Teaching Middle School vs High School: Which Is Easier?

Middle schoolers won't shut up and are easier to engage. High schoolers refuse to speak and are tougher to engage.

I’ve seen and heard plenty of things about both. There’s people that say middle school is a pit of craziness with students run by their hormones. Often teachers there have content as their secondary objective to just reigning in their kids and teaching them to properly be in a classroom environment. I’ve also seen others say that if one is able to master that chaotic environment then it is actually a golden place as test scores are looked at with less scrutiny and there are no obligations for graduation rates and WASC accreditations. I’ve seen many a teacher retire in middle school.

On the other hand high school is often the place where behaviors are often outside of school and hence academics take a more central role. I’ve heard students are often less of an issue in overt disruption and disrespect, yet display a disturbing amount of apathy toward education and life. They are starting their lives and leaving and graduating is a huge priority which gives a lot of opportunity for longer form connection. However oftentimes that apathy will lead them to disengage or drop out altogether.

I’m curious about the perspectives of teachers who have taught both or either. What were the differences? Similarities? Is middle school really the monster that popular consciousness seems to think it is? Is high school really as tame as many teachers seem to think it is? What are your thoughts?

Middle School - Behavior tends to be an issue more often and is often immature, silly stuff, academics are usually not as important to everyone (including admin)

High School - Behavior may be less often a concern but is often more serious (drugs, weapons, etc), academics are emphasized more, kids tend to miss more class due to activities or sports

I student taught eighth graders and it almost put me off the profession. Now I teach sophomores and juniors and couldn’t be happier.

How do you know which one is a better fit for you? I want to go back to school to get a teaching masters in my home state, but I'm really struggling on what age range is a better fit. I work with kids aged 3-15 now as an assistant teacher in East Asia. I enjoy the elementary school kids the most, but I've always heard that it's much harder to teach elementary in the US than the older grades. Knowing this, what kind of person thrives in elementary school vs junior high school/high school?

Middle Schoolers generally still really want their teachers to like them and will do a ton to look good in your eyes. Much less common in high school. If you are excited by something, they will be excited. I generally found it way easier to motivate MS kids to participate and engage in class than HS students.

MS students are also just all over the place as far as maturity and impulse control. You kind of have to choose to be amused when you redirect or discipline students... because if you don't the student may take it personally and it can have a major long term impact on your relationship with them. You have to be hyper selective about when you crack down hard on behaviors in my opinion.

You can't zone out at all with MS. In HS I can take lessons and have them work independently or in groups pretty easily. When I do those things in MS I have to be 100% present even when they are on their own.

High school teacher who used to teach middle school here. Differences:

High School classroom - significantly less smelly. Middle school classes smell like farts and Axe body spray.

High school teaching you spend more time building lesson plans and grading

Middle School classroom taxes your energy more during the work day as you are constantly hyper-vigilant and redirecting students

Middle school teaching - higher highs, lower lows. Middle school kids are less independent in thought and often all buy in to a lesson or mostly tap out.

High school teaching - more adjunct/event supervisions you have to do

High school - I at least give a slightly bigger rip about school spirit and actually wear some swag sometimes.

EDIT: Oh my goodness, all of this advice is SO helpful! Thank all of you for taking the time to comment, it had really given me more perspective. ❤️

I’ve been teaching high school for four years and I’m honestly a bit burnt out. The way I get talked to by kids every day just makes me feel like gum on the bottom of someone’s shoe. However, I am certified to teach science in grades 6 through 12. I’ve been toying around with the idea of teaching middle school instead. Has anyone taught middle and high school that could give me an idea of what it’s like?

Energy level. MS needs you to hold their attention. HS is kinda apathetic, though they secretly love being treated like MSers.

Other than that, reading level. MS is still kinda elementary school so they really need to be coached up in their reading and writing levels, and I guess perseverance.

Depending on your population, when I taught 7th grade I just kind of treated it like HS training. We took the content seriously and I really challenged kids. Some kids did not keep up, but I have had a number of students tell me 9th and 10th grade were ready because I got them ready.

