The best predictor of whether students with disabilities will graduate from high school is how well they do in their freshman year, a study of Chicago students has found.
The report, which was scheduled for release Dec. 7 by the Consortium on Chicago School Research, at the University of Chicago, and the National High School Center, at the Washington-based American Institutes for Research, builds on a 2007 study that identified early-warning signs of dropping out for students who do not have disabilities.
Like its predecessor, the new report shows that freshman-year course failures, grades, absences, and credits earned were more reliable than students background characteristics for identifying which students were at risk of dropping out.
