Please join us on 1/20 for a discussion of student attendance!

ICYMI: IWERC is excited to be part of this new IES grant.

IWERC is a proud member of NNERPP (@rpp-network.bsky.social). Below is our feature in their annual yearbook, which has stories of impact from RPPs across the country. Thanks, NNERPP!

Happy New Year! ICYMI before the break, read more in @chalkbeat.org about our study with @uchiconsortium.bsky.social on upward mobility for Illinois high schoolers. www.chalkbeat.org/chicago/2025...

Happy Holidays! We enjoyed working and learning with you in 2025. Here's a look back, and we're excited to continue the work in 2026. mediaspace.illinois.edu/media/t/1_22...

Looking for a new role in 2026? IWERC is extending its search and #hiring a Visiting Senior Research Specialist. Learn more here: tinyurl.com/IWERC-hire Application deadline is Jan 11, 2026.

Happy Holidays! We enjoyed working and learning with you in 2025. Here's a look back, and we're excited to continue the work in 2026. mediaspace.illinois.edu/media/t/1_22...

Looking for a new role in 2026? IWERC is extending its search and #hiring a Visiting Senior Research Specialist. Learn more here: tinyurl.com/IWERC-hire Application deadline is Jan 11, 2026.

Happy Holidays! We enjoyed working and learning with you in 2025. Here's a look back, and we're excited to continue the work in 2026. mediaspace.illinois.edu/media/t/1_22...

Even when students from low-income families attained the same level of education, there were racial/ethnic and gender disparities in outcomes. However, these disparities narrowed considerably as degree level increased. Learn more: dpi.illinois.edu/applied-rese...

Students from low-income families had vastly different likelihoods of working in a good job depending on their highest degree, according to our latest report. Learn more here: dpi.illinois.edu/applied-rese...

Our latest report with @uchiconsortium.bsky.social and state agency partners finds that students from low-income families were less likely than students from middle- and high-income families to end up in good jobs. Learn more here: dpi.illinois.edu/applied-rese...

Just out: The second and final report of the Illinois High School to Work Series, Promising Pathways, identifies the most viable pathways to good jobs for Illinois students from low-income families. Read more: dpi.illinois.edu/applied-rese...

Last week, IWERC researcher Raisa Blazquez attended the #MultilingualIL25 conference. There is a lot of impressive work being done throughout the state, and at IWERC we are proud to engage in meaningful research to improve the experiences of multilingual students and families in Illinois.

Know an experienced quantitative researcher who is passionate about impact in education and workforce development? IWERC is extending its search and #hiring a Visiting Senior Research Specialist. Learn more here: tinyurl.com/IWERC-hire Application deadline is Jan 11, 2026.

Congrats to UIC's Jeremy Riel and IWERC's Ying Chen on a new IES grant!

As #CSEdWeek 2025 comes to an end, we thank the many people who support CS students every day! At IWERC, we’re fortunate to be just one small part of the Illinois CS Ed community. Learn more about our research in this area: dpi.uillinois.edu/applied-rese...

Join us this afternoon as we wrap up our series on CS education in Illinois high schools. Register here: illinois.zoom.us/webinar/regi...

IWERC’s latest report on CS ed found that rural and town districts were the least likely to offer any CS programming or employ a CS-endorsed teacher. As Illinois continues to expand CS education, these districts may need additional supports. Read more here: dpi.uillinois.edu/applied-rese...

IWERC’s new report on computer science education found that as of 2022, 59% of districts offered at least one CS course, signaling a gap in offerings ahead of the then forthcoming mandates from Public Act 101-0654. Read what else we found here: dpi.uillinois.edu/applied-rese...

Happy #CSEdWeek! In honor of this, IWERC is releasing the last two reports of our State of Computer Science in Illinois High School Series. Join us later this week at a webinar where we recap the full Series! Reports: dpi.uillinois.edu/applied-rese... Webinar: illinois.zoom.us/webinar/regi...

ICYMI: IWERC recently released a second-year evaluation of the Teacher Vacancy Grant. Read the full report here: go.illinois.edu/teachervacan...

Findings from IWERC’s second-year evaluation of the Teacher Vacancy Grant suggest that some participating districts reduced unfilled teaching positions more than others. To read on, visit go.illinois.edu/teachervacan...