I have 5 years of MS and 13 years of HS experience. HS is way easier. Middle schoolers will gaslight the shit out of you.

In terms of maturity, classroom management, etc.

I've been teaching English in Asia for the past two years and I've grown to like teaching elementary students. I'm thinking of teaching back in America because I'd actually get more time to travel, but I would need to go back to school. It seems like it might be very difficult to teach at the elementary level. Planning lessons for the entire day vs. middle school and high school where you have 2 or 3 lessons a day. Has anyone taught elementary and middle or high school? How do they compare? Is it a lot more work to teach elementary? Thank you for any responses.

I have taught K-12.

I love middle school.

You can tell them they are not elementary kids and then tell them you have to prepare them for high school.

Not as needy as the elementary, not as jaded as high school …

They are fun, witty and endearing.

I have two interviews lined up: one for a middle school social studies position and another for a high school history position. For those of you who have taught at both the middle school and high school levels, what are some of the notable differences and/or similarities you have experienced between teaching at both levels? Did you have to alter your teaching approach when transitioning from one level to the other? Which do you prefer, and why?

I often get told that middle school is more like babysitting, where high school is more about content delivery and keeping students engaged, especially with a subject like history that students are not often interested in. Although I am sure there is some truth to that, I am willing to bet that it expands beyond just this so I am curious on your thoughts.

I've done everything from kinder to high school. It all depends on what you find is your fit. Personally the lower levels of schooling were hell for me. I don't like trying to make order from chaos, try dealing logically with the illogical, etc. Middle school is the first place where I broke down and cried in the bathroom at lunch time. It was the worst day. They couldn't even hold it together for an episode of Bill Nye. High school is where I do best and even there the older students are much better than the freshmen. Freshmen are still very similar to their middle school selves. They will do dumb things like drink the fertilizer or show up super weed stinky. The juniors and seniors can regulate much better and know how to resist impulses, but are also a lot better at their deviance if they're trying to pull one over on you. Drift around abd try it out if you can stomach the subbing until you get a position.

Friend moved from HS to MS. I asked how it was going. “They’re barely human at this stage of development”. High schoolers have more logic and reasoning especially in older grades.

From my own experience, middle school is very energetic, so I spent (and wasted) a lot more time on classroom management. They care much more though, so there's a lot more enthusiasm. I had a lot of good memories with them but hopefully I never have to teach middle school again. 

High school obviously more mature but motivation is lower. And there's more smartasses. I prefer the high schoolers though since I feel like I'm actually teaching more than running a daycare. 

Content differences should be quite clear from your state’s standards. As for general vibe differences…

In general, middle school aged students have a lot more energy and a lot of school drama. 12-15 are peak years for risk-taking and seeking peer validation. But at the same time, by merit of being younger, they are way more likely to buy-into fun and silliness. They gradually become more “reasonable” at 16 and so on. HS students are easier to reason with for the most part but can be harder to bring onboard on fun and whimsy bc so much is “cringe” to them OR they are too stressed so nothing but that which gives them the gpa they want is worth their time. HS sees a lot of academic anxiety and more incidences of mental illness and personality disorders (a lot of personality disorders and chronic mood disorders first appear in late adolescence). More incidences of substance abuse on campus. But the need for a “tighter” classroom management approach largely depends on your demographic and district. I believe all grade-levels can have well-run classrooms IF admin support in enforcing consequences and setting a school-wide culture of high expectations for students and parents is established. Some would say HS students are more independent and can self-monitor and self-study. But in my experience, I see high anxiety and dependency on scaffolds impeding high schoolers from moving towards independence. And this seems to be worsening with AI, so it’s like I’m teaching HS content and college-level content to a group with middle school social emotional maturity.

I once heard someone describe the difference as, “The middle school curriculum uses content to teach skills and the high school curriculum uses skills to teach content,” and I was wondering just how true that really was. Sweeping generalizations like that tend to water things down, and who better to ask than teachers themselves?

