Study

Attendance and grade point average are the best indicators of whether middle school students will do well in high school and not standardized test scores, according to a report from the University of Chicago Consortium on Chicago School Research.

In the report, “Looking forward to High School and College: Middle Grade Indicators of Readiness in Chicago Public Schools,” the UChicago Consortium used data provided by Chicago Public Schools for the entire school district between 2009-2010 school year. The report determined that attendance and grade point average (GPA) were better indicators of whether students would start 9th grade on track even more than test scores or background characteristics such as race and neighborhood poverty levels...