Clevelanders sometimes seem to have a "What have you done for me lately?" attitude with regard to John D. Rockefeller. As if the creation on the Cuyahoga's shores of one of the country's most powerful and influential corporations is not enough, some Clevelanders look to Rockefeller's enormous charitable giving and wonder why he built no major institution in Cleveland to provide jobs and world renown under the Rockefeller banner. Most people who express such opinions often point, with a hint of jealousy, to the University of Chicago as an example of Cleveland's missing Rockefeller landmark.

Recent evidence has established that non-cognitive skills (e.g., persistence and selfcontrol) are valuable in the labor market and are malleable throughout adolescence. Some recent high school interventions have been developed to foster these skills, but there is little evidence on whether they are effective. Using administrative data, we apply two methods to evaluate an intervention called OneGoal, which attempts to help disadvantaged students attend and complete college in part by teaching non-cognitive skills. First, we compare the outcomes of participants and non-participants with similar pre-program cognitive and non-cognitive skills. In doing so, we develop and validate a measure of non-cognitive skill that is based on readily available data and rivals standard measures of cognitive skill in predicting educational attainment. Second, we use an instrumental variable difference-in-difference approach that exploits the fact that OneGoal was introduced into different schools at different times. We estimate that OneGoal improves academic indicators, increases college enrollment by 10–20 percentage points, and reduces arrest rates by 5 percentage points for males. We demonstrate that improvements in non-cognitive skill account for 15–30 percent of the treatment effects.

Recent evidence has established that non-cognitive skills (e.g., persistence and selfcontrol) are valuable in the labor market and are malleable throughout adolescence. Some recent high school interventions have been developed to foster these skills, but there is little evidence on whether they are effective. Using administrative data, we apply two methods to evaluate an intervention called OneGoal, which attempts to help disadvantaged students attend and complete college in part by teaching non-cognitive skills. First, we compare the outcomes of participants and non-participants with similar pre-program cognitive and non-cognitive skills. In doing so, we develop and validate a measure of non-cognitive skill that is based on readily available data and rivals standard measures of cognitive skill in predicting educational attainment. Second, we use an instrumental variable difference-in-difference approach that exploits the fact that OneGoal was introduced into different schools at different times. We estimate that OneGoal improves academic indicators, increases college enrollment by 10–20 percentage points, and reduces arrest rates by 5 percentage points for males. We demonstrate that improvements in non-cognitive skill account for 15–30 percent of the treatment effects.

This report has one central premise: Keeping great principals starts with hiring the right principal. Even as Chicago fights to retain principals long enough to make student learning and school culture gains more permanent, we must recognize some principal attrition is inevitable.

More than 70,000 students started the 2016-17 school year with a new principal, and at least 60 schools will need a new principal each year for the foreseeable future. The stakes are high: No great public school exists without great leadership. In fact, variation in principal quality accounts for about 25 percent of a school’s total impact on student learning. Yet, more than four out of every 10 public school principals in Chicago leave before they begin their fifth year. To keep great principals, we have to make the right match from the start.

A collaboration of the University of Illinois School of Social Work/Children and Family Research Center and Cunningham Children’s Home, the research described in this report analyzes empirically the status of Cunningham’s existing vocational programming for foster children and youth. Data reported here primarily come from a survey of 58 Cunningham clients, supplemented by focus group data from a smaller group of Cunningham clients and information on occupational interest from a commercial computer-based career planning program (Career Cruising) used by Cunningham youth. Initially, researchers also planned to develop a supported education/employment pilot model designed to serve the specific population of foster children and youth. However, findings from the research suggest the need for a structure and curriculum more compatible with currently accepted models in community mental health and adult education than with the resources and supports available in a largely residential program like Cunningham. This represents a significant barrier to quick implementation of supported education/employment for the foster population, and so development of the pilot model has been deferred. Meanwhile, the authors have incorporated findings from this study into the Children and Family Research Center’s ongoing research agenda on transitioning foster youth, expecting these results will continue to inform both research and practice supporting the progress of these young people toward successful adulthood.

A collaboration of the University of Illinois School of Social Work/Children and Family Research Center and Cunningham Children’s Home, the research described in this report analyzes empirically the status of Cunningham’s existing vocational programming for foster children and youth. Data reported here primarily come from a survey of 58 Cunningham clients, supplemented by focus group data from a smaller group of Cunningham clients and information on occupational interest from a commercial computer-based career planning program (Career Cruising) used by Cunningham youth. Initially, researchers also planned to develop a supported education/employment pilot model designed to serve the specific population of foster children and youth. However, findings from the research suggest the need for a structure and curriculum more compatible with currently accepted models in community mental health and adult education than with the resources and supports available in a largely residential program like Cunningham. This represents a significant barrier to quick implementation of supported education/employment for the foster population, and so development of the pilot model has been deferred. Meanwhile, the authors have incorporated findings from this study into the Children and Family Research Center’s ongoing research agenda on transitioning foster youth, expecting these results will continue to inform both research and practice supporting the progress of these young people toward successful adulthood.

A collaboration of the University of Illinois School of Social Work/Children and Family Research Center and Cunningham Children's Home, the research described in this report analyzes empirically the status of Cunningham's existing vocational programming for foster children and youth. Data reported here primarily come from a survey of 58 Cunningham clients, supplemented by focus group data from a smaller group of Cunningham clients and information on occupational interest from a commercial computer-based career planning program (Career Cruising) used by Cunningham youth. Initially, researchers also planned to develop a supported education/employment pilot model designed to serve the specific population of foster children and youth. However, findings from the research suggest the need for a structure and curriculum more compatible with currently accepted models in community mental health and adult education than with the resources and supports available in a largely residential program like Cunningham. This represents a significant barrier to quick implementation of supported education/employment for the foster population, and so development of the pilot model has been deferred. Meanwhile, the authors have incorporated findings from this study into the Children and Family Research Center's ongoing research agenda on transitioning foster youth, expecting these results will continue to inform both research and practice supporting the progress of these young people toward successful adulthood.

A task force of faculty members, students and administrators has recommended significant changes to undergraduate education at Northwestern University, including changing the University's academic calendar, addressing student workload requirements, enhancing support for teaching and improving advising, as well as a number of related improvements.

Chaired by Indira Raman, the Bill and Gayle Cook Professor of Biology in the department of neurobiology in the Weinberg College of Arts and Sciences, the task force on the Undergraduate Academic Experience recently delivered its final report and recommendations to Provost Daniel Linzer. The task force spent the spring, summer and fall quarters gathering data and meeting with a wide range of University stakeholders.

The task force's recommendations are grouped into three types of changes: structural changes to be made at the University level; programs and projects to address identified issues; and cultural shifts to enhance the academic and broader University environment.