A Study of the Effect of a Change of Facilities of a Middle School Population has on Teacher Instructional Practices

The purpose of this study is to examine how a change of facilities from a modern school building designed for educating middle school students, sixth through eighth grade students, to a facility that was over 50 years old and not configured to educate middle school aged children influenced teacher instructional practices. The review of the literature is related to the effect school facilities have on student measures of performance and the impact instructional methodologies have on student achievement. The investigation is a case study of the effects the change of facilities of the Blacksburg Middle School population had on selected student measures of performance and what influence the teaching staff had on the resulting improvement of student academic measures. The conflicting findings of previous research and the unique circumstances involved in the Blacksburg Middle School situation reveal the need for further research.