This resource monograph updates 1983 and 1984 resource monographs intended as reference tools for New York State school districts considering grade-level reorganization of educational programs for early adolescents. The chapters of this document: (1) summarize contents of the previous monographs; (2) discuss current research and information on middle grades students in terms of emotional, physical, intellectual, psychological, social, and personal development; (3) describe the societal and familial contexts of adolescent development and provide statistics describing the adolescent learner; (4) discuss in a developmental framework the educational and other needs of the early adolescent student; (5) provide a brief explanation of Part 100 of the Regulations of the New York State Commissioner of Education concerning requirements for grades seven and eight; (6) describe how school districts are implementing the requirements of Part 100; (7) provide a discrepancy analysis contrasting what is desirable and what actually occurs in programs for seventh and eighth grade students; and (8) present issues relative to Part 100. A list of references is provided for each chapter. Appended are regulations of the Commissioner concerning program requirements for students in grades seven and eight, a summary of the findings of the New York State School Boards Association (NYSSBA) 1986 survey on educational trends in the middle grades, a summary of the NYSSBA's recommendations, and a supplemental bibliography regarding research on middle grades students with handicapping conditions. (RH)