Search

Why are some schools able to thrive and produce strong student outcomes, while others struggle? To answer this question, researchers have surveyed teachers and students in Chicago Public Schools (CPS) since the 1990s, asking them about their schools' organizational climate and practices. From these data, researchers at the Consortium on Chicago School Research (CCSR) concluded that five essential supports of the schools' organization facilitate engaging instruction and learning: effective leadership, collaborative teachers, involved families, supportive environments, and ambitious instruction. Schools strong in these practice domains were much more likely than schools weak in these areas to see improvements in student outcomes, including attendance and learning gains. Research on school climate and school organization, including that of CCSR, influenced Illinois legislators in 2011 to mandate the collection of data on teacher and student perceptions of schools' instructional environments to provide feedback to principals. Illinois took measures of essential supports tested and refined in one context (CPS) and required its administration statewide. Using this statewide data, the authors address two overarching research questions: (1) How does strength and weakness on the five essential supports vary according to urbanicity, enrollment size of school, and socioeconomic characteristics of school communities?; and (2) Are the five essential supports related to student outcomes including attendance rates, test scores, and graduation rates? Surveys measuring the essential supports were administered to students and teachers in nearly all public schools in Illinois in the spring of 2013. Students in grades 6-12 and all full-time classroom teachers in public schools in Illinois were eligible to take the survey. Survey data were collected via the web. Cross-sectional survey data were linked to official data on school and community demographics and student outcomes, aggregated at the school level. The "5Essential "survey items are submitted to Rasch measurement models to create 22 different measures, which in turn are averaged to constitute the five essential supports. This study had two goals. First, to document disparities in essential supports across schools in the entire state. The authors show that students in rural schools and socioeconomically disadvantaged schools are less likely to experience strong essential supports. The fact that students attending socioeconomically disadvantaged schools have much less access to the essential supports raises substantial equity concerns. Indeed, these students may be most in need of schools that are especially strong. It is important to note that locational inequalities are strongest in ambitious instruction, the essential that is theorized to have the most direct influence on student outcomes. The second goal was to examine the predictive validity of the "5Essential" survey outside of Chicago. Overall, the essential supports have positive albeit small associations with student outcomes. However, some of these associations, particularly test score growth in elementary schools, are sizable when they are compared to the associations between student outcomes and socioeconomic disadvantage. One figure and 2 tables are appended.

In the first comprehensive analysis of Illinois' statewide survey of school climate and learning conditions, this report finds systematic differences among schools in the degree to which students and teachers report strength in the five essential supports. Previous University of Chicago Consortium on Chicago School Research (UChicago CCSR) research has linked strength on the five essentials--effective leadership, collaborative teachers, involved families, supportive environments, and ambitious instruction--to engaging instruction and learning and ultimately to improvements in test score gains and attendance trends. This report analyzes data from the 2013 survey administered by the Illinois State Board of Education and the University of Chicago Urban Education Institute to all teachers and students in grades six through 12. The goal of the survey was to help schools across the state better identify their strengths and weaknesses. Nearly 90 percent of schools responded. The report finds a higher proportion of urban and suburban schools are strong in supportive environment and ambitious instruction, compared with schools in towns and rural areas. Meanwhile, teachers in rural schools are more likely to report having effective leaders. Small elementary schools are more likely to have strong essentials than are large schools, and schools serving more socioeconomically advantaged students are more likely to show strength in the essential supports than those serving students living in poverty. One notable exception is Chicago, which has a relatively high proportion of schools with strong effective leaders, supportive environments, and ambitious instruction despite serving student populations with very high levels of poverty. The report also considers whether the essential supports are related to student outcomes in contexts beyond Chicago, where the original research was conducted. The report finds that in general this is the case though some of these relationships are stronger than others depending on the school context and the outcome being considered. In elementary/middle schools, the essential supports are strongly related to ISAT gains in math and reading. In fact, the relationship between the essential supports and reading gains is even stronger than the relationship between reading gains and poverty. At the high school level, strength in the essential supports is modestly related to better student outcomes (attendance rates, ACT scores, graduation rates). [Additional support for this study was provided by Priscilla and Steve Kersten and Patricia O. Cox.]

