I think one of the most interesting things I've read recently was a "think tank" report on their study about High School drop out rates. They studied that and their report (summarized http://www.thinknewmexico.org/smallschools.html; the full report is much more impressive but costs $10) says the single biggest factor of student success is school size. Kriston mentioned a BIG middle school and how horrible that was, feeding two presumably smaller high schools. Maybe I'm overly influenced by what I've read, but I believe it. The middle school I like (where my kids attend) is 60 students, vs. the Big highschool >1200.
