Project Activities
Structured Abstract
Setting
Sample
Research design and methods
Control condition
Key measures
Data analytic strategy
Key outcomes
People and institutions involved
IES program contact(s)
Products and publications
ERIC Citations: Find available citations in ERIC for this award here.
Publicly Available Data: The Consortium's Master Services Agreement with CPS does not allow the researchers to grant access to the data used for this project to other researchers. Other researchers, however, can obtain the data used for this project from CPS directly. Detailed guidelines for accessing CPS data are available in the RRB guidelines (https://www.cps.edu/Research/Documents/RRBguidelines.pdf) and the Chicago Public Schools Policy Manual (https://policy.cps.edu/download.aspx?ID=178). CPS data access is governed by CPS policies. The UChicago Consortium can provide other researchers with guides and resources for using those data to replicate the analyses from this study. The researchers have included directions for using the datasets and access to code for replicating analyses on the ICPSR site: https://doi.org/10.3886/E129981V1.
Additional Online Resources and Information: Standards-Driven Instructional Improvement: Lessons Learned in Chicago (PDF: 4.6 MB)
Journal articles
Allensworth, E., Cashdollar, S., & Gwynne, J. (2021). Improvements in math instruction and student achievement through professional learning around the Common Core State Standards in Chicago. AERAOpen, 7(1): 1-19.
Allensworth, E., Cashdollar, S., & Cassata, A. (2022). Supporting change in instructional practices to meet the Common Core Mathematics and Next Generation Science Standards: How are different supports related to instructional change?.AERA Open, 8 (1), 23328584221088010.
Cassata, A. & Allensworth, E. (2021). Scaling standards-aligned instruction through teacher leadership: Methods, supports, and challenges. International Journal of STEM Education, 8, 39.
Supplemental information
Co-Principal Investigators: Cassata, Amy; Century, Jeanne
- Schools where math teachers spent more time in professional learning around the standards showed larger improvements in test gains, grades, and pass rates than schools with more limited professional learning over time, with significant benefits observed among students with low initial skill levels, but few significant benefits observed for students with high initial skill levels (Allensworth, Cashdollar, & Gwynne, 2021).
- Not all implementation supports showed strong or positive relationships with standards-aligned instructional practices. Professional learning showed the strongest positive relationships in both math and science, while curriculum recommendations in math showed no relationship, and supplementary resources showed mixed relationships—with instruction-ready resources in math positively related to stronger practices and scope-and-sequence resources in science negatively related to practices (Allensworth, Cashdollar, & Cassata, 2022).
- Under the district's teacher-leader model, professional learning around the standards largely occurred within schools, as teacher-leaders worked to improve their own practice and to support instructional change through actions that included inspiring others, sharing with colleagues, working in collaboration, advocating for change, and providing individual support. These actions were facilitated by a number of contextual factors, including designated collaboration time, trusting relationships, and colleagues who were also trained and knowledgeable about the new standards (Cassata & Allensworth, 2021).
Malleable Factor: The district plan for realizing the goals of the CCSS and NGSS was the intervention. Malleable factors were the range of school enactments of the district implementation plan, which varied by emphasis (e.g., emphasis on practice standards vs emphasis on content standards) and by the extent of participant commitment (e.g., amount of school leader and teacher leader participation in professional learning, use of a recommended core curriculum).
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