U.S. Department of Education: 79% of Chicago 8th Graders Not Proficient in Reading

Looks like $75,000 a year, only working 180 day a year, fully paid health care with no deductibles, and of course 100% government paid pension is not enough for Teachers in Chicago.

U.S. Department of Education: 79% of Chicago 8th Graders Not Proficient in Reading

By Terence P. Jeffrey

(CNSNews.com) - Seventy-nine percent of the 8^th graders in the Chicago Public Schools are not grade-level proficient in reading, according to the U.S. Department of Education, and 80 percent are not grade-level proficient in math.

Chicago public school teachers went on strike on Monday and one of the major issues behind the strike is a new system Chicago plans to use for evaluating public school teachers in which student improvement on standardized tests will count for 40 percent of a teacher’s evaluation. Until now, the evaluations of Chicago public school teachers have been based on what a Chicago Sun Times editorial called a “meaningless checklist.”

In 2011, the U.S. Department of Education administered National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) tests in reading and math to students around the country, including in the Chicago Public Schools. The tests were scored on a scale of 0 to 500, with 500 being the best possible score. Based on their scores, the U.S. Department of Education rated students’ skills in reading and math as either “below basic,” “basic,” “proficient” or “advanced.”

Nationally, public school 8^th graders scored an average of 264 on the NAEP reading test. Statewide in Illinois, the 8^th graders did a little better, scoring an average of 266. But in the Chicago Public Schools, 8^th graders scored an average of only 253 in reading. That was lower even than the nationwide average of 255 among 8^th graders in “large city” public schools.

With these NAEP test results, only 19 percent of Chicago public school 8^thgraders rated proficient in reading while another 2 percent rated advanced—for a total of 21 percent who rated proficient or better.

79 percent of Chicago public school 8^th graders were not grade-level proficient in reading. According to the U.S. Department of Education, this included 43 percent who rated “basic” and 36 percent who rated “below basic.”

In the 8^th grade math test, Chicago public school 8^th graders scored an average of 270 out of 500, compared to an average of 274 for 8^th graders in “large city” public schools, and 283 for 8^th graders nationally as well as statewide in Illinois.

With these NAEP test results, only 17 percent of Chicago public school 8^thgraders rated proficient in math while another 3 percent rated advanced—for a total of 20 percent who rated proficient or better.

Thus, 80 percent of Chicago public school 8^th graders were not grade-level proficient in math. According to the U.S. Department of Education, this included 40 percent who rated “basic” in math and 40 percent who rated “below basic.”