What is the ARA?
The Annual Regional Analysis (ARA) is a collection of reports that provide information about Chicago Public Schools. These reports include details about student enrollment, district demographics, school quality, school choice, and academic program offerings. The purpose of these reports is to help CPS leaders and members of the community better understand schools in the communities they serve and live.
The reports present CPS data in one place, without making recommendations or suggestions for action. This helps ensure that everyone can have an open and honest conversation about how to improve local schools. By using these reports, the district and communities can have more productive conversations about the needs of local schools and how to make improvements.
The ARA is designed to support the district's Five-Year Vision and Three-Year Blueprint to provide a high-quality public education for every child, in every neighborhood, that prepares each for success in college, career, and civic life.
What's In It?
The CPS Annual Regional Analysis (ARA) is a collection of reports aligned with the district’s mission of providing high-quality schools in every neighborhood.
The ARA consists of a district report and 16 regional reports. The City of Chicago Department of Planning and Development created region boundaries based on housing and employment research. Natural borders such as rivers and train lines divide each region. These borders are likely considerations for families when selecting a school. The ARA uses these regions as they are more consistent than city wards or school networks.
Each report has four sections:
01. Quality
Provides select information on the school quality of schools in a region over the last four years.
02. Quantity
Provides information on public school student population trends and total available seats.
03. Choice
Provides information on whether students are choosing to attend school in their region (an indication of the availability of attractive options).
04. Variety
Provides information on the types of schools and programs offered.
The ARA Glossary
For more detailed explanations of each term and links to their source data sites, visit the ARA Glossary.
There are multiple ways to view the ARA reports, depending on your preferred method of viewing and the level of detail you are seeking:
01. Web Reports
The full text and data for the 2022-23 district overview and each of the 16 regions is available on this website. There is no need to download anything, just select the report you want to view and scroll to explore its information. You can also select from multiple foreign language options and immediately translate the information using the "Select Language" feature in the top right corner of each page.
02. Archives
ARA data is available for the 2017-18, 2018-19, 2019-20, 2020-21, and 2022-23 school years. Historical reports can be accessed through our archive section.
PDF reports are available in English, Spanish, and select other languages for some previous years.
Acknowledgments
CPS would like to thank Kids First Chicago for their continued partnership in producing the Annual Regional Analysis. Kids First Chicago (K1C) is an education nonprofit that works to ensure that every family and child in Chicago has access to a high-quality education. Their work focuses on empowering families to identify, navigate to, and advocate for quality public schools for their children and communities -- supported by facts. CPS' Planning and Data Management department works closely with K1C each year, utilizing their existing analytical framework and community engagement expertise to plan for and develop the ARA.
