Laura Davis is a Senior Research Scientist at the UChicago Consortium. As part of a larger study of organizational factors that influence school improvement across contexts, her current work investigates the ways teachers, administrators, and district leaders conceptualize and make use of data related to school climate. Laura’s research centers broadly on the production of inequality in education, targeting intersections between teacher practice and the schooling experiences of students from marginalized and historically underserved communities.

At its first meeting last month after a changing of the guard, the Chicago Board of Education approved changes to the School Quality Ratings Policy (SQRP), the district’s accountability system. In place since 2014, the SQRP rates district and charter schools on a five-point scale (“1+” is the highest and “3” is the lowest) using a weighted system that considers a range of academic and non-academic factors. Notable among the changes is the addition of a “3–8 On-Track” measure for elementary schools—which are K–8 in Chicago—based on grade point average (GPA) and attendance.

David is a Senior Research Analyst at the UChicago Consortium on the Exposure to Community Violence team. Before joining the Consortium, David's experiences include working in applied research settings as well as teaching sociology courses and mentoring budding social researchers. His dissertation examined the role of cultural organizations on the educational pathways of first-generation Latina/o college students at predominantly white universities.

Starting in September, Chicago elementary schools will be graded under new rules, ones that measure whether elementary students are primed for high school success.

The “3-8 On-Track” metric was approved last month by the new school board along with other revisions to how the district rates its schools, despite concerns about the speed of the shift and questions about its logic...

Sitting in the breezeway of Lincoln High School in Tacoma, I asked outgoing senior Celina Le about her advice for next year’s incoming ninth grade students. She shared her thoughts without hesitation: “You’re only a freshman once. Make it count. Freshman year is the foundation of your next four years.”

Guiding students through the bold colors and statements of graffiti art. Teaching them how to blend their voices in song. Arts experiences like these can open students to new ways of thinking. But they can also offer teachers powerful opportunities to develop students’ social and emotional skills.

The sigh of relief that ricocheted through Chicago Public Schools (CPS) last month was audible beyond district boundaries. New Mayor Lori Lightfoot announced she would retain CEO Janice Jackson, whose 18-month tenure had earned her widespread support. Her December 2017 appointment came on the heels of years of brutal battles over school closures, sex abuse allegations, and bitter budgetary and teacher contract disputes.

Arts education affects students' social-emotional development—for good or ill, concludes a new report by the Consortium for Chicago School Research and the nonprofit Ingenuity.

The groups analyzed 60 years of research on arts education and conducted interviews with Chicago students, parents, and arts educators...