Tougher Tests Just the First Step to Improving Chicago Schools

The release of the latest state test scores for Chicago Public Schools show another year of modest gains. Good news, although as Chief Education Officer Barbara Eason-Watkins noted, "Small gains are never enough."

What's more interesting is the news surrounding the scores. For one, Mayor Daley now says the state needs tougher tests. Those remarks come just days after the release of a report that says school reform is a big failure and the test score gains of recent years nothing but smoke and mirrors because of changes made to the tests in 2006. Catalyst wrote about this three years ago, pointing out the hyperbole. Besides rehashing old news, the report also fails to acknowledge the views of respected researchers who have said that not all the gains are due to easier tests.

Daley's not the first to say that the ISAT is too easy. Recently, the group Advance Illinois, co-chaired by mayoral brother Bill Daley and former Gov. Jim Edgar, made the same point. The group issued a comprehensive report to make a strong case for higher standards, noting that students throughout Illinois -- not just those in Chicago -- are not getting the rigorous academics they need. One telling statistic: Only 1 in 4 Illinois high school students will graduate ready for college or the workplace. The report ought to be required reading for every politician and policymaker in Illinois.

While the Advance Illinois report makes a well-reasoned argument for tougher standards, among other changes, it's gotten less attention in the media than the Civic Committee report blasting Chicago's public schools. That's unfortunate, given the quality of Advance Illinois' work, compared to the finger-pointing of the Civic Committee report.

It's easy to write a report saying CPS is a failure, given that far too many students still drop out, fail tests and graduate completely unprepared for college. It's easy to blame "special interests" and teachers for the problem, then turn around and use the resulting outrage to argue that charters are the silver bullet.

Easy, yes. But such arguments don't accomplish much. In fact, they do nothing except raise the hackles of educators who are working hard to help students learn, and do little to advance the cause of charters, since anyone who knows anything about education knows that structure alone is not the answer. Transform every school overnight into a charter, with non-union teachers and no rules except to raise performance, and you'll still have to solve the equation: How to educate students, especially students who often face troubled home lives and come to school woefully unprepared to learn.

As the Advance Illinois report rightly points out, tougher standards are needed -- but that's only a first step. Schools and teachers -- especially teachers in struggling urban schools -- need resources to get kids to meet higher standards. Parents must be involved, and principals and teachers need outreach training to bring in parents who aren't engaged in their child's education. And so on.

In fact, the Advance Illinois report ought to be required reading not just for politicians and policymakers, but citizens throughout Illinois.

Comments

[Blue Clutch]

I believe that formal education is greatly over-emphasized in this country. It may be nice to have scores that indicate our students are excelling in the tested subjects, but so what? For most students, school is a means to a better job. More education = a bigger paycheck. Today, many service jobs are requiring 4-year degrees just to be considered for a position with a company. The same position may require a skill set that can be obtained without college or excessive training, yet today's workforce is in love with diplomas, degrees, certifications, etc.

I don't understand why someone needs a high school diploma to mop a floor; how scoring well on a state-issued standardized test will make someone a better weldor; how getting a 4-year degree in political science, will help an individual become a better sales person.

Yes, there are some basic skills that everyone needs in order to be competitive in today's world. And, yes, there are many jobs that require specific and extensive training. However, for many students that attend college and graduate, their reward comes in the form of getting a job that is unrelated to what they went to school to study.

I wish everyone the best, but getting better test scores and putting more kids on stage at graduation isn't going to solve a whole lot, imo.

[Venerable]

Pure clowning the public. What seems to be a truth is that folks who are farthest away from the classrooms and pontificating on what should be done should listen to the teachers in the classroom before opening their mouth. Everyone should know that Chicago has only 900 instructional hours per academic year. New York has 1000! That adds up by the time a child is in the 10th grade. Huberman, our present CEO is putting more schools on the all year school track. It doesn't address the extreme short instructional day in Chicago not adds additional hours per academic year. I work in a high poverty school. Our staff is a good one. A good number of schools in my region are high poverty and have high number of English as a Second Language students. When we had a meetings of those schools who were on probation, all the teachers asked for a longer instructional day and support for teachers to collaborate by planning and evaluating practice looking at student work and test results. What king of organization does not support required collaborative time to improve performance? The answer is the Chicago Public Schools. It is like the top administrators, who are not educators, know anything about building up the professional leadership capacity in schools.

[Lorraine Forte - Huffpost Blogger]

Thanks for your comment. A longer instructional day would not only benefit students, but provide time for teachers, and other school staff, to collaborate on strategies and new ways to help kids. As everyone knows, however, a longer day would require more money--something that isn't forthcoming in these tough economic times, at least not yet.

[Flavor]

First, this clearly lets flavor know that the no child left behind was a joke. Look let's be real them that's got get and them that's not ,don't. We can go on and on and on and get nowhere with this very important issue my (mother) is 64yrs old and she told me about a time when education meant a lot, she and her brother were always on the honor roll, they did not have a car, they walked 2 miles to school, they did not get a tv until my mom was 16yrs old, my mother took P.E. everyday this was considered a major subject, unlike today. Teachers were on time, teachers were respected and carried themselves with respect, the only soda machine that the students saw was the glimpse of a soda machine when the teachers lounge was open. Truent officers, made visits, I think this is excellant because this is a way of knowing if the family may need (help). Now the reason why I stated these things is because I am 40years old and when I was in high school slowly P.E. was dwindled down to 3 days a week, someone came up with a brilliant idea to sell soda's to the children, truent officers dwindled down to 5 officers for 1,500 students. Slowly we entered into opting out the school lfood program, not allowing women who could prepare good wholesome breakfast for the children. What happened to (responsibility). You figure.

[Nommo]

As long as certain students come from neighborhoods with minimal tax bases and not much prospect for growth until and unless they gentrify, then the call for "tougher standards" is just another shot in the dark. How much tougher need these standards be? Will they solve the problem of parents not involved in their lives? And when such standards are implemented, what is the next matter for the table when the standards are too tough?

How about a holistic approach to this matter? Education does not exist in a vacuum and piecemeal solutions are going to be just that. Try to fix the brakes while the suspension and tires are shot.