In 2007, spurred by University of Chicago Consortium on Chicago School Research (UChicago CCSR) research reports, leadership at the Chicago Public Schools (CPS) began a new targeted approach to reducing course failure in the ninth grade. The research suggested that the transition between eighth and ninth grade played a critical role in shaping students' long-term outcomes, and demonstrated that students' attendance and course performance in the ninth grade year were highly predictive of high school dropout. The district initiative promoted the use of data to monitor students' level of dropout risk throughout the ninth-grade year, allowing teachers to intervene before students fell too far behind. The report offers key findings, endnotes, and about the authors.