US Curriculum: Middle School Education

by Nandana Surendran

Middle schools, or junior high schools, are schools for students in the grades of 6, 7 and 8 – and in some cases, they include grades 5, 6 & 9. Middle School is the bridge between elementary education and high school education.

In middle school, students start the year by enrolling in class schedules where they take classes from several teachers in a given day. In most middle schools, students have five or six periods of instruction each day and a different teacher for each subject. According to the Department of Education, “Each secondary school student has a unique schedule and set of classes, which is determined by the parents, school counsellor and student, based upon local graduation requirements (set by the state that the school is located in) and the student’s interests, career goals, and academic ability.”

Curriculum

The typical curriculum at both the middle school and high school levels comprises English, mathematics, science, social studies, fine arts, and physical education (PE. Mathematics courses are typically sequential, with algebra starting in the eighth or ninth grade.

  • English

  • Social Studies-
    For social studies, some schools offer U.S. History, Geography, and World History, classes.

  • Mathematics-
    In addition to Pre-Algebra and other high school mathematics prep courses, Algebra I and Geometry are both commonly taught.

  • Science
    Schools also offer Earth Science, Life Science, or Physical Science classes.

  • Foreign Language
    Typically schools will offer Spanish and French; and, often German; and, sometimes Latin; Chinese, Japanese, and/or Greek

  • Arts

  • Two to three years of other subjects depending on what is offered in school
    Physical education classes are usually mandatory for various periods.

The classes are typically in sets of four or five (in the case of the inclusion of a foreign language in the curriculum) core academic classes (including English, science, mathematics, history, and in some schools, foreign language) with two to four other classes, either electives, supplementary, or remedial academic classes.

Some students also begin taking a foreign language or advanced math and science classes in middle school.

Most also have "honours" classes for motivated and gifted students, where the quality of education is higher and much more is expected from the enrolled student. After the successful completion of middle school or junior high school, the student proceeds into high school.

Extracurricular and co-curricular activities are usually offered at most middle schools. Extracurricular activities mostly take place outside of regular class time and do not provide credit toward graduation except in certain cases. Sports and theatrical productions (plays, musicals) are among the most common examples. Other extracurricular activities, such as science projects, or foreign language study, maybe organized by student clubs. During the high school and college admissions process, many universities and colleges look favourably at student involvement in out-of-class activities.

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