Celebrating 20 Years

Bringing an Idea Home

The creation of a Baltimore-based education research-practice partnership was inspired by the Chicago Consortium on School Research, which was established in 1990.  What could a similar partnership between the many universities in the Baltimore metropolitan area and its public school system accomplish in the context of the city’s unique history, challenges, and opportunities?  A broad coalition of partners from academia, PK-12 education, and philanthropy came together in 2005 and 2006 to shape the Baltimore Education Research Consortium according to principles of collaboration, combined with scholarly independence.

Over time, BERC has served as a:

• longitudinal data steward;
• convener of research expertise from across 11 universities;
• thought partner;
• co-designer of research questions;
• research disseminator;
• incubator of emerging ideas, policies, practices, and faculty.

To learn more about our past and present, take a moment to review this essay from 2012 and to explore our Research & Publications section.

Facts That Stick

Over twenty years and dozens of research projects, BERC has generated practice-relevant insights that have gone on to impact how educators do their work and how we understand the journeys of students in Baltimore City Public Schools and beyond.  Here are a few highlights.

2

The number of absences from school in the month of September that are predictive of chronic absence later in the school year.  [Source: Linda S. Olson, Why September Matters: Improving Student Attendance, July 2014]

2015

Baltimore City Public Schools graduates from this class enrolled more often in 4-year colleges than 2-year colleges — and subsequent graduating classes still do. [Source: Rachel E. Durham, Rudy Ruiz, and Faith Connolly, Baltimore City Schools College Fact Book, January 2017]

36.2 minutes

The estimated length of the average student commute to school on public transportation in the 2014-15 school year. [Source: Marc L. Stein, Jeffrey Grigg, Curt Cronister, Celeste Chavis, and Faith Connolly, Getting to High School in Baltimore: Student Commuting and Public Transportation, January 2017]

Third Grade

Kindergartners who demonstrate readiness on the Kindergarten Readiness Assessment (KRA) and have strong attendance were more likely to meet or exceed expectations on PARCC math and ELA tests three years later. [Source: Lieny Jeon, Nat Dewey, Xiangyu Zhao, Briana Bostic, and Marc Stein, Kindergarten Success Fact Book 2022: Baltimore City Kindergarten Classes of 2016-17 to 2021-22, November 2023] 

90%

The rate at which ninth-graders who are promoted to tenth grade with no course failures graduate from high school on time.  [Source: Marcia H. Davis, Juan B. Cortes, Rachel E. Durham, and Francesca Gamber, Ninth Grade Success in Baltimore City: Fact Book of Data Trends and Key Measures, November 2024]

Fifth Grade

Attending Head Start or public pre-kindergarten is associated with stronger school attendance through the end of elementary school. [Source: Lieny Jeon, Margaret R. Burchinal, and Sooyeon Byun, “Does Head Start or Public Pre-Kindergarten Enrollment Matter?  Associations with Children’s Long-Term School Attendance in Baltimore City,” Early Childhood Research Quarterly, vol. 71 (2025)

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