Chicago's graduation-rate improvements have been credited to changed ninth-grade dropout-prevention practices triggered by on-track accountability and real-time data reports, and the review states accountability by itself was not sufficient¶

Claim · All claims
Evidence · 1 study (2 entries) · review r2 · q2
Currency · newest study 2018 · not yet checked against its sources · not reviewed by a person

Subclaims¶

q2 i? Integrating on-track rates into Chicago's accountability system signaled that high schools should attend to ninth-grade performance, and schools developed dropout-prevention practices focused on preventing ninth-grade failures that have been credited with dramatic graduation-rate improvements. → Allensworth 2018 q2 i? On-track rates in Chicago only improved after the district developed real-time data reports that schools could use for early intervention and guiding school improvement; accountability by itself was not sufficient. → Allensworth 2018 (2)

Evidence¶

Allensworth 2018¶

Allensworth, E.M., Nagaoka, J., & Johnson, D.W. (2018). High school graduation and college readiness indicator systems: What we know, what we need to know. Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Consortium on School Research. https://ncs.uchicago.edu/freshman-on-track-toolkit

q2 · i? · review · r2

The review reports that after Chicago integrated on-track rates into its high school accountability system, signaling that schools should pay more attention to ninth-grade performance, schools developed ninth-grade-failure-prevention practices that "have been credited with dramatic improvements in graduation rates in the district." This is the review's attribution, citing Roderick et al. (2014); no effect size is printed.

"Eventually, individual schools developed very different practices around dropout prevention than in the past, interventions that focused on preventing failures in the ninth grade. These changes have been credited with dramatic improvements in graduation rates in the district."

Allensworth 2018 (2)¶

Allensworth, E.M., Nagaoka, J., & Johnson, D.W. (2018). High school graduation and college readiness indicator systems: What we know, what we need to know. Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Consortium on School Research. https://ncs.uchicago.edu/freshman-on-track-toolkit

q2 · i? · review · r2

The review states that "on-track rates only improved after the district developed real-time data reports" usable for early intervention and school improvement, and that accountability by itself was not sufficient. This is the review's interpretation of the Chicago chronology; no effect size is printed.

"In Chicago, on-track rates only improved after the district developed real-time data reports that schools could use for early intervention and guiding school improvement."

Discussion¶

Related Claims¶

• Chicago's on-track data system was associated with improved high school graduation rates — possibly the same claim (merge candidate)
• Improvements in ninth-grade course performance—credits earned, pass rates, and attendance—account for most graduation improvements beyond student background changes — related
• Students show signs of dropout risk early in high school, and schools that reach out in the ninth-grade year can keep them on track to graduate — related
• Monitoring all students and proactively intervening on early warning signs has minimal-level evidence of improving dropout-related outcomes — related
• Ninth-grade on-track NSI positively affected GPA, core course pass rates, and credit completion after schools' second year of participation — related
• Bronxdale students outperformed comparison-group, borough, and city high schools on graduation rates and on-track credit indicators in 2017–18 — related
• Ninth-grade on-track status predicts graduation more strongly than prior achievement, with a 55 percentage point gap after controls — related
• Freshman on-track students are over three times as likely to graduate in four years as off-track students in CPS — related
• Attendance, behavior, and course performance (the ABC indicators) reliably predict which secondary students are at risk of dropping out — related
• Ninth-grade early warning systems around course grades and attendance led to substantial improvements in grades, graduation rates, and test-measured learning gains — related