Arthur is a Black college student who attended a high school on the Southwest Side of Chicago. He immediately enrolled in a four-year college after high school graduation and has since transferred to two-year colleges as well as an online bachelor’s degree program. Read his story.
Nancy is a Latinx, first-generation college student from Brighton Park. She immediately enrolled in a four-year college after high school graduation, transferred to a two-year college, and is currently enrolled in another four-year college. Read her story.
Last spring, we released a study on Chicago Public Schools (CPS) graduates’ post-secondary pathways. The study revealed that the normative view of college — being continuously enrolled at one institution and graduating with a bachelor’s degree — is not typical for many CPS graduates. These findings inspired us at to seek out students who have made these transitions to understand more about their experiences.
Nearly half of all off-track sophomores in the 2013–2014 CPS freshman cohort were on-track as freshmen. They graduated from high school at a rate of 43%. Their peers who remained on-track sophomore year graduated at a rate of 93%. Read more surprising research about the sophomore year.
Thousands of schools around the country still use rewards as a central technique despite clear research evidence about their ineffectiveness. When we monetize student behaviors, we create a transactional relationship between students and adults, relying on extrinsic rewards rather than grappling with the deeper question of why we think students need incentives in order to perform well in school. Read more about why — and how — educators across the country are beginning to rethink their rewards systems.
Read our summer newsletter to learn about our new research, data tool, and resources ranging from leveraging student voice to unearthing trends in Chicago Public Schools graduates' experiences after high school.
As we prepare to welcome all students back to school this fall, it is vital that we learn more about how the last year-and-a-half has affected them. In April, the six schools in the To&Through Middle Grades Network gave their middle grade students an assignment that asked them: “How have you changed and grown since the beginning of the pandemic?” Students’ responses took several different forms: poetry, drawings, playlists, or written reflections to describe their experience. Read their responses.
If Chicago is going to significantly increase the completion rate for all CPS graduates, the next step is to focus on providing more systematic support for CPS graduates with less than a 3.0 GPA. These students, who make up more than half of CPS graduates, don’t always have access to selective schools with high graduation rates, but they are accepted into college, they want to earn certificates and degrees and some do graduate. However, many require additional academic, financial and social supports on campuses.
The findings from our new report Navigating the Maze: Understanding CPS Graduates' Paths Through College suggest that some long-held beliefs about persisting in and completing college may be incorrect. During the college choice process, adults supporting students should be clear with themselves and clear with students and their families about how CPS students actually move through higher education systems.
This blog post provides a high-level summary of findings and implications from our report College During the Pandemic: Immediate Enrollment and Retention of CPS Graduates in Fall 2020.