Elaine Allensworth

Elaine Allensworth is the Lewis-Sebring Director of the UChicago Consortium, where she has conducted research on educational policy and practice for the last 20 years. She works with policymakers and practitioners to bridge research and practice, providing advice to researchers across the country about conducting research-practice partnerships, and serving on panels, policy commissions, and working groups at the local, state and national level. She is recognized as an expert in the areas of students’ educational attainment, school leadership, and school improvement. Her research on the factors that predict whether students will drop out of high school has shifted the conversation from factors that schools cannot control to factors that schools can influence; school districts across the country have adopted early warning indicator systems based on her Freshman OnTrack research. She is one of the authors of the book, Organizing Schools for Improvement: Lessons from Chicago, which documents the ways in which organizational structures in schools influence improvements in student achievement. Elaine has been the principal investigator on research grants from funders such as the Institute of Education Sciences, the National Science Foundation, and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. She has received a number of awards from the American Educational Research Association, including the Palmer O. Johnson award Division H awards outstanding publications. She was once a high school Spanish and science teacher.

Featured Publications

All Publications

Title Type Date Sort ascending
High School Graduation Rates through Two Decades of District Change: The Influence of Policies, Data Records, and Demographic Shifts High School Graduation Rates through Two Decades of District Change

The Influence of Policies, Data Records, and Demographic Shifts

Report Jun 2016
The Back on Track Study The Back on Track Study

Using Online Courses for Credit Recovery

Brief Apr 2016
The Struggle to Pass Algebra

Online vs. Face-to- Face Credit Recovery for At-Risk Urban Students

Article Mar 2016
Dropout Prevention

A Previously Intractable Problem Addressed Through Systems for Monitoring and Supporting Students

Book Nov 2015
Suspending Chicago's Students: Differences in Discipline Practices Across Schools Suspending Chicago's Students

Differences in Discipline Practices Across Schools

Report Sep 2015
Discipline Practices in Chicago Schools: Trends in the Use of Suspensions and Arrests Discipline Practices in Chicago Schools

Trends in the Use of Suspensions and Arrests

Report Mar 2015
Looking Forward to High School and College: Middle Grade Indicators of Readiness in Chicago Public Schools Looking Forward to High School and College

Middle Grade Indicators of Readiness in Chicago Public Schools

Report Nov 2014
Free to Fail or On-Track to College Free to Fail or On-Track to College Brief Sep 2014
Preschool Attendance in Chicago Public Schools Preschool Attendance in Chicago Public Schools

Relationships with Learning Outcomes and Reasons for Absences

Report May 2014
The Influence of School Leadership on Classroom Participation

Examining Configurations of Organizational Supports

Article May 2014
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