| Submit your comments on this article |
| Home Front: Politix |
| 17% of 8th Graders in Schools Overseen by Obama Education Secretary-Designee Can Read at Grade Level |
| 2008-12-18 |
| In 2007, only 17 percent of eighth graders tested at or above grade level in reading in Chicago Public Schools -- the school system administered by Arne Duncan since 2001. President-elect Barack Obama on Tuesday tapped Duncan to become secretary of education in the upcoming administration. Duncan, hailed by Obama as a reformer, said he would like to take the lessons he learned in Chicago with him when he moves to Washington. "I'm also eager to apply some of the lessons we have learned here in Chicago to help school districts all across our country," Duncan said after Obama formally named him to the job in Chicago. According to the U.S. Department of Education's National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) report for 2007, Chicago public schools have consistently performed below the national average during Duncan's tenure. The report measures students at the fourth and eighth grade levels in the subjects of reading, math, science, and writing, and ranks them at below basic, basic, proficient, or advanced levels. Students in eighth grade are those most likely to have been in the Chicago system for a majority of Duncan's tenure. CNSNews.com used the scores for these students to best determine the results of Duncan's administration. By 2007, only 17 percent of Chicago eighth graders were at or above grade level in reading. Thirteen percent scored at or above grade level in math. Twenty-three percent scored at or above grade level in writing. By 2005, the only year Chicago participated in the NEAP assessment program, 16 percent of eighth grade students were at or above grade level in science. Nationally, students did much better on average in reading, math, science, and writing. In 2007, 29 percent of eighth grade students scored at or above grade-level in reading, 31 percent in math, and 31 percent in writing. In 2005, 27 percent of eighth grade students were at or above grade level in science. Nationally, Chicago is the third largest school district with over 408,000 students. Its budget for 2007-2008 was $4.6 billion, according to information released by Chicago Public Schools. $862 million of that was supplied by the federal government. Under Duncan, Chicago Public Schools spent $10,555 per pupil, with $9,488 going toward education-related expenses in 2007. During Duncan's tenure, the Chicago district did not significantly increase its scores in reading, rising only one point on average from 2002 to 2007 -- from 249 of a possible 500 in 2002, to 250 in 2007. The national average in 2007 was 263. Seventy-five percent of Chicago students scored less than 273 on the reading assessment. In math, Chicago Public Schools' average score increased from 254 in 2003 to 260 in 2007. The national average for 2007 was 280. Seventy-five percent of Chicago students scored below 283 in the math assessment. In writing, the average score for students in Chicago Public Schools increased from 136 out of 300 in 2002 to 146 in 2007. The national average in 2007 was 154. Approximately 50 percent of Chicago students scored below 148 in the writing assessment. In science, the Chicago Public Schools average score was 124 out of 300; the national average was 147. Three-quarters of Chicago students scored below 146 on the science assessment. |
| Posted by:Fred |
| #11 |
| Posted by: GolfBravoUSMC 2008-12-18 11:04 |
#10  |
| Posted by: GolfBravoUSMC 2008-12-18 10:58 |
| #9 Warning: Long rant 1. Chicago schools have four generations of gross mismanagement, at least, to overcome. For years, the Chicago Teachers' Union had the asinine policy of allowing senior teachers to bump other teachers out of their classroom at any time during the school year. Seniority, not skills or concern for children, is the only condition. I don't know how well Duncan has done against the Union, or if he's one of their allies. Details, anybody? 2. The Great Society and the Sexual Revolution produced families without fathers. The Great Society also, along with the Chicago Machine, created such hellholes as Cabrini Green and Robert Taylor housing projects. The Machine, in partnership with the Machine hacks in the school system, abandoned any schools in black neighborhoods. I've mentioned this before, but it's worth saying again: When my mom tried to teach in Chicago in the 1950s, in the school that served the newly built Cabrini Green, her school told her that they hadn't seen scissors and paste in the supply room for two years, but she could have all the construction paper she wanted. She had 50 first graders in a class. This was not common for Chicago Schools even during the Baby Boom. The school had not bought any new texts since the first black family moved in; the books were falling apart. So were the desks. The furniture and the building dated to 1876. After the Our Lady of Angels fire in 1961, the city rebuilt the school buildings, but didn't do anything about supplying them or staffing them properly. 