This episode features a conversation with Alex Usher and Alex Seeskin from the University of Chicago. Alex Usher is Associate Director for Data Research at the University of Chicago’s To&Through Project and Senior Research Analyst for the UChicago Consortium on School Research. Alex Seeskin is Director of The To&Through Project, which is housed at the UChicago Urban Education Institute. UChicago’s Consortium on School Research and the To&Through Project have been at the forefront of research into data that can determine whether students in elementary, middle and high school are on-track for on-time graduation and successfully transitioning into postsecondary options.

In Part 1 of the conversation, Alex Usher, Alex Seeskin and Jason talk about the To&Through Project and its unique partnership with Chicago Public Schools to access and analyze student data to understand performance, achievement and the educational experience; the underlying research behind on-track and early warning indicators; and, a new report from the University of Chicago that offers a research-based tool for middle grades educators to group students according to key factors that influence their long-term educational trajectories.

Additional Readings and Resources

• University of Chicago To&Through Project
  • Milestones Data Tool
  • Middle Grades Network
  • “Elementary On-Track: Elementary School Students’ Grades, Attendance, and Future Outcomes,” Alex Seeskin, Thomas Massion, and Alexandra Usher, University of Chicago Research Report, October 2022.
  • Foundations for Young Adult Success: A Developmental Framework, Jenny Nagayoka, et al., University of Chicago Consortium on Chicago School Research, June 2015.
  • “The On-Track Indicator as a Predictor of High School Graduation,” Elaine Allensworth and John Q. Easton, University of Chicago Consortium on Chicago School Research, 2005.
• Consortium on Chicago School Research
• Network for College Success
• Chicago Public Schools