Opened in fall 2009, YOUmedia attracts high schoolaged teens who want a safe and welcoming place to hang out and socialize, as well as those with established or nascent interests in both digital and traditional media. With the guidance of staff and the synergy of peer involvement, participants discover and pursue their interests through both collaborative and solitary activities, such as blogging, writing and sharing poetry, playing and reviewing electronic games, producing music and videos, and participating in book clubs. Special events open the door for youth to collaborate with and learn from recognized artists, authors, and experts. YOUmedia is being replicated in 30 learning laboratories across the country. This study, the first of its kind to explore teens' and adults' on-the-ground experiences in the flagship program, focuses on activities from 2010-12. It answers key questions about YOUmedia that can help inform the design of similar initiatives and more general efforts to engage students in learning through the use of technology and student-centered activities. This study: (1) Illuminates how the design of YOUmedia shapes youth participation; (2) Describes the teens that YOUmedia serves, their patterns of participation, and the activities in which they engage; (3) Provides examples of the benefits youth perceive from their participation; (4) Characterizes the roles adults play in engaging teens and the ways programmatic choices have shifted; (5) Offers suggestions for organizations intending to launch similar initiatives; and (6) Illustrates how YOUmedia instantiates elements of the emerging Connected Learning Model. Three appendixes are included: (1) Data Collection Activities and Research Methods; (2) Travel Patterns of Teens; and (3) Supplementary Tables and Graphs.

Technology use is ubiquitous in America's colleges and most workplaces, and it is fast becoming accepted as fact that all students--elementary and high school--must be exposed to technology. Whether schools are doing this is an open question. A 2002 report by the University of Chicago Consortium on Chicago School Research (CCSR) revealed large differences in how well schools in Chicago were structured to support student and teacher use of technology. Since then, technology use has become an integral part of people's work and private lives. This report attempts to update previous CCSR research on technology use in Chicago Public Schools (CPS) by focusing on the most basic skills and experiences students need in order to become technologically literate--e.g., the extent to which students are using technology for school and whether factors such as school culture and expectations of technology use by their teachers and principals contribute to this. Appended are: (1) Survey Items; (2) Methods; and (3) Tables from HLM and Regression Analyses. (Contains 16 figures, 14 tables, and 43 endnotes.)

Since its founding in 1990, the Consortium on Chicago School Research (CCSR) has been viewed as making significant contributions to school reform, both through the findings and implications of specific research studies and more broadly by improving the capacity of the district to use data, build effective strategies, and evaluate progress. In this report, it is argued that CCSR's focus on building capacity for school reform both sets CCSR's role apart from traditional approaches researchers have used to influence policy and practice and also represents a new model for conducting policy-relevant research. This report begins with a brief background of CCSR and describes how a focus on capacity building has been institutionalized in a specific set of organizational arrangements that allows researchers to establish coherence across studies, seek broad stakeholder engagement, and make findings accessible. CCSR advocates that traditional models that have guided how researchers seek to inform policy development and practice often fall short in building the capacity of educators and policy makers. Developing new roles for research is viewed as increasingly important in emerging policy environments that depend significantly on the capacity of teachers and principals to manage decentralized decision making and school improvement efforts. CCSR's approach to the role of research in policy development emerged over time as researchers responded to the needs created by educational policy shifts, evolving into a model focused on building capacity through supporting the search for solutions. A CCSR case study on the transition to high school is presented to illustrate how lessons learned are formalized and how the role of research in supporting school reform is conceptualized to provide a guide for conducting research and building knowledge and coherence across a variety of studies. (Contains 2 endnotes.)

