Welcome the

Benito Juarez

Chicago

Mariachi

Project

National Freshman

Success Institute

#OnTrack2Grad

National Freshman Success

Institute

August 3, 2016

Holyoke Public Schools

Encourage bold

thinking.

Explore all possibilities

for student success.

Embrace all students

and families as our own.

Empower school

teams to lead the

turnaround.

Engage in meaningful

feedback.

Arsenal Technical High School Indianapolis Public Schools

Arsenal Tech’s mission is to

provide a learning

environment where

integrity, technology skills,

and academic excellence

prevail. We encourage all

students to aspire to reach

their full potential and to

become well-balanced,

productive members of our

society.

Milwaukee Public Schools Vincent HS, Pulaski HS, Hamilton HS, Washington HS

Milwaukee Public

Schools is a diverse

district that welcomes

all students, preparing

them for success in

higher education, post-

educational

opportunities, work,

and citizenship.

North Chicago Community High School North Chicago Community Unit School District

NCCHS’ purpose is

to prepare all

students for success

in college, careers,

and global

citizenship.

Worthing High School Houston Independent School District

Mission: We are

passionately

committed to

producing well-

rounded students

while guiding them to

find and reach their

potential.

Proviso East High School Proviso Township High Schools District

Proviso East High School

is committed to

enhancing student

learning experiences

through collaboration,

utilization of best

practices, data analysis,

and professional

development.

Waukegan High School Waukegan Community Unit School District

Educating students

for the world of

tomorrow is our

top priority.

Working Norms

• Stay engaged

• Speak your truth

• Expect and accept non-closure

• Pay attention to patterns of

participation

• Contextual confidentiality

Institute Goals We will improve high school graduation rates by:

– Identifying research-based, key levers that support 9th grade transitions

into high school.

– Assessing and reflecting on the effectiveness of current practices in our

local context.

– Examining data sources and methods for using data for planning and

improving outcomes for students.

– Integrating resources and tools to develop effective systems and structures

that support freshman success.

– Engaging in professional learning and candid exchanges of ideas and

feedback.

– Challenging one another to think and lead towards continuous

improvement.

– Developing actionable plans and strategies that we will integrate into our

local context.

The Why: Our Students

• What is the name of your student?

• What are his/her aspirations, goals,

and strengths?

• What obstacles does your student

face?

• What do you hope to get out of the

institute that would support your

student and others like him/her?

Social Media as a Learning Tool

#OnTrack2Grad

The Chicago Story:

What Have We Learned?

Dr. Elaine Allensworth

Why Freshman Year Matters

Elaine Allensworth

Executive Director

UChicago Consortium on School Research

Chicago used to be a city

where students were as likely

to dropout as to graduate

Now it is a city where

students are three times as

likely to graduate as to

drop out

Graduation rate for students

entering Chicago high schools in

1999:

47%

People had many questions…

How can schools improve graduation rates?

Who should be targeted for intervention?

Who will graduate and who will drop out?

Four ideas that change

everything

The transition to high school is the most

critical time for high school graduation

Who will graduate can be predicted

accurately based on course grades in the

first year of high school

The primary driver of course failure is

course absence, not weak skills

Monitoring and support from adults can

prevent failure

What is it?

A 9th grader is on-track to graduate if he/she has:

At least 5 credits by the end of the year

No more than one semester failure in a core class

Why is it important?

Students on-track in the 9th grade are almost four times

more likely to graduate than off-track students.

Ninth Grade On-Track Indicator

Allensworth and Easton (2005)

The On-Track indicator is a stronger predictor of graduation than all background factors

combined

9th Grade Indicator Prediction of

Graduates

Background: Eighth grade test scores, race

economic status, gender, mobility prior to high

school, over-age for grade

65%

On-Track in 9th grade Sufficient credits; no more than 1 semester F

80%

All of the above: on-track + background 81%

With data tools focused on the right indicators,

9th grade on-track rates improved dramatically

57%

59%

58%

57%

60%

64%

69%

73%

75%

82%

84% 85%

50%

55%

60%

65%

70%

75%

80%

85%

2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015

Ninth Grade On-Track Rates in Chicago

Data reports introduced,

some schools receive staff or

partners to help use new data

On-track indicator

included in CPS

accountability system

Since 2003

Processing

Turn back to your partner and discuss:

- How did Elaine add to your understanding of the Chicago

story?

- What remaining questions do you have for Elaine?

The Chicago Story:

A Decade of Improvement

What did we know?

What did we change?

