a web-based report from the
Consortium on Chicago School Research

Every two years, the Consortium on Chicago School Research surveys all Chicago public school teachers and sixth- through 10th-grade students. Teachers answer questions on classroom instruction, their professional development experiences, and the conditions under which they work. Students report on their school experiences, attitudes, and activities.

The Consortium has grouped these survey responses into about 25 composite measures of school development. These composite measures have been grouped further under the five Essential Supports for Student Learning.

The Essential Supports are, as identified by Consortium research, School Leadership, Parent and Community Partnerships, Student-Centered Learning Climate, Professional Capacity, and Quality Instructional Program. Our research has shown that student learning improves most in schools where multiple, related Essential Supports are implemented and evaluated on an ongoing basis.

In addition to these indicators of school development, the Consortium also has formed seven measures from survey items that ask teachers and students about computer access, computer usage, and the availability of resources that facilitate the inclusion of technology in the classroom.

Sorted by the Essential Supports, this report provides both a snapshot of the 2003 survey results and graphs of survey response trends from 1994 to 2003. Snapshots categorize participants’ endorsement of each measure, ranging from weak to strong. Trend graphs display how average responses have changed in both elementary and high schools over the period from 1994 to 2003. The report also provides a snapshot of the 2003 survey results and graphs of survey measure response trends for Technology Use and Support from 2001 to 2003.

How to Use this Report

Please scroll down to read descriptions of the five Essential Supports for Student Learning and the seven Technology Use and Support measures. Links within each section provide access to snapshots of each measure and to groups of trend graphs.

1. School Leadership
The principal invites teachers, parents, and Local School Council members to assume major roles in leading improvement efforts according to a unified vision of a successful school.

Teachers work with colleagues and administrators to formulate plans for school development, particularly those related to instructional improvement. The principal takes an active role in instruction and its development by recruiting and retaining effective staff members; encouraging teacher professional development, experimentation, and innovation; and reducing classroom interruption.

School leaders work to invigorate social ties between parents, community members, and school staff. To marshal both human and financial resources, school leaders need an orientation toward strategic planning, analysis, implementation, and evaluation. None of this can be accomplished without effective day-to-day management.

Click the following links to see the 2003 snapshot for each measure making up this Essential Support:

Teacher-Principal Trust
Teacher Influence
Instructional Leadership
Program Coherence

Click here to see elementary and high school measure trends for School Leadership from 1994-2003.

2. Parent and Community Partnerships
In schools with strong parent and community partnerships, parents participate in school activities and contribute in significant ways to achieving school goals.

Parents support their children's learning at home and are viewed by the school as a crucial resource. School staff works to develop respectful and trusting relationships with parents and enlist their support. Teachers cultivate ties with parents and the surrounding community. They visit students' homes and attend neighborhood events. Teachers are knowledgeable about community and cultural issues that concern students and their families.

Because a sizable portion of students require specific services to address problems that interfere with learning, schools need to establish partnerships with a variety of community, health, social service, law enforcement, and recreational organizations.

Click the following links to see the 2003 snapshot for each measure making up this Essential Support:

Parent Involvement in School
Teacher Outreach to Parents
Teacher-Parent Trust
Knowledge of Students' Culture
Parent Support for Student Learning
Human and Social Resources in the Community

Click here to see elementary and high school measure trends in Parent and Community Partnerships from 1994 to 2003.

3. Student-Centered Learning Climate
A student-centered learning climate is characterized by high expectations and press for academic achievement. This is coupled with strong social support for learning from teachers, parents, and peers.

Schools set uniformly high standards for students, including guarding instructional time and clarifying expectations about classwork, homework, and grades. To assure that the majority can succeed, they also provide academic and social support. Students have a sense of being physically and psychologically safe in their school. There are few disruptions due to disciplinary problems, and those that occur are handled firmly and fairly. Teachers know and care about students and are available to give extra help. In addition, to counter any negative peer pressure, the principal, teachers, and parents work together to shape a strong ethic for academic achievement.

