In its first-ever progress report, Chicago Public Schools provided a comprehensive picture of students’ dramatic improvements since 2011 on key metrics including participation in the arts, math and reading growth, graduation rates, freshman on-track to graduate, attendance and dropout rates. The progress report reveals for the first time that the District’s freshman-on-track rate – one of the most critical indicators for success – for the 2015-16 school year hit an all-time high of 87.4 percent – one of the District’s most critical indicators for future success. Furthermore, at 6.8 percent, the high school drop-out rate has nearly been cut in half since 2011. By focusing on these two predictive indicators early in students’ high school careers, CPS principals have been able to fuel impressive growth in the graduation rate – doubling the nation’s growth.

As the progress report notes, the CPS freshman on-track rate rose from 84.1 percent in 2015 to 87.4 percent in 2016, which is a record high for the District. Freshman on-track is highly predictive of future graduation rates, and the District has focused extensively on freshman on-track to ensure students receive the supports and resources they need early in their high school careers. The 2016 freshman on-track rate is an increase of 18.4 percentage points over the 2011 rate, which is a highly encouraging improvement in a relatively short period of time. The report also includes new data on the SY 15-16 1-year dropout rate. In SY 15-16, the 1-year dropout rate fell to 6.8 percent from 7.9 percent the year before. Following a series of reforms and investments designed to keep students more connected to their school communities, the decline in the dropout rate is consistent with a recent trend in the District showing a steady drop from 11.2 percent in 2011 to 6.8 percent this year.