a small extent, classroom disruption).

Conclusion This first study would appear to indicate that, at BHS, 9 th grade behavior is better than 8 th grade behavior, and (perhaps?) worse than 10 th grade behavior. These behaviors appear to be more related to the maturity and emotional development of the child, and less related to any trauma due to the 8 th to 9 th grade transition.