Carnegie Corporation's landmark 1989 report, Turning Points: Preparing American Youth for the 21st Century, focused national attention on the long-neglected needs of adolescent youth. In the following decade, hundreds of middle grades schools implemented Turning Points principles and many others adopted similar and complementary measures. Based on these experiences, Turning Points 2000 refines the ideas contained in the original report by blending the wisdom of both the latest research and the best practice. This seminal volume, written by the principal author of the original report (Anthony W. Jackson) along with one of the main leaders in implementing its principles (Gayle A. Davis): Synthesizes crucial lessons learned from educators attempting to improve middle grades education across the country over the past decade Bridges the gap between education researchers and practitioners by translating a wealth of recent research into practical guidance for front-line educators Signals a new generation of thinking about middle grades education by emphasizing that, in addition to structural changes in classrooms and schools, educators must also make substantial, far-reaching changes in curriculum, student assessment, and instruction in order to improve student learning Directly confronts critical questions such as how heterogeneously grouped (i.e., untracked) students can be successfully educated, why middle grades teachers must be specially licensed to teach young adolescents, and why middle grades instruction must include instruction in reading