The state charter school commission is under attack. State Rep. Linda Chapa LaVia, D-Aurora, has contempt for the state charter school commission, even though she voted for its creation more than two years ago. It was on full display the last time Jeanne Nowaczewski – the commission’s executive director – appeared in front of the...

State government officials, district administrators and union bosses have been actively misleading parents about the quality of Illinois’ elementary schools for years. New Illinois Standard Achievement Test, or ISAT, scores released last week by the Illinois State Board of Education, or ISBE, prove as much. In fact, most schools across the state experienced significant drops...

It was huge news in the summer of 2013. Chicago Public Schools, or CPS – one of the largest school districts in the country – had just voted to close almost 50 schools in an effort to right-size the district and eliminate wasteful spending. This meant thousands of CPS students would be attending new schools...

THE PROBLEM More than 21,000 students in Chicago Public Schools, or CPS, are being left behind. They are attending schools that fail to prepare them for life. A majority of students attending the lowest 10 percent of elementary schools and high schools in Chicago don’t have basic competence in reading, science and math. They’re significantly...

Every year, thousands of struggling Chicago Public School, or CPS, students are sent on to the next grade despite the fact that administrators and teachers know they aren’t ready – and they are destined to fall further behind. Research shows that promoting students before they are ready can have devastating long-term effects. In fact, unprepared...