The school has been recognized for years as among the top middle schools in the country for its performance on standardized tests, instruction, special education-inclusion model, hands-on science, scheduling, and "looping," according to Principal Richard K. Wheeler Jr. Looping involves having the same teachers teach the same students for two years to provide a continuity in instruction that is seen as highly beneficial to their development. The school, in fact, is noted for being a classic "team-teaching school" where students learn in nine clusters -- three per grade. Students are not grouped by ability, however, except for math. Instead, teachers and administrators rank students according to more than a dozen criteria so each cluster is as identical in student make-up as possible. For certain courses, like algebra, exceptional students are not held to certain grades. They are bussed to the high school for that learning opportunity.