Mission and Goals

UChicago Impact is a not-for-profit organization dedicated to creating an evidence-based profession for K-12 education. UChicago Impact provides tools designed to improve teaching, learning, and leadership nationwide. UChicago Impact was launched in response to the need for better tools to establish excellent schooling in urban America. Understanding that reliable excellence requires assessment and coordination, the University of Chicago Urban Education Institute established UChicago Impact to disseminate its tools to drive school improvement across the nation. The tools offered through UChicago Impact diagnose practice inside schools and classrooms. With access to these tools, administrators can begin to understand a school’s strengths and weaknesses and use them as leverage in developing school improvement plans. Our goal is to transform the practice of teaching from private and idiosyncratic to transparent, public, and systematic.

Mission of 5Essentials

Research conducted by the University of Chicago Consortium on Chicago School Research in 2006 demonstrates there is no single aspect that drives change, but multiple areas that must improve to push student learning and prepare students to graduate from high school and college. The five essentials – Effective leaders, Collaborative teachers, Involved families, Supportive environment, and Ambitious instruction – are necessary for positive change. 5Essentials aims to organize schools to effect real change and make progress in closing achievement gaps.

Mission of STEP™

Strong literacy skills are central to a child’s success as they move across grades and into adulthood. Yet, according to the 2009 NAEP, nearly two-thirds of fourth grade students are performing only at or below basic reading levels. STEP™ was created in response to the need expressed by teachers and researchers for a comprehensive literacy assessment in order to identify areas of student strength and need. Ultimately, this data is to be used to both inform and improve teacher instruction, resulting in increased student growth.