Equity matters deeply. But equity is not sameness.

If our goal is for more students to graduate prepared for college, career, and life, then preparation should start earlier. Not in ninth grade. Not halfway through high school. But in the years when students are still building habits that will stay with them. Middle school should count.

Schools often try to solve academic and behavior challenges by grouping students according to ability levels, but decades of research show that keeping students together all day based only on test scores or past performance creates more problems than it solves.