Districts participating in the Teacher Vacancy Grant enacted common recruitment and retention strategies to address their specific teacher shortages. To find out more, visit go.illinois.edu/teachervacan...

Our evaluation of the Teacher Vacancy Grant in Illinois found that the number of unfilled teaching positions in participating districts has dropped since the start of the policy initiative. By comparison, this number in non-participating districts has risen. Read more go.illinois.edu/teachervacan...

Join us next week for a webinar as we conclude our research series on computer science education in Illinois high schools. Register here: illinois.zoom.us/webinar/regi...

Learn more about our Chicago Tech Ecosystem project:

Happy Thanksgiving!

New report from IWERC on the Teacher Vacancy Grant. What early outcomes are associated with the state’s policy initiative? A year two evaluation is out now. Read our report here: go.illinois.edu/teachervacan...

Yesterday, ISBE released the results of IWERC's evaluation of the Teacher Vacancy Grant Pilot Program in Year 2. Controlling for observable district characteristics, participating districts have lowered vacancies more than non-grant districts, on average. Read more: dpi.uillinois.edu/applied-rese...

Join us for the conclusion of IWERC's research series on high school computer science education in the state. Register now: illinois.zoom.us/webinar/regi...

The IWERC team continues their travels to collect feedback on the Illinois Comprehensive Numeracy Plan, in partnership with Illinois State Board of Education! This time, our team was happy to visit Edwardsville, Carbondale, and Champaign.

I’m excited to share that I’ll be sharing more about our absenteeism work at #AERA2026 next April! @iwerc.bsky.social

IWERC is hiring a quantitative researcher. Please see more below. uisystemoffice.csod.com/ux/ats/caree...

Today IWERC hosted a closing convening for its research on the Chicago Tech Ecosystem. Dr. Jasmine Vaughan presented her findings from a yearlong exploration of the 50 non-degree tech training providers with approximately 500 programs. Thanks to all our participants in this process!

Sign up for our newsletter today! go.illinois.edu/IWERCnewslet...

IWERC's research on absenteeism was cited in WBEZ Chicago's coverage of the Illinois Report Card release. Read more: www.wbez.org/education/20...

Happy Illinois Report Card day to those who celebrate! We're proud to see issues on which we've partnered with Illinois State Board of Education be positively highlighted, such as declining teacher shortages and increased access to rigorous coursework. www.isbe.net/Lists/News/N...

Congrats to the Latino Policy Forum on another successful Latinos on the Move event. IWERC is proud to partner with this organization on numerous studies of multilingual education, early childhood education/workforce, and college success for the Latino community.

Our team has been traveling around the state to support the Illinois State Board of Education in their development of the Illinois Comprehensive Numeracy Plan. It's been a great opportunity for our team to learn more about the needs of teachers, parents, and school leaders for math instruction.

In today’s NNERPP Newsletter, we share new #edresearch from the Houston Education Research Consortium, @iwerc.bsky.social, Madison Education Partnership, and Office for Education Policy, and share job opportunities, reading tips, and more: us14.campaign-archive.com?u=ac4a754c92...

ICYMI! IWERC's research on attendance in WBEZ Chicago.

Last week, we were honored to co-host a meeting of Chicago-area arts and culture researchers with Arts Alliance Illinois and Slover Linett at NORC. Our own Aisha Motlani presented her research on the arts workforce in Illinois.

High school absenteeism is high in Illinois. Read more: go.illinois.edu/absent

Our new research on the importance of student attendance was featured in @wbez.org. Read more: www.wbez.org/education/20...

💡 NEW REPORT! Read more about absenteeism and student learning in a post-pandemic context. dpi.uillinois.edu/applied-rese...

More highlights from a thought-provoking SREE conference: ➡️ @marianabat.bsky.social shared how pandemic emergency spending related to achievement outcomes. ➡️Sarah Cashdollar provided research on robust and equitable dual credit in Illinois. ➡️Meg Bates participated in a panel on RPPs.

Congrats to IWERC's Sarah Cashdollar, along with our colleagues from @uchiconsortium.bsky.social and @rpp-network.bsky.social, on their panel at SREE. The panel focused on how research-practice partnerships can support change and impact.