Skip to main content
California Department of Education Logo

Middle Grades

Information and resources for middle grades educators and parents. The middle grades consist of early-adolescent students, ten to fourteen years of age, generally in grades six to eight.

Taking Center Stage Act II, Middle Grades Success

Taking Center Stage-Act II (TCSII) Recommendations, Professional Learning Activities, and Success Videos
In 2008, the California Department of Education (CDE) created a dynamic, web-based publication to provide educators with relevant information pertaining to middle grades. Taking Center Stage—Act II (TCSII): Ensuring Success and Closing the Achievement Gap for All of California’s Middle Grades Students was designed to promote, illustrate, and support the concepts embedded in the California Department of Education’s (CDE) 12 Recommendations for Middle Grades Success. Created specifically for middle grades educators, TCSII content offers developmentally responsive and research-based practices through videos, professional learning activities, and best practice vignettes focused on the young adolescent.

Middle Grades Information

California Distinguished Schools Program
The California Distinguished Schools Program honors some of California's most exemplary and inspiring public schools. Schools selected for the Distinguished School Award demonstrate significant gains in narrowing the achievement gap.

Questions:   Peter Callas | pcallas@cde.ca.gov | 916-319-0669
Last Reviewed: Tuesday, December 20, 2022