Constant Membership Grouping

The discontinuity that students endure as they proceed from elementary to middle level school generates considerable worry on the part of many educators, parents and students. Sudden and extensive variations in school environments, practices and routines are considered by educators to be detrimental to academic performance and to the self-perception of students (Simmons and Blyth, 1987). Addressing the purposes of the middle school, Alexander (1969) conceptualized: "it is a school providing a program planned for a range of older children, preadolescents, and early adolescents that builds upon the elementary school program for earlier childhood and in turn is built upon by the high school's program for adolescents" (p. 5). This implies a planned, incremental elementary to secondary school transition. Though current middle school philosophy strongly recommends a carefully measured transition to the high school, many elementary children continue to leave self-contained classrooms in which class cohesion is maintained and immediately enter quasi-departmentalized middle-level schools where the ongoing fluctuation of class membership is an accepted organizational component. Fluctuating classroom membership can even occur in middle schools demonstrating such practices as advisory groups, interdisciplinary teaming, block scheduling, and exploratory curriculum.

According to Toepfer (1986), "[m]aking the transition from the child-centered elementary school with its typical self-contained classroom to the middle level philosophical and organizational structure is a critical episode" (p. 9); and, "to the greatest degree possible, progression from the elementary setting to the middle level should be transitional. All too often, shifts to middle level schools bring abrupt changes for all youngsters" (p. 10). Simmons and Blyth (1987) asserted that a child moving from the elementary to the middle level would likely experience loss of self-esteem and feelings of victimization and anonymity (p. 251,252). Jones and Thornburg (1982) found that "detriments" to self-image, anonymity, victimization and self-consciousness were all present during transition to the middle school and that "Transition into grade six significantly reduced adolescent self-esteem" (p.113). Berman (1965), writing in the NEA Journal, noted "during the highly volatile years of eleven through thirteen or fourteen, youngsters should have a familiar, secure background in which to operate" (p. 19).

It was concluded that one factor in the elementary to middle school discontinuity which could be affected was that involving the change from a one peer group elementary structure to the secondary multiple peer groups structure. We have found that the constant membership classroom group emulates the elementary structure and provides a familiar, secure background and decreases the negative effects of transition as described in the literature.

Constant Membership

Students are randomly assigned to groups of approximately twenty-five. These stable, unvarying membership groups attend the academic core classes together as a unit, proceeding in unison from one class to the next. Following the lead of other middle schools these constant membership groups are called "pods". Four pods constitute a "team". Pod pupils do mix with others at lunch and during exploratory and physical education classes. The students usually return to the constant membership group to finish the day, however. Occasionally, children are assigned a particular team or pod due to enrollment in band, orchestra or chorus.

Two-Phase Pilot

Over a two-year period we conducted a two-phase pilot program to ascertain the effects of the constant membership group on student self-esteem and achievement. In the initial stage the constant membership grouping of a portion (N = 85) of the seventh grade was performed. Academic production measures of the portion of the seventh grade remaining in fluctuating membership were compared with that of the constant membership sample. Students within the fluctuating membership group were together only for one class per day compared to four classes and one homeroom period per day for the constant membership group. Self-esteem means were collected and analyzed as was gain in self-esteem measures over the course of the study. Achievement measures were analyzed using the same procedure and were compared with all other measures to determine if and to what extent relationships existed.

The second phase of the pilot program placed the entire seventh grade (N = 170) into constant membership groups. Comparisons were drawn with previous year's seventh grade students and with the sample's own past performance on self-esteem, achievement, and other measures.

Results

The results of the initial stage comparing a constant membership treatment group to a fluctuating membership control group indicated that the constant membership grouping practice at this middle level school had a significantly positive effect on overall student self-esteem measures. Gain (or regain) in self-esteem for various sub-groups was intriguing and contradictory for both treatment and control groups. Male students from either group with lower measures of self-esteem at the outset of the study gained self-esteem in curious though not statistically significant amounts over the course of the initial pilot. Lower scoring male students on the constant membership treatment group gained the most of all. The lower scoring female students in either group had considerably less self-esteem gain than did the lower scoring males. Differences in male and female self-esteem measures grew larger as the first pilot progressed. These differences became statistically significant at about the end of the fall term.

Results of the second phase (all students in constant membership groups) indicated that overall student self-esteem had risen to levels attained by the constant membership group in the initial pilot. Discrepancies in male and female self-esteem and self-esteem gain were reduced considerably over the first pilot, though significant (and vexing) gender discrepancies appeared again about halfway through the school year. These results are currently being studied. Noteworthy gains in seventh grade achievement were noted for language arts (26 percentile point increase) and for total math (37 percentile point increase) at the conclusion of the follow-up pilot.

Discussion

It appeared that holding the young adolescents in stable associations did affect the loss of student self-esteem which has been noted in elementary to middle-level school progression. Conversely, students within the fluctuating membership group did appear to suffer a greater loss of self-esteem upon entry to the middle level school. As loss of self-esteem is a primary negative effect of elementary to middle level transition, constant membership grouping was judged to have been a worthwhile transition scheme for students moving from elementary to middle level school. A decision to continue the tradition of fluctuating group organization for very early secondary education would seem to be shortsighted based upon these results.

Distinctions in self-esteem gain over the course of the study between genders were very interesting. That lower-scoring males in both groups gained far more self-esteem than lower-scoring females over the course of the study is a cause for much concern and further study. Because it was shown that self-esteem gender discrepancies grew over time, this study corroborated the findings of the American Association of University Women's report (1991) that "girls are more likely than are boys to have their declining sense of themselves inhibit their actions and abilities"; and, "[t]hese differences accentuate with age" (p. 12). It would appear that the gain or regain of self-esteem by initially low-measuring male students is in part responsible for these accentuating differences.

Achievement appeared to be strongly and positively affected by the constant membership in both phases of the study. Achievement increases or differences occurring after the first phase effect were eventually attributed to differences other than fluctuating vis-a-vis constant membership classroom groupings. The significance of the large achievement gains noted late in the second phase was unclear since all students had been provided the constant membership treatment. Needless to say, these gains have caused much interest and scrutiny.

Standardized achievement did correlate strongly with self-esteem measures (p. < .001). This result supports extant research indicating that there is a relationship of some form between self-esteem and achievement measures. No claim will be made however, that this relationship is in any way causal. Indeed, recent research would indicate that this relationship is reciprocal. Since standardized student achievement is the criterion by which education is publicly judged, however, these findings render any group difference or fluctuation in self-esteem measures important to individuals charged with organizing and leading instruction.

Conclusion

Whether or not the constant membership program enabled increased student achievement remains a question for continued study. That significant achievement increases were found in the second phase of the pilot supports the notion that students in this age group benefit from an organizational system that emulates the single peer group elementary school approach. Our faculty is satisfied that an organizational framework has been found that provides a safe and secure background thus protecting the fragile self-concept of the young adolescents. This framework also appears to affect student achievement and to mitigate the discontinuity associated with elementary to middle school transition.

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