For years, it has seemed that no student was more ignored than the one at the bottom of the academic ladder. And yet that’s precisely where some of the most significant gains in Chicago’s school reform effort have been made of late.
A little more than a decade ago, nearly half of the city’s elementary-school pupils languished in what is referred to in eduspeak as the “bottom quartile,” or bottom quarter of all students taking the same test across the country.
New scores on the Iowa Tests of Basic Skills released Thursday show that today only 23.8 percent of Chicago Public Schools pupils score in that bottom group.
With attention focused on how many students meet or exceed standards, that wholesale shift constitutes an impressive feat that could be overlooked. It means much of the attention placed on the lowest-performing schools continues to pay off in raising achievement of the most-challenged children.
Unfortunately, that’s about the extent of the excitement from the latest batch of standardized test scores. The percentage of city public school students reaching or exceeding national norms in reading and math has flatlined in the last five years.
It’s particularly frustrating to see the percentage of kids at national norms in reading hover stubbornly around 43.
That lack of progress raises questions about whether taxpayers are getting enough for their $52 million investment in a widely touted reading program started in 2001.
That initiative boasts 600 literacy specialists in more than half the city’s schools whose job it is to coach classroom teachers in reading instruction. Participating schools also are required to provide two hours of reading instruction every day. Far more students should be meeting or exceeding national norms by now. But that hasn’t happened.
Catalyst, an independent magazine that covers Chicago Public Schools, found in a recent analysis that only 45 of 109 schools participating in the program since its inception posted gains higher than the district average. Reading scores dropped at 41 schools.
The article cited an internal CPS audit that stated there were not enough certified reading specialists to staff the schools that needed them. The CPS response was to water down the credentials required for the job. High turnover among leaders of the reading initiative hasn’t helped.
School officials say these programs focus on schools that are the furthest behind. And in those schools, the significant progress can be found in that bottom quartile mentioned above. Plus, says chief education officer Barbara Eason-Watkins, “This is only one indicator.”
True, there are many ways to measure–and to fuzz over–academic performance. Standardized test scores provide one small but generally consistent window into what’s happening in the school system. One lesson is emerging, however, from test scores and research. Schools that fundamentally improve the quality of staff and instruction will be rewarded with steady and sustained progress in student achievement.
The Chicago schools’ sluggish performance in recent years argues that the job of reform is far from done. The schools desperately need more innovation, more choices, more competition.
