High School vs. Middle School: A Comparative Essay There are two distinctive differences, that make high school much more difficult, when you make the jump from middle school to high school: you have to work much harder and you get more freedom as a reward. High school is far more involved and it is more difficult than middle school. You have to work harder and spend more time on your schoolwork to receive good grades; whereas, in middle school, it is easy to get good grades, all you have to do is spend 10 minutes a night. And in exchange for working harder, you get treated with for more respect.