3. The blockbusting real estate practices of the 1950s destroyed whole neighborhoods and took the schools with them. During the first Daley Regime, if a black family moved into a neighborhood, the city stopped picking up the garbage and the school suddenly lost a whole lot of resources. Then the blockbusters would call every white family in the neighborhood and say, "See how trashy everything is now that those N****s have moved in? Better sell your house now while you can still get a good price for it." Daley's real estate friends got rich on real estate sales, and as more black families moved in, the city stopped providing services. As for the housing projects, the Chicago Housing Authority was staffed entirely by Machine payrollers, who didn't lift a finger to make repairs. PAYROLLERS DON'T KNOW HOW TO WORK, AND DON'T GIVE A DAMN. 4. As with places such as Detroit, minorities elected to public office in Chicago tend to become political hacks at the same rate as white officials. "The Man" is now black in many areas of the cities. SO: I want to know more about Arne Duncan. If 17% of the 8th graders can read at grade level now, what percentage of 8th graders could read at grade level before he came? Is this 17% rate more than, less than, or about the same as it was when Duncan took over? Does the teachers union still have the transfers policy? What progress, if any, has Duncan made in getting the CTU to think of the students first? What improvements has Duncan made, and have they been successful? |
| Posted by: mom 2008-12-18 10:03 |
| #8 We read good and don't need no fancy books. The One tell us what we need for learnin'. |
| Posted by: DarthVader 2008-12-18 09:57 |
| #7 I'd hate to see what his predecessor's stats were if this is an accomplishment. But, to be fair, since CPS got all that Annenberg money, I am certain that the children's skills in community organizing and revisionist history are leading the nation into it's glorious future. |
| Posted by: Cornsilk Blondie 2008-12-18 09:37 |
| #6 Expectations and discipline Sgt Mom. Kid screwing up badly gets the attention of the parent's commanding officer. It focuses the mind. |
| Posted by: ed 2008-12-18 09:34 |
| #5 And the DOD schools don't do to badly, either in teaching the dependents of active-duty personnel. A couple of years ago, the San Antonio Express news reported (with somewhat of an embarrassed face, I think) that the students of the Lackland AFB schools (said students were in a large part racial minorities, from not-terribly-high-on-the-family income scale, not very much the offspring of college graduates, had moved frequently, and were often from single-parent families) did only a fraction less well on standardized tests than the students from the neighborhood of Alamo Heights - which is very wealthy in a quiet way, with lavishly well-equipped schools - a large of the residents therein being being persons of pallor with college degrees. The question of why the Lackland schools did so well by their students on a fraction of the budget with much the same results was not explored in any depth. |
| Posted by: Sgt. Mom 2008-12-18 09:18 |
| #4 What the educational 'professionals' and their apologists don't want America to know is that one of the largest education programs is owned and operated successfully by the Department of Defense. They have for generations taken a lot of what the public school system literally passed on and instilled skills and abilities that the systems failed to. Wonder what the response would be if the Commandant of West Point or Annapolis or the Commander of the Training and Doctrine Command were appointed Secty of Education [rhetorical question]. Heh. |
| Posted by: P2k on holiday 2008-12-18 08:39 |
| #3 Under Duncan, Chicago Public Schools spent $10,555 per pupil Therein lies the problem. Everyone knows money is the answer. Annual tuition (less books) for Sidwell Friends School where The Messiah's kiddies go is $ 29,442. The CPS obviously needs a BAILOUT! |
| Posted by: Besoeker 2008-12-18 07:34 |
| #2 17% of 8th Graders in Schools Overseen by Obama Education Secretary-Designee Can Read See, home education does work! |
| Posted by: g(r)omgoru 2008-12-18 03:39 |
| #1 CPS also has the shortest school day in Illinois and probably one of the shortest days in the nation. don't want to over stress those 'Educational Professionals'. But the CPS drive-by pistol team will sweep the Olympics. The CPS cycle-by pistol team will be a close second! |
| Posted by: Titus Angererong1098 2008-12-18 01:24 |