The reasons are complex, and the consortium's research points to a variety of factors that contribute to the improvement in passing rates. More students are being held back in earlier grades. Fewer students are at-risk in grades six and eight. Students who are identified as at risk get extra help after school and during the summer. The Summer Bridge Program, an intensive summer school program, has been effective.
Students seem to retain what they learn, and many score better on standardized tests.
The bottom line is an overall improvement in test scores and passing rates. The number of children being retained in kindergarten through second grade began to increase in 1996 and has continued to do so. For example, in 1999, 6.6 percent of first graders repeated the grade. In 1992, that figure was 3.9 percent. Another positive finding is that Chicago's Summer Bridge Program seems to work, said John Q. Easton, deputy director of the Consortium on Chicago School Research.