The institution called the "junior high" was established in response to an accumulation of dissatisfaction with the education and with the socialization of the age group termed the "middle child", children in the 11th or 12th year through the 14th year. However, serious rethinking of the entire 7-12 sequence now needs to be undertaken. Studies are currently underway in at least nine Northeastern and Middle Atlantic States, generated in part by the pressure of accountability and cost effectiveness efforts, aimed at some basic questions concerning what it is any high school graduate should know and know how to do, at a very minimum, and the identification of some of the best new and old ways of getting him there--in or out of school. The standard junior high school should be abolished and, in its stead, three years of planned real work experiences should be established. The three years of work should roughly correspond to the 7th, 8th, and 9th grades and the tasks that would change over that period of time. Entering students, the equivalent of 7th graders, should be divided into work teams of no more than six young people, to work under the direction of and receive direction from a term leader. The conventional 36-week school year should be divided into four 9-week terms, each term to contain six weeks of "work" and three weeks of intellectual, aesthetic, and physical education activities. (Author/MLF)