The problems of urban middle and high schools are rooted in the inadequate preparation that too many students receive in elementary schools, and these problems become most visible in the ninth grade, when students encounter more demanding coursework and tougher requirements for grade-level promotion. In troubled high schools, a large percentage of ninth-grade students either drop out or are held back, and failure to advance successfully and on time to tenth grade is a major predictor for dropping out. In the pipeline leading toward graduation, the point of ninth-to-tenth-grade transition is less a leak than a rupture.

The Talent Development model is especially responsive to the challenge of helping young people make healthy transitions from middle to high school and through high school to graduation. The model, developed by the Center for Research on the Education of Students Placed at Risk (CRESPAR) at Johns Hopkins University, is part of a larger trend in educational reform that aims to improve student performance and engagement through major changes to both the organizational structure and educational processes of middle and high schools.

The Talent Development model for high schools encompasses five main features: small learning communities (a Freshman Academy and career academies for students in the upper grades); curricula leading to advanced English and mathematics coursework; academic extra-help sessions, including “catch-up” reading and math courses for ninth-graders; staff professional development strategies; and parent and community involvement in activities that foster students’ career and college development. The middle school model includes a systematic reorganization of each school into small learning communities; academic courses in English, language arts, mathematics, science, and U.S. history that are based on nationally recognized standards; professional development for teachers on the use of the curriculum and accompanying instructional practice; curriculum coaches to help support teachers on an ongoing basis; and catch-up opportunities during the school day to students who are struggling with mathematics or reading.

The Talent Development model is one of several initiatives being supported under the U.S. Department of Education’s Comprehensive School Reform Demonstration program. (MDRC’s Scaling Up First Things First Demonstration is another such initiative.)