Curriculm Policy Effects on Math and Science Coursetaking, Achievement, and Preparation for College In Chicago Public High Schools

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Some of the most prominent efforts to improve math and science learning today focussimply on students' exposure to curriculum--getting more students to take college preparatorycoursework, while also increasing the rigor of such coursework. Yet, it is not known if justchanging and expanding the courses in which students are enrolled will have a substantial effecton learning in science and math, particularly as participation expands to students who havetraditionally not been enrolled in such courses, and whether there are potential costs to thisapproach. The efficacy of such reforms will likely depend upon the ways in which they areimplemented, the capacity of schools to enact more rigorous coursework without sacrificingquality, the degree to which students actually receive more challenging and engaging instruction,and the capacity of students to respond to increased rigor. Extant research does not tell us thedegree to which such curricular reforms improve student outcomes, nor what kinds of students orschools are best served by such changes in course requirements and offerings.The proposed research rigorously evaluates the efficacy of large-scale curricular reformin a large, urban mostly-minority school district, Chicago. Since 1997, Chicago has enacted anumber of curricular reforms aimed at increasing students' exposure to rigorous coursework,including raising graduation requirements for all students, expanding AP courses inneighborhood high schools, and requiring double algebra courses for students with low skills.The researchers already have access to administrative records, elementary and high schoolstandardized test scores, high school course transcripts, and college records on the population ofstudents attending Chicago Public Schools since 1991. This allows for a rigorous, longitudinalanalysis of the effects of large-scale curricular reforms on student outcomes, including ACT scores, course grades, high school graduation, and college outcomes. The data allow forexamination of growth over time of individual students, and comparisons of this growth acrosspre- and post-reform cohorts of students. The four investigators on the research team all havesubstantial expertise conducting research on high schools and working with schools to make useof their research. All have very strong statistical skills and substantial experience using thelongitudinal data required for this work.This study will help guide urban schools as they make decisions about investingresources into particular courses to enhance student achievement and educational attainment.increased opportunities for advanced coursework may improve outcomes across the board, but itis likely that the findings will be more nuanced and complex. This study will also show theobstacles and costs to implementing rigorous curriculum in schools that have not traditionallyoffered such courses. The results will be published in multiple outlets to reach different typesaudiences. Reports will be aimed at practitioners, showing the effects of the different types ofcurricular reform on student outcomes for different types of students in schools with differentlevels of structural capacity, as well as the barriers to implementation. Scholarly articles will bewritten to explain the methodology for studying large-scale curricular reforms, and to discuss theimplications for theories on learning and on the effects of school organizational structure.Members of the research team have a long history of working with the Chicago Public Schools toincorporate research results into policy and practice. They actively try to present their work inways that are accessible to practitioners as well as scholars. The members of this research teamwill also share this work with the many organizations and individuals who are working on issuesof high school reform around the country.