Continuous Improvement Research and High School Outcomes

Item

Title

Continuous Improvement Research and High School Outcomes

Abstract/Description

This presentation will be an overview of the work of the University of Chicago Network for College Success and the theory of change underlying it. The network grew out of a researcher- practitioner partnership. A group of Chicago high school principals approached Professor Melissa Roderick for help improving their school outcomes regarding academic achievement and graduation. Initially, NCS served as a voluntary group of principals working together, eventually developing the resources to include coaching and professional learning communities, not just for principals, but also Instructional Leadership Teams, On-Track teacher leaders, and counseling teams focusing on college access and enrollment. Shaped by the research of Professor Roderick and others, much of its work has focused on “winning” the 9th grade year, making sure students come through that year with the skills and experiences that will help them graduate and have high- options afterwards.

In 2018-19, NCS partnered directly with 17 neighborhood schools and 350 educators serving over 18,000 students, approximately 17% of the District's high school student population. NCS also provides quarterly professional development to all 82 non-charter high schools in the

District, serving an additional 350 educators across the city. Citywide efforts to use data in short cycles to monitor student progress associated with solid improvements in outcomes. Between 2007 and 2014, CPS high school rate of students on track to graduate rose from 57 percent to 84 percent. Schools directly supported by NCS did even better, with the 2016 cohort of schools averaging an 87% On-Track to Graduation rate. Schools with NCS for three or more years achieved a rate of 92% and a college enrollment rate of 67%, almost 10% above the district average. (Citywide, these improvements have not come at the expense of achievement; as more students graduated, the ACT average score in Chicago rose slightly, from 17.6 to 18.5.)

While the work on NCS still centers on using data to track students and the interventions that help them, it can be misleading to focus just on that. NCS sees itself as creating the organizational conditions which will help schools use data effectively, which means:
1. Creating professional learning networks;
2. Applying research-based data to practice;
3. Coaching and capacity building; and
4. Distributing leadership and building high-functioning teams.

Building capacity entails building educators’ ability to confront uncomfortable questions and create a sense of adult ownership over student success. School teams have to confront equity issues head-on, examining data on student outcomes by race, gender, income, English Learner (EL) status, diverse learner status, and other areas of vulnerability for students. This is often the most challenging but most generative part of the process. The history of the Network for College Success challenges common misconceptions about “these” kids.

[Excerpted from AERA Annual Meeting Program]

Author/creator

Duncan, Sarah J.

Date

April 25, 2022

At conference

AERA Annual Meeting

Place presented

San Diego

Resource type

en Research/Scholarly Media

Resource status/form

en Presentation/Poster

Scholarship genre

en Theoretical

en Empirical

IRE Approach/Concept

Research Practice Partnership (RPP)

Coaching

Professional Learning Community

Equity

Continuous Improvement

Featured case/project

UChicago Network for College Success (NCS)

URL

Presentation Webpage [via Online AERA Annual Meeting Program]

Is part of

Continuous Improvement Research and Critical Theoretical Perspectives: Bridging Two Conversations With a Common Goal?

Citation

Duncan, S. J. (2022). Continuous Improvement Research and High School Outcomes. AERA Annual Meeting, San Diego. https://tinyurl.com/y825c55y

Item sets

Critical IRE

• Email