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Elaine Allensworth, Julia Gwynne,
Holly Hart & Joy Lesnick

Photograph of Elaine M. Allensworth, Ph.D. Elaine M. Allensworth, Ph.D.

Elaine Allensworth is the Interim Co-Executive Director of the Consortium on Chicago School Research. She has published widely on the structural factors that affect high school students' educational attainment, particularly the factors that affect graduation and dropout rates. Elaine is currently leading a mixed-methods study of the transition to high school, as well as several studies on the effects of rigorous curricular reforms on instruction, grades, test scores, high school graduation and college attendance.

Photograph of Julia Gwynne, Ph.D. Julia Gwynne, Ph.D.

Julia Gwynne is a Senior Research Analyst at CCSR. Her research interests include student mobility, curriculum policies, and special education.

Photograph of Holly Hart, Ph.D. Holly Hart, Ph.D.

Holly Hart is Associate Director for Survey Research at CCSR. Holly is currently conducting evaluations in areas of human resource development, including principal preparation and new teacher induction programs in Chicago.

Photograph of Joy Lesnick, Ph.D. Joy Lesnick, Ph.D.

Joy Lesnick is a Researcher at Chapin Hall at the University of Chicago and a Senior Research Analyst at CCSR. She is currently examining the relationship between reading on grade level in elementary school and future educational outcomes.

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How Students with Disabilities Can Stay On-Track and Graduate High School

In the United States, students who are identified as having a disability receive individualized services based on their strengths, weaknesses, and educational goals. Despite this individualized approach to supporting students, many students in special education continue to perform below their non-disabled peers.

In an earlier Chicago Consortium for School Research (CCSR) report, What Matters for Staying On-Track and Graduating in Chicago Public High Schools, Elaine Allensworth and John Q. Easton found that course performance during the freshman year-including grades, course failures, absences, and on-track status-could be used to identify students at risk of dropping out of high school. These findings provide educators with tools to identify at-risk students at an early stage in their high school career, potentially reducing the risk of students dropping out. This is a promising approach, but questions remained after the first report about whether the early-warning indicators could be used in the same way for students with disabilities as for other students.

A new report, to be released in early December by the National High School Center and CCSR (and based on CCSR research in Chicago Public Schools (CPS)), looks at the freshman year course performance of CPS students who receive special education services and ask whether grades, course failures, absences, and on-track status are useful for identifying students who are at risk of dropping out. It also examines how academic behaviors, such as attendance and study habits, affect course failures and grades of students with disabilities.

Join the National High School Center featured experts, Elaine Allensworth, Julia Gwynne, Holly Hart, and Joy Lesnick, as they discuss their research and how students with disabilities can stay on-track and graduate high school. Please submit your questions via email. The experts will be available until December 20 to answer your questions.

View the Questions to Date on How Students with Disabilities Can Stay On-Track and Graduate High School

Additional Resources on How Students with Disabilities Can Stay On-Track and Graduate High School:

  1. National High School Center Developing Early Warning Systems to Identify Potential High School Dropouts [Early Warning System Guide]
  2. National High School Center Early Warning System Tool (Excel file)
  3. Allensworth, Elaine M., and John Q. Easton. (2005). The on-track indicator as a predictor of high school graduation. Chicago: Consortium on Chicago School Research. (http://ccsr.uchicago.edu/content/publications.php?pub_id=10 )
  4. Allensworth, Elaine M., and John Q. Easton. (2007). What matters for staying on-track and graduating in Chicago public high schools. Chicago: Consortium on Chicago School Research. (http://ccsr.uchicago.edu/content/publications.php?pub_id=116 )