Implementing Inclusion at the Middle School Level: Lessons from a Negative Example

This article summarizes lessons learned from a formative evaluation of one attempt to implement inclusion of students with mild to moderate mental impairment (MMMI) in general classes in a suburban middle school. We compared the process and outcomes of this attempt with intentions of key players, results of school-change research, and considerations of treatment integrity and social validity. Results of a statistical analysis of peer attitudes were used as additional outcome data. Although full inclusion was not successfully implemented during the year of evaluation, several lessons were learned, which can be applied to other attempts to implement inclusion at the middle school level.