The purpose of this study was to gather initial evidence about the performance of the Leadership and Urban Network for Chicago (LAUNCH) principals and National Board Certified teachers, particularly whether they are building the capacity of their schools to improve student learning, and for LAUNCH principals, whether learning gains are larger in their schools than in others. The Chicago Public Education Fund invests in both programs. The results are based on data from the annual compilation of test scores and regular, biannual surveys conducted by the Consortium on Chicago School Research. This was a small-scale study designed to provide preliminary findings and a baseline for monitoring progress in the future. The results are somewhat encouraging, particularly for National Board Certified Teachers. The contents of this document include: (1) Executive Summary; (2) Introduction; (3) LAUNCH; (4) National Board Certified Teachers; and (5) Interpretive Summary.

This agenda highlights the Consortium on Chicago School Research' priorities for Chicago school research during the 2004 to 2008 period, including both the continuation of current research and new explorations. This proposed research intends to assist CPS leadership, local schools, and the education reform community with evidence-based results that inform long-term educational policies and practices. Tables I and II list all studies and the proposed time lines. (Contains 7 endnotes.)

To help facilitate focused and deliberate action, this report contains a current baseline assessment of the condition of research at colleges and universities in Virginia. The report brings together key sets of national data on research into one convenient place. It also provide a collection of many of the primary indicators used to assess how well individual institutions and states are performing in the competitive world of research. Data from various sources show that Virginia ranked 16th nationally in 2000 based on total academic research and development (R&D) expenditures. Findings show that the ability of research universities to attract federal support for R&D activities is driven largely by their ability to align faculty expertise with the federal research agenda. Virginia institutions appear to lag behind the top national research universities in terms of world-renowned researchers, and few of the state's science and engineering facilities are ranked among the top in the United States. The state's institutions of higher education experience a shortfall in the amount of space available to support their existing research programs, and the ability to conduct state-of-the-art research and its ability to attract world-class faculty is dependent in part on the availability and sophistication of its research equipment, an ability that is compromised by budget reductions. Virginia's faculty members are not generating as much research support as their peers nationally. It is also apparent that the lack of state policies that support and foster academic research has hindered the ability of Virginia's institutions to advance their research errors. Findings also show that most successful state R&D initiatives share key similar characteristics of focused areas of research, long term and sustained R&D investment, and collaborative efforts among higher education, government, and business and industry. (Contains 8 tables, 4 figures, and 42 references.) (SLD)

This report documents development of Chicago Annenberg elementary schools from 1996-99 (the first 3 years of the Chicago Challenge), noting gains in student academic and non-academic outcomes and examining how the schools that developed got better. The Chicago Annenberg Challenge worked to improve Chicago's public schools through dramatically improved classroom practice and strengthened community relationships. Longitudinal field research and analyses of survey data indicate that Annenberg schools developed in a number of small but significant ways. They became stronger in several areas of school leadership and teacher professional community and some aspects of parent and community support and social trust. Results indicated students perceived that their teachers give them individual attention and are concerned about them. There is also evidence that teachers' use of interactive teaching methods in reading increased. Most of the development is reflected in general patterns of development citywide. Student achievement and social-psychological outcomes in Annenberg schools mirrored student outcomes across the system. Students' academic achievement improved, but student engagement and classroom behavior declined. Tables, research methodology, and survey details are appended. (Contains 80 references.) (SM)

Cornell University, the California Institute for Technology, and the Jet Propulsion Laboratory are jointly studying the construction of a 25 m diameter telescope for submillimeter astronomy on a high mountain in northern Chile. This Cornell Caltech Atacama Telescope (CCAT) will combine high sensitivity, a wide field of view, and a broad wavelength range to provide an unprecedented capability for deep, large area, multi-color submillimeter surveys to complement narrow field, high resolution studies with ALMA. CCAT observations will address fundamental themes in contemporary astronomy, notably the formation and evolution of galaxies, the nature of the dark matter and dark energy that comprise most of the content of the universe, the formation of stars and planets, the conditions in circumstellar disks, and the conditions during the early history of the Solar system. The candidate CCAT site, at 5600 m in northern Chile, enjoys superb observing conditions. To accommodate large format bolometer cameras, CCAT is designed with a 20 arcmin field of view. CCAT will incorporate closed loop active control of its segmented primary mirror to maintain a half wavefront error of 10 mum rms or less. Instrumentation under consideration includes both short (650 mum-200 mum) and long (2 mm-750 mum) wavelength bolometer cameras, direct detection spectrometers, and heterodyne receiver arrays. The University of Colorado, a Canadian university consortium, and the UK Astronomy Technology Centre on behalf of the UK community are pursuing participation in the CCAT consortium. When complete early in the next decade, CCAT will be the largest and most sensitive facility of its class as well as the highest altitude astronomical facility on Earth., Comment: 18th International Symposium on Space Terahertz Technology

