define these terms: middle school/junior high

[athomeontheprairie]

What says the hive? In one school district elementary is k-3, middle is 4-6, junior high 7-8, high 9-12. Next door k-6 is elementary, junior high is used interchangeably with middle school and is 7-8 and high school is 9-12.

When you talk middle school/junior high on these boards, to which grades are you referring?

[Chrysalis Academy]

Good question, I bet it's different regionally and we're all using it in a fuzzy way.  I think of "middle school" as roughly synonymous with Logic Stage - 5th-8th, although probably I wouldn't call a 5th grader a middle schooler.  I guess I mean 6th-8th really.  Junior high I have always thought of as 7th-8th,  but our local "middle school" is actually 6th-8th.  So I'm not at all consistent!   I notice that most people here don't say "junior high" so I tend to avoid that term on the boards and just say  "middle school" for that general grade range.

[Gil]

The way I've decided to structure the boys home school is to view each of the following as a seperate phase.

1st-4th grades -- Elementary school

5th-8th grades -- Middle school = Junior High school

9th-12th grade -- High school

 

Anything below 1st grade, including Kindergarten is preschool, since it happens prior to what I have determined to be "school".

[OneStepAtATime]

Regional differences even when I was a kid (military brat) moving all over the country but mostly I have seen Kindergarten thru 5th as Elementary, Middle School as 6-8, High School as 9-12, which is what I mean when I use those terms.

[wapiti]

Depends entirely on the school.  Here, the regular PS has K-5 in elementary and 6-8 in the huge middle school.  Decades ago, I attended a "junior high" that was 7-9.

[SilverMoon]

Middle school and junior high are synonymous in my life. They generally refer to 7th and 8th, and occasionally 6th as well.

 

Here on the board the WTM stages are more effective. Lower grammar, upper logic, and such.

[SierraNevada]

Where I'm from it's:

K-6--Elementary

7-9-- Jr high

10-12--High school

[maize]

The most common usages I have seen in the US are Middle School for 6th-8th or Junior High for 7th-9th.

 

On the boards, we have logic stage/middle grades 5th-8th, but that is not a common way for public schools to divide things.

[Lolly]

Middle school 6-8

Junior high 7-8

[elegantlion]

Middle school 6-8

Junior high 7-8

 

I've seen middle school from 5-8 as well. 

 

I tend to think back to the archaic days of junior high being 7-9 in the same building (although 9th counted as high school credit - just not in the same building as high school). 

 

I've seen it be flexible as well in high growth areas. A few years ago i think there was a middle school that housed only two grades because the district had grown so quickly. 

[8filltheheart]

I divide grades in my mind into 4 major groups based on my output expectations for my kids.

 

K-2 primary-- learning basics (handwriting, reading, math basics)

3-5 elementary-- learning how to learn from the sources they read, basic writing skills

6-8 middle school--master all basic math and writing skills, gradually shift toward high school level material and loads

9-12 high school

[clementine]

Middle school here is grades 5-6, junior high is 7-8, high school is 9-12.  But even towns a few miles away are separated differently - middle school is grades 6-8, high school is 9-12....no junior high.  It does get confusing.  

[Southern Ivy]

The private school I grew up in: 
Elementary: K-6
Junior High: 7-8
High School: 9-12

NW Arkansas where I grew up:
Elementary: K-4
Middle: 5-6
Junior High: 7-8
High School: 9-10

SW Missouri city where I am now: 
Elementary: K-4
Intermediate: 5-6
Middle School: 7-8
High School: 9-10
 

[maize]

 

 

I tend to think back to the archaic days of junior high being 7-9 in the same building (although 9th counted as high school credit - just not in the same building as high school). 

 

 

 

Not archaic, I've seen places go back and forth between "Middle School" 6-8 and "Junior High" 7-9. We have 7-9 right now in my area, and they call it Junior High.

[FO4UR]

I grew up with Elementary K-3, Intermediate 4-6, Jr High 7-8

 

 

Where I live now it is Elementary K-5, Middle School 6-8

 

 

I think in terms of K-2, 3-5, 6-8, high school b/c I think those are the natural developmental leaps. Learning to Read, Reading to Learn, Learning to Write, Writing to Learn.  That is just my own personal observation.  Of course, it's never so cut and dry (Kers learn handwriting, and 12th graders are still learning new words.), but I think that's where the focus should shift as a child grows.

