Chicago high school graduation rates improved dramatically over 20 years without a decline in average high school academic performance¶

Claim · All claims
Evidence · 1 study (2 entries) · associational r2 · q2
Currency · newest study 2011 · not yet checked against its sources · not reviewed by a person · overdue for a recheck since 2014: local conditions change quickly

Subclaims¶

q2 i? Students entering Chicago high schools in the late 2000s were more than twice as likely to graduate as to drop out, versus roughly even odds in the early 1990s, with gains across racial/ethnic groups and both sexes. → Luppescu 2011 q2 i? High school ACT scores rose by about a point over the last decade even as more students took the exam, and graduates completed college-admission course requirements. → Luppescu 2011 (2)

Evidence¶

Luppescu 2011¶

Luppescu, S., Allensworth, E. M., Moore, P., de la Torre, M., Murphy, J., with Jagesic, S. (2011). Trends in Chicago's Schools Across Three Eras of Reform. Consortium on Chicago School Research, University of Chicago. https://consortium.uchicago.edu/publications/trends-chicagos-schools-across-three-eras-reform-full-report

q2 · i? · associational · r2

Trend analysis of CPS student-level data across three reform eras, reported in the executive summary. The report states students went from being "about as likely to drop out as to graduate" to more than twice as likely to graduate, with improvements among all racial/ethnic groups and both boys and girls. No effect size is printed.

"In the early 1990s, students who entered Chicago high schools were about as likely to drop out as to graduate. Now they are more than twice as likely to graduate as to drop out."

Luppescu 2011 (2)¶

Luppescu, S., Allensworth, E. M., Moore, P., de la Torre, M., Murphy, J., with Jagesic, S. (2011). Trends in Chicago's Schools Across Three Eras of Reform. Consortium on Chicago School Research, University of Chicago. https://consortium.uchicago.edu/publications/trends-chicagos-schools-across-three-eras-reform-full-report

q2 · i? · associational · r2

Trend analysis of ACT scores for Illinois-tested CPS juniors over roughly a decade, reported in the executive summary. Scores rose "by about a point over the last decade" while graduation course requirements for college admission were met by all graduates. No effect size is printed.

"high school students have improved their performance on the tests administered to all high school juniors in Illinois, with ACT scores rising by about a point over the last decade"

Discussion¶

Related Claims¶

• Chicago Public Schools improved dramatically between 1987 and 2017, with the biggest gains among students of color and low-income students — a broader claim this one bears on
• The rise in diploma earning came from declining dropout rates, which fell from 35 to 11 percent, not from declines in other outcomes — related
• Graduates' academic qualifications improved alongside graduation rates, with ACT scores rising from 16.7 to 18.6 between 2003 and 2014 — related
• Subject-matter-centered reform that ignores climate may raise achievement scores while increasing dropout rates — related