CPS students make smaller improvements on sequential EPAS tests from grade to grade than students nationally with the same prior scores¶

Claim · All claims
Evidence · 1 study (2 entries) · associational r2 · q2
Currency · newest study 2008 · not yet checked against its sources · not reviewed by a person

Subclaims¶

q2 i? Improvements from the PLAN in fall of tenth grade to the ACT in spring of eleventh grade fall well below national median levels in all four subjects. → Elaine Allensworth 2008 q2 i? Gaps between CPS and national benchmark-meeting rates widen as high school progresses despite similar ninth-grade EXPLORE performance. → Elaine Allensworth 2008 (2)

Evidence¶

Elaine Allensworth 2008¶

Elaine Allensworth, Macarena Correa, Steve Ponisciak. (2008). From High School to the Future: ACT Preparation–Too Much, Too Late. Consortium on Chicago School Research, University of Chicago. https://consortium.uchicago.edu/publications/high-school-future-act-preparation-too-much-too-late

q2 · i? · associational · r2

Cohort analysis using ACT norming tables comparing CPS students' PLAN-to-ACT gains with matched national samples; "only about one-third or less of CPS students made the median ACT score in each of the four subject area tests."

"improvements from the PLAN in the fall of tenth grade to the ACT in the spring of eleventh grade are well below median levels in all subjects."

Elaine Allensworth 2008 (2)¶

Elaine Allensworth, Macarena Correa, Steve Ponisciak. (2008). From High School to the Future: ACT Preparation–Too Much, Too Late. Consortium on Chicago School Research, University of Chicago. https://consortium.uchicago.edu/publications/high-school-future-act-preparation-too-much-too-late

q2 · i? · associational · r2

Comparison of EXPLORE benchmark-meeting rates for the 2005 ACT-taking cohort against national comparison figures shows CPS students entered high school at roughly national levels, yet those levels were insufficient for later benchmarks.

"While the academic skills of CPS students who took the ACT were similar to students nationally when they entered high school and were also similar to state averages,19 these skill levels were not sufficient to meet most of the ninth-grade benchmark scores."

Discussion¶

Related Claims¶

• CPS students' ACT scores fall below both their college aspirations and their own expectations, and most interviewed students scored lower than they expected — related
• CHSRI juniors' ACT scores were no different from similar students' and remained well below college readiness benchmarks — related
• The grade students receive in the corresponding subject course is the strongest predictor of improvement from one EPAS test to the next — related
• Fewer than half of CPS juniors meet ACT college-readiness benchmarks in any subject, with science lowest at 9 percent — related
• Eleventh-grade ACT math scores changed similarly across schools regardless of their level of standards-related professional development — related
• Ninth-grade GPA predicts beginning-of-tenth-grade PLAN scores even after controlling for eighth-grade test scores, suggesting grades reflect new learning — related
• Among students with the same high grades, ACT scores differ substantially by race/ethnicity, a pattern the report flags as possible racial bias — related
• IDS schools showed no differences in EXPLORE-to-PLAN test score growth compared with the rest of the CPS system — related
• Test strategies and item practice are not effective mechanisms for raising ACT scores; improvements are smaller the more class time goes to test preparation — related
• Students who fail to reach an ACT 20 gained only 0.6 points from PLAN to ACT versus 3.3 for those who reached 20, falling behind expected gains — a narrower finding that bears on this claim
• CPS students' PLAN-to-ACT gains fall well short of national expected gains, dropping 0.5 points below the average expected gain — a narrower finding that bears on this claim
• A ninth-grade EXPLORE composite score of 17 is the tipping point for reaching an ACT score of 20, and can serve as an interim benchmark — related
• Higher course grades predict larger ACT gains regardless of starting PLAN score; students with Ds or Fs lose ground — related
• The ACT does not distinguish well among low-achieving students, while WorkKeys differentiates achievement levels among these students — related
• Combined strong academic culture and high grades more than double EXPLORE-to-ACT gains at every starting score, including moving students from an EXPLORE of 17 to an average ACT of 20.7 — related
• Renaissance 2010 high schools showed a similar pattern of failing to meet EXPLORE-to-PLAN growth expectations — a narrower finding that bears on this claim
• Deep Support schools showed significantly larger test-score improvements but smaller improvements in academic demand, teacher support, and elementary grades than non-Deep-Support schools — related