Developing and Updating the Opportunity Index
The CPS Opportunity Index was created and continues to be improved through collaboration with CPS staff, community members, and research partners to ensure their opinions and needs are central to the process. The Office of Equity utilized Inclusive Partnerships to revise the previous version in Fall 2024, guaranteeing input from diverse stakeholders, including those with long-term experience, those affected by decisions, and those responsible for using the index. To learn more about this process, please review the SY25 Opportunity Index Working Group Phase 1 Summary.
While the indicators and methodology have not changed from the SY25 Opportunity Index, the underlying data is updated annually using current sources (e.g., SY26 CPS 20th Day Enrollment Data). Therefore, you may see shifts in scores to reflect the current reality of our schools. For full details on data updates and sources, please refer to the “Metric Descriptions” tab in the SY26 | CPS Opportunity Index Scores file.
How the Opportunity Index Should (and Should Not) Be Used
The Opportunity Index helps CPS Offices, Departments, Networks, and external partners identify school needs to equitably share resources and prioritize schools with fewer opportunities. It is just one tool used to promote resource equity. Users should also consider additional relevant information specific to the resource they are allocating. For consultation or feedback on using the Opportunity Index, please contact equity@cps.edu.
The Opportunity Index should not be used to measure the needs of individual students or groups within one school. For that, other tools such as the CPS Student Prioritization Index (SPI) and the CPS Resource Equity Tool should be used. It is important to know that the Opportunity Index is not a rating or evaluation of how well a school is performing. Instead, it is a way for the district to hold itself accountable and check if it’s meeting the needs of schools based on their past and present needs for resources.
Methodology
The CPS Opportunity Index scores are calculated for traditional elementary and high schools, both those managed by the district and charter schools. Some types of schools, including Options, Safe, Early Learning Centers, and Specialty, are not given Opportunity Index scores because their structures and resourcing are different from traditional schools. The data for the CPS Opportunity Index will be updated once a year.
Each indicator’s data is divided into five equal groups called quintiles, with each quintile representing 20% of the values. This helps compare data with different ranges. Each quintile corresponds to a score between 1 and 5 depending on proximity to opportunity and level of need. An indicator score of 1 means closer access to opportunity/lowest need and 5 means furthest from access to opportunity/highest need. Quintiles are calculated separately for elementary and high schools. Charter schools’ indicator scores are calculated based on the quintiles identified from district-managed schools’ data.
A school’s Opportunity Index score can either be calculated as the average or the sum of their 11 indicator scores. Both the average and sum scores are mathematically equivalent. The Office of Equity suggests that stakeholders use the average score which calculates the final score for each school between 1 (closest to opportunity/lowest need) and 5 (furthest from opportunity/highest need).
The sum score is used in certain cases such as the CPS School Budget formula. To learn more about how the CPS Opportunity Index is utilized in school budgets, please visit cps.edu/about/finance/budget/.