 

 

[JennyD]

 

In a funny coincidence, my 9yo asked me pretty much the same question about an hour ago.  I think of junior high as 7-8 and middle school as 6-8, basically because that's what it was when I was a kid.  However, in the public school system where I live now middle school is 5-8, and are there still junior high schools?  I haven't seen one in ages. [ETA: cross-posted, I see that maize has answered this question!]

 

One thing I find kind of interesting is that the private schools here are all over the place -- k-8, k-6, 5-12, 7-12.  The K-12 schools do tend to call their 5-8th grades 'middle school,' though, and presumably there's a fair number of entry/exits at the public school transition grades. 

 

[HelenNotOfTroy]

For me, they both mean whatever schooling is done between the elementary school and the high school. Personally, I went to junior highs from seventh through ninth grades, but the same schools are now middle schools serving sixth through eighth grades. Ninth counted as high school credit even though it was at the junior high school

[Mommy22alyns]

Middle school is a new concept for me.  When I was in school, there was K-6, 7-9 jr. high, and 10-12 high school.  Then when I moved, high school was the full 9-12, jr. high just 7-8.

 

So middle school is kind of fuzzy for me, and I can't make 7-8 fit in there in my head.  I would think 5-6 for middle school, 7-8 for jr. high, and 9-12 for high school.

[scoutingmom]

Well, where I grew up / went to school

 

Junior High was grade 7-9    High School in that province was grades 10-12  (ie, grade 9 didn't/doesn't have credits.)

 

Where I live now, there are multiple school districts in the same city and rules and names etc vary from district to district.  however it seems that....

 

districts could have a middle school - which is grade 6-8, and then grade 9 students are in the high school

districts could have a junior high - which is grade 7-9, and high schools start with grade 10 - but grade 9 students do earn HS credits

 

in the district we live, with the nearby high school - if you are in the English based program you would do a Junior High and start in the high school in grade 10 - but if you are in French Immersion you would go to a middle school and start the high school in grade 9...

[Sherry in OH]

The definition varies by school district.

 

The school district I attended was

K-4 Elementary,

5-8 Middle,

9-12 High.

 

Shortly after I graduated, it changed to

K-6 Elementary,

7-8 Junior High, 

9-12 High.

 

The school district I currently live in is

K-4 Elementary,

5-6 Intermediate,

7-8 Middle,

9-12 High.

 

 

[Library Momma]

Where I live middle school is 6-8 in some towns it's 7-8.  You normally never hear anyone say Junior High

[lllll]

..

[Daria]

School systems around here made a shift from "Jr Highs" that were either 7 - 8th or 7 - 9th, to "Middle Schools" that started at either 5th, 6th, or 7th and went through 8th.  There were structural shifts at the same time.  Jr. High was structured like High school with classes changing every period, and little support for kids.  MS tend to make attempts at social supports like robust homeroom/advisory programs, and grouping kids into teams (e.g. You're in a group of 100 kids, who all have the same English, Math, Science and Social studies teacher, so those teachers can come together and talk about the social and academic needs of those kids).  

 

I can't think of a school around here that still uses a Jr. High model.  The term and the model both seem really outdated to me, so I'd only use Middle School.  I'd apply it to 6 - 8th, since that seems like the most common arrangement.

[SparklyUnicorn]

I was the last graduating class in the "junior high" I went to in the city I grew up in.  That was 7th and 8th.  They were turning the junior high schools into middle schools.  Middle school was 6th, 7th, and 8th. 

 

I'm sure this varies from place to place.  Sometimes it just might simply have to do with space/number of kids in the district.  Here they have 1 middle school (6-8) and handful of k-8 schools just called elementary schools, some elementary schools that only go to 5th, and some early learning place with pre-k and K (but not everyone in K goes there), and a high school.  There are about 10,000 students in the district. 

[Mom22ns]

Middle School is 5-8th or 6th-8th

Jr High 7th-8th.

 

Schools typically go with one or the other. Our school district has a Jr. High, the one next door has middle schools, but different buildings vary 5th or 6th grade start to middle school. When I was young Jr. High was everywhere. Then middle school became all the rage. I have read some articles more recently that says a pod based elementary concept is better for upper elementary and that many schools are moving back to Jr. Highs. 

 

As with most things in education, it is a typical eb and flow between concepts.

[Butter]

Where I grew up (MD), where we lived when my kids were school age (VA), and where we live now (TX), elementary is K-5, middle is 6-8, and high is 9-12.  Where my best friend lives (UT), elementary is K-6, junior high is 7-9, and high school is 10-12.  I think those are the most common divisions.  Middle school here and junior high where my friend lives operate complete identically.  It's just the difference of one year at the start and end.

