More than 101,000 students, teachers, and principals across the Chicago public school system participated in the Consortium's 2003 Improving Chicago's Schools survey. Students told us about their school experiences, attitudes, and activities. Teachers and principals told us about instruction in their classrooms and their professional development experiences, and answered our questions about the conditions under which they work. This information about where a school is and how it is developing can help the school assess its progress and plan for the future. Torvalds is the pseudonym for a representative CPS school.

This report, which will serve as a foundation for the Consortium's future studies of the Prairie State Achievement Exam (PSAE), presents key issues related to the exam. The report's author discusses basic facts about the PSAE, such as its origination, its component tests, the subject areas it covers, how it is scored, and how scores are reported. The author then describes how PSAE scores are used in accountability policies. The report contains analysis of student performance on various parts of the exam and relationships between component tests. Performance comparisons across various groups of students are also presented.

This report, which will serve as a foundation for the Consortium's future studies of the Prairie State Achievement Exam (PSAE), presents key issues related to the exam. The report's author discusses basic facts about the PSAE, such as its origination, its component tests, the subject areas it covers, how it is scored, and how scores are reported. The author then describes how PSAE scores are used in accountability policies. The report contains analysis of student performance on various parts of the exam and relationships between component tests. Performance comparisons across various groups of students are also presented.

This report follows up the Consortium's 2003 data brief, Chicago High School Redesign Initiative: A snapshot of the first year of implementation. Both reports examine the implementation experiences of small high schools, and will serve as springboards for a systematic, three-year qualitative study beginning in fall 2004.

In this interview-based report, the responses of students, teachers and principals from 11 CHSRI-supported small schools are compiled to examine questions within four broad topics: how Chicago Public Schools policies relate to small schools; characteristics of the small schools; integration of support, standards, thematic focus, student interest and community involvement; and student experience and instructional reform. Notes from the Ground also includes issues for discussion and action among stakeholders, as Chicago continues to open small schools under the proposed Renaissance 2010 plan.

This report follows up the Consortium's 2003 data brief, Chicago High School Redesign Initiative: A snapshot of the first year of implementation. Both reports examine the implementation experiences of small high schools, and will serve as springboards for a systematic, three-year qualitative study beginning in fall 2004.

In this interview-based report, the responses of students, teachers and principals from 11 CHSRI-supported small schools are compiled to examine questions within four broad topics: how Chicago Public Schools policies relate to small schools; characteristics of the small schools; integration of support, standards, thematic focus, student interest and community involvement; and student experience and instructional reform. Notes from the Ground also includes issues for discussion and action among stakeholders, as Chicago continues to open small schools under the proposed Renaissance 2010 plan.

With expectations for technology use and its potential costs continuing to rise, the Consortium on Chicago School Research sought to provide baseline information on educational technology -- the use of computers and the Internet for instructional purposes -- in Chicago public schools. We addressed three questions in a year-long study that included both quantitative and qualitative analyses: (1) What are the current levels of technology availability and use? (2) Are availability and use distributed equitably across students, teachers, and schools in the district? and (3) What essential organizational supports are necessary to encourage technology use in schools? We examine these topics by looking at nearly 100,000 responses to the Consortium's biannual survey of teachers and students in 434 of Chicago's schools, in addition to other administrative data. Further insight was gained through site visits to schools with model technology programs.

This study was sponsored in part by the Chicago Urban League.

This report, which will serve as a foundation for the Consortium's future studies of the Prairie State Achievement Exam (PSAE), presents key issues related to the exam. The report's author discusses basic facts about the PSAE, such as its origination, its component tests, the subject areas it covers, how it is scored, and how scores are reported. The author then describes how PSAE scores are used in accountability policies. The report contains analysis of student performance on various parts of the exam and relationships between component tests. Performance comparisons across various groups of students are also presented.

With expectations for technology use and its potential costs continuing to rise, the Consortium on Chicago School Research sought to provide baseline information on educational technology -- the use of computers and the Internet for instructional purposes -- in Chicago public schools. We addressed three questions in a year-long study that included both quantitative and qualitative analyses: (1) What are the current levels of technology availability and use? (2) Are availability and use distributed equitably across students, teachers, and schools in the district? and (3) What essential organizational supports are necessary to encourage technology use in schools? We examine these topics by looking at nearly 100,000 responses to the Consortium's biannual survey of teachers and students in 434 of Chicago's schools, in addition to other administrative data. Further insight was gained through site visits to schools with model technology programs.

This study was sponsored in part by the Chicago Urban League.