Click the following links to see the 2003 snapshot for each measure making up this Essential Support.

Safety
Student Classroom Behavior
Incidence of Disciplinary Action
Classroom Personalism
Student-Teacher Trust
Peer Support for Academic Work

Click here to see elementary and high school measures trends in Student-Centered Learning Climate from 1994-2003.

4. Professional Capacity
Professional capacity reflects the quality of a school's human resources, professional development, professional community, and a system of values and beliefs that emphasize teacher responsibility for change.

The teachers and staff possess a broad array of knowledge and skills. In order to stay abreast of new knowledge and to continue individual growth, teachers must take part in high quality professional development that is targeted at local improvement efforts. Such training should provide sufficient time and follow-up for analysis, reflection, and problem solving.

To act on what they have learned, teachers must come out of the isolation of their classrooms, engage in dialogue with other teachers, and work together to improve student learning. Mutual trust grows as teachers gradually build a school-based professional community. While teachers may not always agree, their disagreement will tend to be constructive rather than destructive. Undergirding their work is a set of values and beliefs that emphasizes support for change, innovation, and a personal commitment to the school.

Click the following links to see the 2003 snapshot for each measure making up this Essential Support:

Peer Collaboration
Reflective Dialogue
Collective Responsibility
School Commitment
Innovation
Teacher-Teacher Trust
Quality Professional Development

Click here to see elementary and high school measure trends in Professional Capacity from 1994-2003.

5. Quality Instructional Program
High quality instruction requires coordinated and well-paced exposure to content, engaging students in intellectually-challenging tasks, and implementing a strategic balance of instructional practices.

Subject matter is introduced at a steady pace and coordinated within and across grade levels. Teachers may teach basic skills, but they seldom rely on repetition and review. Teachers make frequent use of intellectually-challenging assignments that require students to study a topic in depth. Students are asked to communicate and explain what they have learned and draw connections to problems and situations beyond school.

Teachers use instructional practices that engage students in the content in intellectually-demanding ways. Didactic teaching methods rely on whole-class presentation, recitation, and individual student work to transmit and promote the acquisition of specific knowledge. Interactive teaching methods use interactive, problem-oriented strategies to promote analysis, application, and production of knowledge. High-quality instruction is characterized by a balance between these two approaches with a relatively strong emphasis on interactive instruction. Finally, high-quality instruction is supported by strong curricular and instructional materials and adequate time for teaching.

Click the following links to see the 2003 snapshot for each measure making up this Essential Support:

Academic Engagement

Click here to see elementary and high school measure trends under Quality Instructional Program from 1994-2003.
Note: Other measures forming this Essential Support were modified in 2003 to make them specific to particular classroom practices. These new measures have not yet been analyzed fully and will be posted when they become available.

Technology Use and Support
As the Consortium’s report Educational Technology: Availability and Use in Chicago’s Public Schools (September, 2002) indicates, there are at least two major reasons for bringing computers and the Internet into the classroom. First, when used appropriately, such technology can engage students in the learning process and can help develop both basic and higher-order thinking skills. Second, technological fluency is expected of young adults, whether they enter postsecondary institutions or the labor market, where the overwhelming majority of new jobs require sophisticated computer usage skills.

In order to use technology well, schools first need adequate numbers of well-maintained computers. However, access alone is not enough to impact teaching and learning. Teachers need appropriate professional development and enough time to experiment in this new environment; schools need additional human resources to ensure that hardware is in working order and that faculty and staff have in-school support to develop ways in which technology can enhance the curriculum. Finally, staff, students, and parents need to share a vision of the educational goals and purposes of the technology program.

Click on the following links to see the 2003 snapshot of each measure in the Technology Use and Support section:

Access to Computers: Student reports
Availability of Technology: Teacher reports
Human Resource Support for Technology
Professional Development in Technology
Student Use of Technology: Student reports
Student Use of Technology: Teacher reports
Teacher Use of Technology

Click here to see elementary and high school measure trends under Technology from 2001-2003.

Click here to return to the beginning of this report.