What will do the most to improve middle school education?

Middle school students are falling behind in academic achievement, according to advocacy groups such as the Alliance for Excellent Education [2] and the National Middle School Association [3]. Research shows that though American students do well on assessments during elementary school, they score far below students in other countries by the time they reach eighth grade.

As middle school is often a critical period in education, during which motivation slumps along with test scores, some school districts are eliminating middle schools entirely by folding those grades into elementary schools or high schools. Do you think changing the school structure in this way will make a difference, or are wider research and policy changes required?