I’d like to hear about what drew you guys to one over the other. What’s a typical day like, from lesson planning to managing behaviors?

Middle school is loud haha. I teach both, but I would say it depends where you are and what you’re teaching.

I student taught high and now teach middle because that’s the job I got. There’s actually a lot I love about middle, even though I honestly never pictured myself teaching this age (does anyone ever picture that?). They haven’t given up on themselves yet; they’re highly engaged; they’re curious; they have so much energy.

The downsides: they are so loud. And it takes so much work to manage the classroom so that students can actually focus and do work. And they can be really mean to teachers and classmates without realizing it. They’re not fully formed people, and it shows.

But yesterday we were learning about the Holocaust and they had such great insightful questions. They’re so justice oriented and want what’s right. Such a mixed bag at this age. I’m enjoying it but it’s also exhausting.

Honestly, you might just get the job you get in ELA. And then you’ll learn what works for you.

I’m transitioning into education in the midwest and my program allows me to do high school or middle school. But I don’t have the benefit of student teaching or anything. So, I’m rusty on the curriculum differences. I’m also worried that middle schoolers are more rowdy than high schoolers. I have a hard time with excess noise (hell of a career choice I know). Has anyone taught both that can tell me how they’re different?

I want to know, in the secondary world, (Middle/High School), are there a lot of teachers only at a specific level only because the other option wasn’t available for whatever reason at the time?

I’m asking mostly because every time I meet someone who has said they have done both in-person, (MS and HS), they tend to say that they preferred one over the other. I don’t necessarily see the same situation with teachers that have worked ES and MS or ES and HS.

The main reason I’m asking is because I’ve been interviewing at MS and HS at various districts and trying to judge the best opportunity for me personally, (relocation, school culture, financial/income, and where I would fit in the best). Overall, I would say I do have a preference for HS; however, it feels harder to make a decision with all the other factors on which way I should go.

I would say your description is fairly accurate. As a social studies teacher I work closely with the ELA teacher to reinforce reading and writing strategies. At the middle level, students need to learn the skills to be an independent learner. We work tirelessly to develop organizational skills, responsibility, long range planning and the understanding of how grades work. Basically the executive functioning skills of a student all while teaching our content. We read nonstop in my room while learning U.S. History. I can take any reading, note-taking, or writing strategies and weave it into my lessons. I also have a number of math related lessons as well.
Middle school is all about growing the student to be ready for the high school environment. When students tell me that high school is easier than they expected, I know I’ve done my job.

Background story: I was a Middle Level Math Education major (4-6 elementary, 7 and 8 math) in college and my practicums and student teaching were with 7th and 8th grade math classes.

I finished my undergrad degree May 2020 and accepted a high school math teaching job; admin saw my resume and knew I had a middle school background, but they decided to interview me and offer me the job. This is my second year teaching high school math and honestly, I don’t love it. I have two classes of Geometry that range from grades 9-12 and I do not enjoy their overall jadedness and know-it-all attitude. I have one class of Algebra 1 (all 9th grade) and I absolutely love that class.

Next semester, admin made the decision to have me teach an Algebra 2 class that’s mixed with 11th and 12th graders and I’m already dreading it. Plus I know there’s going to be pressure on me for these 12th graders to pass so they can graduate (just like there’s pressure now with current seniors in my classes taking Geometry). I told myself throughout college that I would never want to teach high school, let alone seniors…but here I am.

Although I’ve built connections with some students and met some pretty cool coworkers from various departments which makes it harder to want to leave my building, I realized high school is not my dram job. Over the summer, I told HR I’d be interested in teaching at one of the middle schools next school year. After teaching Algebra 1, I realized how much I miss middle school math content more and the silliness of that age group.

For those that have taught both high school and middle school, what are some differences that you notice between the age groups?

And how should I tell my principal or assistant principal that I might not be back next year and want to transfer to one of the middle schools?