What we knew after What Matters (2007)

• High school dropout happens in 9th grade

• Being “off-track” isn’t the same thing as

being “low-achieving” or “disadvantaged”

• Different high schools achieve different

results with the same kinds of students

School Practice Matters

Since then…

© C

CS

R

56% 57%

59% 61%

64%

59% 61% 61%

61% 62%

65%

70%

74%

76%

81%

84% 85%

40%

45%

50%

55%

60%

65%

70%

75%

80%

85%

90%

19982002

19992003

20002004

20012005

20022006

20032007

20042008

20052009

20062010

20072011

20082012

20092013

20102014

20112015

20122016

20132017

20142018

On-track

9th grade -> Grad year ->

On-Track Rates in Chicago have Risen Dramatically

On-Track Rates (not including charter school students) and Four-Year High School Graduation Rates Among Ninth-Graders

43%

71%

52%

77%

61%

82%

66%

86%

76%

87%

80%

93%

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

80%

90%

100%

2005 2013

On-Track Rates by Sub-Group 2005-2013

African-American Males Latino Males African-American Females

Latina Females White Males White Females

So… What Did We DO?

Engage in the Research

Develop Teams

Distribute Leadership

Data for Improvement

Networked Learning

So… What Did We DO?

Engage in the Research

Develop Teams

Distribute Leadership

Data for Improvement

Networked Learning

How our knowledge base grew

How do we know on-track is “working?”

Validating the On-Track Measure

• Attendance increases as on-track

increases

• Not just moving from Fs to Ds – the whole

grade distribution is shifting up

• Test scores are going up

– Thousands more students taking the test

• Increases in on-track are paying off down

the line.

56% 57%

59% 61%

64%

59% 61% 61%

61% 62%

65%

70%

74%

76%

81%

84% 85%

40%

45%

50%

55%

60%

65%

70%

75%

80%

85%

90%

19982002

19992003

20002004

20012005

20022006

20032007

20042008

20052009

20062010

20072011

20082012

20092013

20102014

20112015

20122016

20132017

20142018

On-track

9th grade ->

Grad year -

On-Track Rates in Chicago have Risen Dramatically

On-Track Rates (not including charter school students) and

Four-Year High School Graduation Rates Among Ninth-Graders

56% 57%

59% 61%

64%

59% 61% 61%

61% 62%

65%

70%

74%

76%

81%

84% 85%

51%

54% 55%

57% 57% 59% 59%

61%

61%

65% 67%

70% 73% 74%

40%

45%

50%

55%

60%

65%

70%

75%

80%

85%

90%

19982002

19992003

20002004

20012005

20022006

20032007

20042008

20052009

20062010

20072011

20082012

20092013

20102014

20112015

20122016

20132017

20142018

On-track

Graduation

9th grade ->

Grad year -

On-Track Rates in Chicago have Risen Dramatically

On-Track Rates (not including charter school students) and

Four-Year High School Graduation Rates Among Ninth-Graders

What are we learning now?

The transition to high school is bigger than on-

track

What Changes Between 8th and 9th

Grade for Students?

• Attendance

• Monitoring and support

• Student-Teacher Relationships

• Safety

• Study Habits and Academic Effort

No evidence that content changes!!!!!

Developmental Tasks: An emerging

sense of… • Identity: Who am I?

• Values: What do I stand for? What am I contributing to?

• Peers: Where do I belong?

• Mindsets:

– Growth mindset: My ability grows with my effort

– Openness: There is value in trying new things

– Belonging: I belong in this community of learners

– Self-efficacy: I have the ability to succeed

The myth of “that’ll show them…”

• High school is serious

business

• You need to work harder

• You need to show your

independence

• You better step up your

game

What we mean to teach

Freshmen by giving Fs

What Freshmen actually

learn when they fail

• High school is impossible

• I’m not smart enough to

do the work – why try?

• No one here wants to

help me

• I don’t belong in this

community of learners

Take-Away’s

• Organizing around 9th grade on-track

produced significant, lasting change in

Chicago

• On-track work is about tending to the

developmental challenge of the transition

to high school

• You can do this in your school. Because if

we can do it in Chicago…

56% 57%

59% 61%

64%

59% 61% 61%

61% 62%

65%

70%

74%

76%

81%

84% 85%

40%

45%

50%

55%

60%

65%

70%

75%

80%

85%

90%

19982002

19992003

20002004

20012005

20022006

20032007

20042008

20052009

20062010

20072011

20082012

20092013

20102014

20112015

20122016

20132017

20142018

On-track

9th grade ->

Grad year -

On-Track Rates in Chicago have Risen Dramatically

On-Track Rates (not including charter school students) and

Four-Year High School Graduation Rates Among Ninth-Graders

Processing

• Turn back to your partner and discuss:

- How did Eliza add to your

understanding of the Chicago story?

- What remaining questions do you have

for Eliza?

LUNCH TIME!

Afternoon session

starts at 1pm in the

lobby