This dissertation examines the processes and procedures high schools utilize to increase student voice and student efficacy within the identification and enrollment of students into grade 9 literacy intervention. The purpose of this collective case study is to investigate how schools identified students for additional literacy support and how they…

The purpose of this study is to evaluate the implementation and impacts of the Building Assets, Reducing Risks (BARR) model in its first year of implementation in 66 schools across the U.S. and to document scale-up progress during the Investing in Innovation (i3) grant period (2017-2021). The impact evaluation included 21,529 9th grade students…

The transition from eighth grade to high school results in a substantial drop in course performance for many students. These declines in performance lead students to fall off-track for obtaining high school and college degrees. By using data on students' middle grade performance, high school staff can set goals for their students to help them meet…

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)…

Chicago has been in the forefront of the country in its use of 9th-grade indicators of dropout. Catalyzed by the development of the freshman on-track indicator and research around it, Chicago school administrators, central office personnel, and external partners have developed a number of mechanisms using 9th-grade indicators to stimulate school…

Learning to read is one of the most important skills in modern society. Not only does reading serve as the major foundational skill for school-based learning, but reading ability is strongly related to opportunities for academic and vocational success. For children, a critical transition takes place during elementary school: until the end of third…

Donegan, an educational consultant specializing in 9th grade, asserts that when it comes to truly changing the freshman year, words abound but actions are few. Although everyone involved in the "high school conversation" agrees that the first year of high school is pivotal to success, few schools take on the challenge of truly reshaping…

The high school dropout problem has been called a national crisis. Educators, researchers, and policymakers continue to work to identify effective dropout prevention approaches. One important element of such prevention efforts is the identification of students at highest risk for dropping out and then the targeting of resources to keep them in…

The transition into high school is a critical point in the educational pipeline, and ninth-grade can be characterized as one of its leakiest junctures. This policy brief examines how some states and districts are currently easing the transition into high school for students. It focuses on five key challenges that states, districts and schools…

This packet contains technology-based learning activities for the transportation technology course at the orientation level (grades 9 and 10) of the Illinois Plan for Industrial Technology Education curriculum project. The packet includes a course rationale, mission, description, and course outline. Suggested learning objectives and suggested…

This packet contains technology-based learning activities for the production technology course at the orientation level (grades 9 and 10) of the Illinois Plan for Industrial Technology Education curriculum project. The packet includes a course rationale, mission, description, and outline. Suggested learning objectives and suggested learning…

THIS STUDY AIMED AT--(1) CHARACTERIZING PROBLEM-SOLVING PROCESSES OF DIFFERENT INDIVIDUALS AND (2) DETERMINING THE EFFECTS OF TRAINING ON THE SUBJECTS' APPROACHES TO THEIR PROBLEM-SOLVING PERFORMANCE. THE DESIGN INCLUDED 50 NINTH-GRADE STUDENTS AND 50 COLLEGE FRESHMEN DIVIDED INTO EXPERIMENTAL AND CONTROL GROUPS IN WHICH SUBJECTS WERE MATCHED ON…

This article discusses an instructional development system called "holistic" approach, a strategy to improve high school education in Chicago. The initiative includes new curriculum materials, aligned to district standards, as well as assessments and ongoing teacher coaching and training that are designed for the curriculum. The design…

The transition from middle school to high school represents a significant event in the lives of adolescents, one that necessitates support from and collaboration among teachers, parents, counselors, and administrators at both educational levels. Successful transitions place particular emphasis on ninth-grade initiatives and can create one of…

In spring of 1990, pursuant to the federally funded School Health Education Project to Prevent the Spread of Human Immunodeficiency Virus, an annual survey was conducted of Illinois ninth graders (n=1,181) to assess their knowledge, attitudes, and beliefs concerning Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS). Findings from the 1990 survey are…