Results

THE BENEFITS OF THE CES APPROACH: A LOOK AT RECENT RESEARCH

The Coalition of Essential Schools is one of the most studied school design movements and has documented the process and outcomes of school reform since its inception 25 years ago. On these pages, we gather research, from internal and external sources, which examine schools using multiple measures of students’ knowledge, understanding, and performance to document the impact of CES efforts rather than relying on any one measure that may not adequately reflect students’ true proficiencies. We have found that students who attend Essential Schools across the country are making striking academic progress. 

The CES Small Schools Project created a network of nationwide CES schools.  Read about our results creating new start-up small high schools and restructuring large comprehensive high schools into small autonomous schools. We also provide formative and summative reports on the project.

External reports on CES schools have found that these schools are more effective than comparable schools. Click here to read about the most recent reports.

The Theodore R. Sizer Dissertation Scholars Award is presented by the Coalition of Essential Schools (CES) and named for its founder and chair emeritus. The Sizer Dissertation Scholar Awards encourage a new generation of scholars to conduct research on CES schools and further an understanding of the effectiveness of innovative school practices.  Click here to read about this program and to view the dissertations of award winners.