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Publication Title:

What Matters for Staying On-Track and Graduating in Chicago Public Schools: A Focus on Students with Disabilities

Publication
Author(s):

Julia Gwynne, Joy Lesnick, Holly M. Hart, and Elaine M. Allensworth
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[PDF File, 1.5 Mb]

Alignment with ARRA:

ARRA areas aligning with this product:

  • Data Use
  • Standards/Assessment
  • Turnaround Schools

A major priority for the use of ARRA funds is to develop sophisticated longitudinal data systems that track progress over time, and to train educators on using these data systems. This resource, which identifies early-warning indicators of drop out for students with disabilities, can help educators and policymakers shape their data systems and use disaggregated student data to keep students with disabilities on track for graduation.

For more details on how ARRA funds can apply to ninth grade transitional support, please view our ARRA resources on our ARRA Web page.

Publication Key Points:

This report, which looks at the freshman year course performance of Chicago Public Schools (CPS) students who receive special education services, found that absences, course failures, course credits and GPA all can be used to accurately predict whether ninth-graders with disabilities will graduate from high school. Identifying these early warning indicators is especially crucial for students with disabilities, who drop out of high school at alarming rates.

Publication Key Challenges:

Students identified as having disabilities continue to drop out of school at higher rates than their non-disabled peers. Using data from CPS students, this report explores how early warning indicators can be used to identify students with disabilities who are at risk of dropping out.

How Audience(s) Can Use This Product to Address Challenges:

This resource is designed to provide educators and policymakers with an understanding of how certain early-warning indicators can be used to identify students with disabilities who are at-risk for dropping out, as well as guidance for keeping these students on track for graduation. Some suggested uses for this product are:

  • Distribute to state- and local-level educators and policymakers charged with developing and maintaining longitudinal data systems;
  • Distribute to state chapters of the American Association of School Administrators (AASA), the American School Counselor Association (ASCA), and other relevant associations;
  • Share with state-level personnel responsible for dropout prevention initiatives and/or high school restructuring;
  • Encourage appropriate state-level personnel, such as administrators of School Improvement funds, to develop a PowerPoint presentation on content for use in district meetings regarding high school improvement;
  • Forward to district personnel responsible for high school improvement;
  • Suggest that state personnel encourage districts to share in newsletters and other correspondences; and
  • Link in e-blast to districts from state, etc.

Production Citation:

Gwynne, J., Lesnick, J., Hart, H. M., & Allensworth, E. M. (2009, December). What matters for staying on-track and graduating in Chicago Public Schools: A focus on students with disabilities. Chicago, IL: Consortium on Chicago School Research, University of Chicago.

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