Lessons from Chicago: Principals matter in school improvement
Thirty years ago, Chicago鈥檚 schools were called聽 by the US education secretary. The country鈥檚 third-largest school district still makes headlines for its challenges, but is starting to be recognized for its achievements, too.
Chicago Public Schools (CPS) is celebrating a more than 20 percentage point increase聽in high school graduation rates between 2011 and 2017. In the younger grades, the learning happening in CPS between the 3rd and 8th grades is faster than in 96 percent of all US school districts, according to research from last fall that is included聽a by the Joyce Foundation.聽
Despite heightened scrutiny聽after a scandal involving graduation numbers in Washington, D.C., education researchers both inside and outside Chicago say improvement in CPS is legitimate, and point to the impressive statistics across grade levels as proof.聽
鈥淚f we see this kind of sustained improvement in a big, low-income district鈥� It suggests there is something real happening,鈥� says Sean Reardon, a professor who studies poverty and inequality in education at Stanford University in California. 鈥淚t means that there are some lessons we should learn from Chicago.鈥澛�
It is difficult to say what exactly is driving this progress, adds Professor Reardon, who contributed to the recent Joyce Foundation study and is the author of the research on elementary and middle school gains. However, some observers note that an emphasis on high-quality principals has a lot to do with Chicago鈥檚 success.聽
鈥淧rincipals are an essential part of school improvement,鈥� says Elaine Allensworth, Lewis-Sebring Director of the University of Chicago Consortium on School Research and a contributor to the Joyce Foundation report. 鈥淪chools generally don鈥檛 improve without strong leadership or a big structural change or change in student body.鈥�
In Chicago's case, while the demographics of the student body have remained relatively consistent, the focus on principals has sharpened. CPS has worked to strengthen the 鈥減rincipal pipeline鈥� through professional development, such as聽the Chicago Principal Fellowship, a partnership with Northwestern University, and聽聽announced by Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel on February 1. The new $600,000 initiative will foster mentorships between new and experienced principals.聽
The value of such programs appears evident in the low principal turnover in CPS: In 2017,聽聽of CPS principals remained in their roles, above the聽national rate, , of 77 percent.
Simultaneously, the聽district鈥檚 overall four-year high school graduation rate聽聽between 2011 and 2017, with a 20 percentage point improvement among both black and Hispanic students. The average four-year graduation rate in the US is 83 percent.聽The CPS rates follow a graduation tracking system聽adopted in 2015, after the district was聽聽using a limited definition of 鈥渄rop-out.鈥澛燙PS聽defended it as an unintentional statistical error.聽
An October report from the UChicago Consortium found that the number of CPS students graduating with at least a 3.0 GPA聽聽between 2006 and 2015.聽
On February 22, CPS became the first school district (of any size) to be named the College Board Advanced Placement (AP)聽District of the Year聽more than once, having previously won the award in 2011. The award celebrates the district鈥檚 expanded access to AP tests, which often signal college readiness, and improving test scores among every demographic.聽
Between 2011 and 2017, the number of Chicago high school students taking at least one AP exam increased by almost 44 percent, and the number of students earning at least a 鈥�3鈥� (a 鈥渜ualified鈥� score on the exam鈥檚 1 to 5 scale) increased almost 100 percent.
The district鈥檚 newly appointed CEO, Janice Jackson, is a former CPS principal herself. Dr. Jackson believes that principals drive student achievement, so she has long focused on building up district-level leaders 鈥� a focus that contributed to her being named an 鈥淓ducation Week 2018 Leader to Learn From鈥� on February 21.
鈥淕reat schools have strong principals,鈥� says Jackson, 鈥渁nd Chicago has emerged as a national leader in urban education because of our focus on placing a high-quality principal in every school across the city.鈥�
Graduation Rates, 2015 Method, Chicago Public Schools; College Enrollment, UCHICAGO Consortium, Research Report, Oct. 2017; *Percentages may not add up due to rounding.
Jackson鈥檚 appointment to CEO in January follows a tumultuous few years for the district鈥檚 highest office. Current high-schoolers, for example, have had during their education.
To some observers, the fact that CPS has improved during a time with high turnover a the top is testament to the strength of its principals.
鈥淸I]f you build a strong base at the school level, with really high-level principals, you can weather the storms you see at the high-end level of the district,鈥� says Raymond Hart, director of research for the Council of the Great City Schools, who has done independent assessments of Chicago鈥檚 progress.
But problems still persist in the district, between , rampant school closures, and wide 聽between black and white students. Dr. Allensworth says that budget shortages in the last two years may cause some 鈥渂acksliding鈥� in future reports that address similar data.聽At the end of the 2016 fiscal year, CPS faced in its operations budget 鈥� a culmination of years of budget gaps, temporarily filled in by short-term credit and cash reserves.
鈥淭here is always more work to be done but that doesn't mean you should be dubious of the results we are seeing,鈥� says Mr. Hart. 鈥淭here are real improvements in CPS.鈥�
Correction: This story and its summary have been updated to reflect the graduation rate changes in percentage points.聽
