Lauren is a Research Analyst I at To&Through. In this role, she provides analytics support and maintains the data tool. She is passionate about providing tools to parents and educators so they can make the best decisions for their schools and communities. Prior to joining To&Through, Lauren worked as a math tutor and statistician for the Exigent Summer Program for Advanced West Side Mathematics. She also worked as a teaching assistant. Outside of work, Lauren enjoys running, playing violin, and watching The Great British Baking Show.

It’s true: English learners lag their peers by several metrics, a fact some politicians use to deride their growing presence in America’s public schools. 

But researchers with The University of Chicago say such data points represent a mere snapshot of student achievement for those still learning a new language, telling just a fraction of a greater story...

Earlier this week, the University of Chicago Consortium on School Research published a research report looking at English Learners (ELs) in Chicago Public Schools. Among the many findings, the report shows that Former ELs, students who achieved English proficiency and exited EL programs by high school, are thriving academically, and even outperforming their peers in various key areas. This report is a testament to the incredible potential of our young people and the impact of bilingual education programs and support.

A newly released study from the University of Chicago Consortium on School Research found that English-learning school students who were more proficient in the language by the ninth grade scored higher and graduated at higher rates than late-arriving learners who continued their language studies into high school. 

Students who started school as English learners but later shed that designation by becoming proficient in the language are more likely than their classmates to graduate from high school and enroll in college, all after post superior grade point averages in school. 

Chicago students who had been English language learners and became fluent in English by ninth grade graduate and enroll in college at higher rates than their peers, according to a new study released Wednesday by the University of Chicago Consortium of School Research. 

Those findings go along with an earlier study that found similar trends in elementary school, where students who had been English language learners and later mastered English tended to do better in school than their native-English-speaking peers...

Chicagoans just selected our first 10 elected board of education members, who will take office in January alongside 11 mayoral appointees.

On the morning of Sept. 4, 2024 about a month into the new school year at Apalachee High School near Atlanta, Georgia, a 14-year-old student named Colt Gray left his algebra class at around 9:45 a.m. 

About five minutes later, the student’s mother reportedly called the high school after receiving a disturbing text message from her son. School administrators dispatched two school resource officers — armed law enforcement officers assigned to public schools — to locate the student, according to CNN...

Key Takeaways 

• Most students who were formerly English Learners graduated from high school, and they persisted in college at rates higher than the district average.
• Students who were long-term English Learners had cumulative GPA and SAT scores that were lower than district average, and, among college enrollees, had lower four-year college persistence rates.
• Students who were late-arriving English Learners had SAT scores that were lower than the district average, but higher cumulative GPA than the district average, and had high college persistence among stud