Key Findings

• 5Essentials Survey measures continue to be predictive of school improvement in elementary schools, and are also predictive in high schools. Of the 22 survey measures, all were in some way positively and significantly associated with schools’ improvement. At the same time, all measures were not associated with all outcomes.
• Both 1) starting out the year with strength in 5Essentials Survey measures and 2) improving on measures during the course of the year predicted improved student outcomes in schools.

Using Freshman OnTrack and more nuanced definitions of freshman success, sophomore educators can better target intervention and support from the beginning of sophomore year; and using similar sophomore success indicators, they can monitor and support students during sophomore year.

Before the coronavirus swept in, Samani Ford had a trusted system for achieving her goals: dream, plan, and execute.

A freshman at Rutgers University-Newark, her dream is to become a genetic counselor and help people navigate the health issues her extended family has faced, including cancer and bipolar disorder. Her plan to accomplish that dream is to excel at Rutgers, then earn a master’s degree and maybe a doctorate...

When the I-Team discovered that both Illinois and Chicago education officials were unable to provide any data showing whether students are actually logging in to online remote learning during the pandemic, they launched an investigation and found some nearly empty virtual classrooms.

"We're doing whatever we can to make sure that students are constantly learning but it is definitely heartbreaking and overwhelming to see the lack of participation, like do my students love me?" said CPS teacher Andrea Parker...

In the early weeks of remote learning at Chicago’s Senn High School, only counselors saw the weekly color-coded tally that tracked participation: students who completed assignments in green, those who kept in touch with teachers in yellow, and those who had not engaged at all in red.

But Principal Mary Beck recently heeded calls from teachers to share the data with them as well. That sparked productive conversations: Educators who were striking out with some students consulted colleagues who had successfully engaged them...

The Discovery Partners Institute has launched a new education and workforce research center, IWERC, with $3.9 million from some of the city’s most influential philanthropists and foundations.

IWERC stands for the Illinois Workforce and Education Research Collaborative. It will identify the questions most important to Illinois policy and education leaders, and then analyze appropriate data and share findings so that more students succeed...

The coronavirus pandemic has taken a toll on our students. As we move into the summer, schools will need to understand the best way to address these issues.

To understand what students have lost and how schools can help them recover, there’s no better person to talk to than Elaine Allensworth, the director of the University of Chicago Consortium on School Research. On this episode, she explains what the best research tells us about education during this crisis...

Our ability to adapt to the current situation has proven that, despite challenges, we all have found ways to make the best of things. Businesses, nonprofits and government entities have adapted policies and day-to-day operations to meet the recommendations and orders from health officials and state leaders in the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic.

Unfortunately, while each entity is doing the best it can given the circumstances, what we’re doing likely fails to meet our pre-COVID standards, particularly in the classroom...