JANUARY 2010 RESEARCH UPDATE
Greetings!

Here are the highlights of education research from the past month. If you'd like to suggest a report for our next monthly update, please email Fuzz Hogan, Director of Communications, at fhogan@advanceillinois.org.
Why Rural Matters 2009
The Rural School and Community Trust
This report highlights the priority policy needs of rural public schools and the communities they serve, and it describes the complexity of rural education for policymakers.  According to the report, Illinois ranks 14th in the nation in the number of rural students, at 241,000, less than 12% of all public school students in the state. But Illinois ranks 7th in the percentage of rural students qualifying for special education services. Rural instructional expenditures per pupil are very low, and transportation costs take up an inordinate share of spending per pupil.  Download the report...
How to Develop a Logic Model for Districtwide Family Engagement Strategies
Harvard Family Research Project
How does family involvement impact learning outcomes for children?  The report highlights the findings of Seeing is Believing:  Promising Practices for How School Districts Promote Family Engagement which cites reaching out to and engaging families as one of three core components to successful school districts.  This document is meant to guide districts in creating a strategic plan to better learning outcomes for children by increasing the capacity to engage parents. Download the report...
Tracking and Detracking: High Achievers in Massachusetts Middle Schools
Thomas B. Fordham Institute
What are the implications of "tracking," or grouping students into separate classes based on their achievement? Many schools have moved away from this practice and reduced the number of subject-area courses offered in a given grade. This report examines tracking and detracking in Massachusetts middle schools, with particular focus on changes that have occurred over time and their implications for high-achieving students. Among the findings: detracked schools have fewer advanced students in mathematics than tracked schools. The report also finds that detracking is more popular in schools serving disadvantaged populations. Download the report...
What Matters for Staying On-Track and Graduating in Chicago Public Schools
Consortium on Chicago School Research
This report focuses on whether students who receive special education services graduate at levels below their non-disabled peers. In Chicago, 45 percent of students with disabilities graduate within four years and 50 percent graduate within five years, compared with four-year and five-year graduation rates of non-disabled students that are 67 percent and 70 percent respectively.  Using previous CCSR research that showed freshman year performance can be an important indicator of a student's likelihood to graduate, this report examines these indicators and more in context to students with disabilities in Chicago. Download the report...
Getting on Track:  Understanding Freshman Performance at Your School
Consortium on Chicago School Research
Another report focusing on students' performance during their freshman year of high school, often a predictor of whether they will graduate.  The collection of reports offers detailed information about how a collection of schools are doing on freshman performance and areas for improvement.  Download the report...
The Status of the Teaching Profession 2009
The Center For The Future of Teaching and Learning
This report finds that California's teacher development system is not adequately aligned with high school reforms that seek to increase rigor, make instruction more relevant and foster more personal and supportive learning environments for students. The research further indicates that high school teacher knowledge and skills differ substantially by school poverty level.  The report also includes the latest available data on demand, supply, qualifications and distribution of the state's K-12 teacher workforce.  The findings of this report are concurrent with the trends found for Illinois in Advance Illinois' 2009 Report, We Can Do Better.  Download the report...
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