The nation’s report card was just released and shows Illinois students continue to struggle to meet proficiency standards in reading and math. State leaders are spinning 8th-grade results as a win, but in reality, they lag. Ignored are the struggles of younger students.
Some Illinois school boards allow all resident children – including private and homeschooled kids – to participate in district activities. That should be the case for all taxpaying families in all districts.
Chicago’s first elected school board was just sworn into office. Here’s what members should know about what the Chicago Teachers Union has done to damage Chicago Public Schools and the city’s children, plus eight steps to undo the damage.
The first three years of elementary school are critical in building reading skills so a student succeeds in school and life. Illinois lawmakers can push five proven literacy reforms to give the state’s students a better start.
Colorado lawmakers passed an act in 2012 to focus on early literacy development and the science of reading. Its fourth graders are now in the Top 5 states for reading proficiency. Illinois can benefit from adopting five of their tactics.
The Chicago Teachers Union played a long game with Acero charter schools: unionizing them, undermining them and then taking them over. Now students and parents are left without the charter schools they chose.
A report outlining public education reform in Illinois doesn’t address a core issue facing students: reading proficiency. It also lowers standards for students and threatens to muddle the understanding of students’ progress.
Florida state lawmakers began mandating science-based literacy education in the early 2000s. It improved reading proficiency among early grades and cemented Florida as a leader in early literacy education. Illinois should do the same.
Voters have chosen the first 10 members of their elected Chicago Public Schools board. Amid a chaotic fall, here are answers to some common questions about what’s next for public education in Chicago.
Chicago Teachers Union allies were losing most Chicago School Board elections. CTU spent more than $1 million on its candidates, but voters made it clear they are tired of paying more to get less from city schools.
By 1980, financial mismanagement led Chicago Public Schools to lose its ability to borrow money, to miss multiple payrolls and vendor payments, and to drop deep into debt. The state stepped in with a financial oversight authority. It’s time to do that again.
Chicago Public Schools third- through eighth-grade state test scores increased in 2024, with reading finally surpassing 2019 levels. But for Chicago’s 11th grade students, both reading and math remained below pre-pandemic levels.
“Part of the idea is to have people in many different professions who are knowledgeable about the principles of entrepreneurship and liberty."
New Illinois public school test data shows reading and math proficiency rates for third- through eighth-grade students increased since 2023. Not so for 11th graders, who performed worse in reading and math.