[Slache]

Middle School = 5th-8th. I thought Jr High was 7th-8th until I discovered classical education and realized it was originally 7th-9th. I'm from California.

[Julie of KY]

Middle school 6-8

Jr. High 7-9

 

These terms are often used interchangably to mean the years before high school. If you are using them for younger ages, then it may be common for your area, but outside the national norm.

[PuddleJumper1]

When I lived out west and up north it was:

 

Elementary K - 6

Junior High 7 - 8

High School 9 - 12

 

Here in the south we have:

 

Elementary K-3

Intermediate 4 - 5

Middle School 6 - 8

High School 9 - 12 

 

My schooling was west and north.

Homeschooling my children has been south, however, I never used the term intermediate. They went from elementary to middle as far as I was concerned, although. I'm not sure I ever used those terms either. Just their age or grade level.

[Ellie]

What says the hive? In one school district elementary is k-3, middle is 4-6, junior high 7-8, high 9-12. Next door k-6 is elementary, junior high is used interchangeably with middle school and is 7-8 and high school is 9-12.

When you talk middle school/junior high on these boards, to which grades are you referring?

 

I hate change. I don't see the point of "middle school."

 

Elementary: K through sixth

Junior high: seventh and eighth (although when I was in school in Virginia, ninth was part of junior high)

Senior high: ninth through twelfth (except see my note above)

 

I try not to refer to homeschooled children by grade levels but by ages. If I use a grade level designation (which is exceedingly rare), I'll use a specific grade, not "middle school" or whatever. I never, ever use "middle school."

[MEmama]

I grew up with junior high 7-9 and high school 10-12. I was never aware that 9th counted as high school credits. Maybe they didn't back then (1980s California)?

 

Here middle school is 6-8 and high school 9-12. Some smaller communities have middle school 5-8 but I don't think it's very popular.

[foxbridgeacademy]

To me M.S. and Jr High are synonymous.   I would say 6th-8th but especially the 7th to 8th grades.

[Ellie]

I grew up with junior high 7-9 and high school 10-12. I was never aware that 9th counted as high school credits. Maybe they didn't back then (1980s California)?

 

Here middle school is 6-8 and high school 9-12. Some smaller communities have middle school 5-8 but I don't think it's very popular.

 

I attended high school for a short time in El Cajon (1968). At that time, at that school, ninth was definitely high school and credits counted toward graduation. Mr. Ellie graduated from Helix High School in La Mesa in 1967; ninth counted then, as well.  And it was that way when I lived in California (1974-2004). Perhaps it was just your particular county or something.

[Tsuga]

Where we are, it is K-5 elementary, 6-8 middle, 9-12 high. However my mom went to school in CA and there it was K-6 primary, 7-9 junior high, and 10-12 high in her area, at that time.

 

I agree with everyone else that these terms are not standardized.

[Cottonwood]

here, middle schools have 7th and 8th grades.  Elem goes through 6th.  When I lived in Cali (central) it was the same, but DD grew up in the Cali central valley and Jr. High was 7th and 8th. LOL   Where I grew up, elem was through 5th, middle was 6-8.    Such variety in the terms leads me to believe it's just a regional thing.

[JenneinCA]

When I was in school elementary was K-6, Junior high was 7-9, and high school was 10-12.

 

Now elementary is k-5, middle school is 6-8, and high school is 9-12.

 

My husband had schools that ran K-2, 3-5, 6-8, and 9-12.

My college roommate had schools that ran K-6 and then 7-12.

[kirstenhill]

One town I lived in growing up:

 

K-4 elementary (small neighborhood schools$

5-6 elementary (but in a centralized school)

7-9 junior high

10-12 high school

 

I moved between 8th and 9th and the new town had

 

K-6 elementary

7-8 junior high

9-12 high school

 

The large city I currently live in has some variety depending on neighborhood, but most of the schools are:

 

K-4 elementary

5-8 middle school

9-12 high school

[EKS]

When I grew up in Los Angeles in the 70s-80s, elementary was K-6, junior high was 7-9, and high school was 10-12.

 

Later that changed and elementary is now K-5, middle school is 6-8, and high school is 9-12.

 

But there are variations.  For example, in my district in Washington, they solved a crowding problem by building an "intermediate" school.  So the levels here are elementary K-4, intermediate 5-6, middle 7-8, and high 9-12.

 

That was probably way more information that you wanted!

[TrixieB]

Junior high is what I went to back in the day.

