A study by the University of Chicago Consortium on Chicago School Research to be released on Thursday is expected to show evidence that the Chicago school district's 9th grade "on track" program—a concerted effort by the district to reduce dropout rates by collecting real-time data on students and then targeting those considered at-risk before they fall behind—has led to an increase in the city's high school graduation rate, a trend that's expected to continue.
Since the program was implemented in 2007, the number of students deemed to be "on-track" for graduation has risen by 25 percentage points, from 57 percent in 2007 to 82 percent in 2013—meaning that about 6,900 additional students finished the 9th grade each year without major course failures and enough credits to gain sophomore status as a result of the program, according to a draft summary of the report, "Preventable Failure Improvements in Long-Term Outcomes when High Schools Focused on the 9th Grade Year," by researchers Melissa Roderick, Thomas Kelley-Kemple, David W. Johnson, and Nicole O. Beechum...