Cornell, California Institute of Technology (Caltech), and Jet Propulsion Lab (JPL) have joined together to study development of a 25 meter sub-millimeter telescope (CCAT) on a high peak in the Atacama region of northern Chile, where the atmosphere is so dry as to permit observation at wavelengths as short as 200 micron. The telescope is designed to deliver high efficiency images at that wavelength with a total 1/2 wavefront error of about 10 microns. With a 20 arc min field of view, CCAT will be able to accommodate large format bolometer arrays and will excel at carrying out surveys as well as resolving structures to the 2 arc sec. resolution level. The telescope will be an ideal complement to ALMA. Initial instrumentation will include both a wide field bolometer camera and a medium resolution spectrograph. Studies of the major telescope subsystems have been performed as part of an initial Feasibility Concept Study. Novel aspects of the telescope design include kinematic mounting and active positioning of primary mirror segments, high bandwidth secondary mirror segment motion control for chopping, a Calotte style dome of 50 meter diameter, a mount capable of efficient scanning modes of operation, and some new approaches to panel manufacture. Analysis of telescope performance and of key subsystems will be presented to illustrate the technical feasibility and pragmatic cost of CCAT. Project plans include an Engineering Concept Design phase followed by detailed design and development. First Light is planned for early 2012., Comment: 2006 SPIE Meeting

In 1994, as Chicago (Illinois) completed the fifth year of school reform under the Chicago School Reform Act, the Consortium on Chicago School Research launched its third and fourth surveys of teacher and student responses to change. In all, 39,000 students, 6,200 elementary school teachers, and 2,600 high school teachers completed the surveys. Individually tailored reports were provided to the 266 elementary and 46 high schools that participated. This report, first of a two-part series, focuses on school leadership, parent involvement, and professional community and development. Most of the information was drawn from the teacher survey. Survey responses made it clear that a broad set of developments must occur if Chicago is to fulfill the intentions of the reforms. Teachers, parents, and the community must work together more cooperatively to engage students in learning. Most teachers held their principals in high regard and saw them as the most important agents of local school reform. Findings of the surveys also indicate that reform is progressing more successfully in smaller schools, where leadership and a sense of professional community are more easily fostered. Commentaries by Ruben Carriedo, Charles Payne, and Betty Malen supplement the discussion. (Contains 85 graphs, 13 box plots, 1 map, 1 table, and 52 references.) (SLD)

This document presents a research agenda designed to assist in the implementation of school reform in Chicago, assess its progress, and support school improvement efforts. Conducted by the Consortium on Chicago School Research, data were obtained by: (1) interviews with key public officials in business and state and local government; (2) focus groups of diverse stakeholders; (3) analysis of position statements submitted by civic and community organizations; and (4) a citywide conference of educational researchers. The agenda focuses on four topical areas--school governance, teaching and learning, the quality of schools as organizations, and systemic issues. Part 2 presents detailed findings of the four areas of concern. Cutting across all four areas is the issue of equity among and within schools. The third part outlines the next steps for implementing the research agenda. Recommendations are made to develop a set of indicators for school reform and to conduct indepth studies of the four areas of concern. Five figures are included. Appendices contain lists of interview participants, focus groups, conference papers, and conference speakers. Thirty endnotes are included. (LMI)