 

Middle school is what kids attend now.

[vonfirmath]

What says the hive? In one school district elementary is k-3, middle is 4-6, junior high 7-8, high 9-12. Next door k-6 is elementary, junior high is used interchangeably with middle school and is 7-8 and high school is 9-12.

When you talk middle school/junior high on these boards, to which grades are you referring?

 

Middle school and junior high are interchangeable terms in my head

 

Growing up, elementary was k-4, 5th grade was a school of its own, Middle was 6-8 and High School was 9-12

 

Where I went to high school, they changed it for a time (due to capacity issues) to:

elementary k-5, middle 6-7, jr high 8-9 and high school 10-12

 

Currently:

primary k-2, elementary 3-5, middle 6-8, high 9-12

 

(All of the above schools are in TX.)

 

[musicianmom]

Middle school is either 5-8 or 6-8 here depending on the school district.

[MinivanMom]

I've always used junior high and middle school interchangeably. In my mind they are both simply a term to describe what comes between elementary and high school.

 

When I was growing up it was:

Elementary: K-5

Junior High: 6-8

High School: 9-12

 

Were we live now it is:

Elementary: K-5

Middle School: 6-8

High School: 9-12

 

The names have changed here, but the grade spans have not.

[Loowit]

I went to a small school where K-12 were at the same location, but in separate buildings.  We had:

Elementary divided by lower (K-3) and upper (4-5)

Middle School/Junior High 6-8

High School 9-12

 

The 6th grade was not really integrated into the Junior High, they had a single teacher for the grade like elementary, but were in the building with the older kids and we got to learn such skills as using lockers.  It was a bit of a transition year.

 

Nearby towns typically went with the same separations of K-5, 6-8, and 9-12 and they called it middle school.  One small city did things different and went with 7-9 as junior high and 10-12 as high school, but they finally changed it about 14 years ago.  I remember it was a huge deal a the time with the youth group kids we worked with and the 9th graders were very excited to finally be considered high schoolers like every other school in the area.

[Sahamamama]

I think of our homeschool in terms of levels with no names. For some reason, in my mind, the levels are colors.

 

K, 1st & 2nd

3rd, 4th & 5th

6th, 7th & 8th

High School

 

There is no logical explanation for why I do this. :blushing: But now that I think of it, I think in colors for many other aspects of life, and even school subjects have colors.

 

Our local public school divides the grades into K-3rd (elementary), 4th-8th (middle school), and 9th-12th (high school). In my school system where I grew up, all the elementary schools (there were five in the system) were K-5th, the middle school was 6th & 7th, the junior high was 8th & 9th, and the high school was 10th-12th. They've changed it now, though. Now the elementary schools (there are three) are K-6th, the junior high is 7th & 8th, and the high school is 9th-12th.

 

[8filltheheart]

I think of our homeschool in terms of levels with no names. For some reason, in my mind, the levels are colors.

 

K, 1st & 2nd

3rd, 4th & 5th

6th, 7th & 8th

High School

 

There is no logical explanation for why I do this. :blushing: But now that I think of it, I think in colors for many other aspects of life, and even school subjects have colors.

 

 

That is precisely how I divide them (though I do give them names, not colors.  :) ) I organize them that way in my thoughts b/c that is a generic breakdown of output skill level categories that I expect from my kids.

[Sahamamama]

That is precisely how I divide them (though I do give them names, not colors.   :) ) I organize them that way in my thoughts b/c that is a generic breakdown of output skill level categories that I expect from my kids.

 

Oh, Eight, help me out. What are your names? I'd like to be more normal, if that's possible. You are now my reference point.

[8filltheheart]

Oh, Eight, help me out. What are your names? I'd like to be more normal, if that's possible. You are now my reference point.

I posted them up thread: http://forums.welltrainedmind.com/topic/543596-define-these-terms-middle-schooljunior-high/?p=6211467 Not original at all. But my thoughts are geared toward the skills, not the names. :)

[MarkT]

back in my day in upstate NY Junior High =  grades 7,8 plus 9 otherwise it was Middle School

9th grade counted as high school of course  - it was just the physical bldg 

 

my son's K-8 charter school in AZ called 7 and 8th grade Junior High 

[Mom2OandE]

Where I grew up 5-8 was middle school but if the school was just 7-8 it was junior high.

[thescrappyhomeschooler]

It seems like every school district is different around here, but ours is 6-8 for middle school.

 

The next town over has a middle school for 5 & 6 and a junior high for 7 & 8.