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To School News home. To Schools/Education Resources Directory. To News of/from Schools. Your school's scores and progress through time- to Illinois Report Card links. Also chicagotribune.com/schools.
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MeetingsLatestCPS
has directories of schools including performance over three years. That
for the lower grades is Here
is a list of schools with
a link to each of their Ariel Canter Dyett Harte Hyde Park Career
Academy High School Kenwood Academy
High School Kozminski Murray North Kenwood Oakland Charter (appears to be not available in that site) Ray Reavis Shoesmith
To Table of 2006 results. Most local schools scores improved substantially in the 2006 Illinois Achievement Test. In fact, every school in Area 15 improved its composite scores. Canter jumped from 36.8 to 73.9% of 8th graders meeting or exceeding national standard. Granted, this school is concluding transition from a local to a group-fed middle school and Canter has worked very hard with AVID and Balanced Literacy, but there is nationwide talk about a glaring and growing gap between scores on state tests and national as states try to get around No Child Left Behind. ISAT is now being administered to every other grade through 8th. For 2007, at best statewide results cast doubt that Illinois students seem not to be keeping pace with the nation and that Illinois has watered down its tests. Note, the state report card, which usually comes out in the fall, was not released until March. Also showing substantial improvement are Shoesmith, and Reavis. Kenwood's 7th 8th center has all students at grade level or above. The overall gain in the area is higher than the CPS average gain. Last year's big gainer, Harte, Murray and Ray stood pat. Kozminski saw some grades rise substantially another fall. But several say there have been changes in scoring etc. that makes the results suspect, and with more grades taking the tests and IOWA out the window, comparison is difficult this year. On the other hand..... John Q. Easton of the Consortium of Chicago School Research U of C, told the media that review showed the results are accurate, but the increased time allowed makes it difficult to know whether last year's or this year's results are more reflective of skills. 2007 results (test are in progress) will show that.
2006 quick comparison table from Herald. Percentage meeting or exceeding nat'l. standard
Virginia Vaske's take In her letter to the Herald August 16, she called 2006 a breakthrough year, including for the Balanced Literacy approach stressed in Area 15. This "overnight success" was 5 years in the making. Every school in the area had a positive gain, many out pacing citywide gains. To be credited in part is partnership with the U of C Center for Urban School Improvement (Dr. Cindy Brunswick and colleagues) and use of principals as instructional leaders- and mentors to each other- and the general stress on professional development. Ray and Murray remain strong with deep academic programs even if score improvements have slowed.They are dedicated to helping every student succeed. Neither school is selective and cannot test for admission although being so called magnet schools; both have many special needs students Canter has arrived among the high performing local and middle schools--third highest in the area and 15% above district average. Shoesmith had the biggest gains. Kozminski and Reavis posted double digit gains - 15 and 18%. Again, Balanced Literacy and new math approaches are common to the success. Tribune's
Take, March 6, 2007/ They start with a multiple choice on Why test scores
went up: Kozminski Academy, 936 E. 54th, was honored in 2007 by Mayor Daley for a five year stretch (actually it is six) in which scores rose every year. In fact, the number of students who met or exceed standard on composite scores rose by almost 50 percent. Principal Lionel Bordelon credits, among other things, the Reader response writing program--it stresses reading and writing in every subject, for comprehension. No other school in Hyde Park had a six year stretch of increases. Top ________________________________ Chicago students are said by the Tribune to trail on reading and math among big cities. John Easton, a member of the National Assessment board and director of the University of Chicago Consortium on Chicago School Research said, "The good news is there is progress, but it's sobering how low some of these scores are." In results released Dec. 1, 2005 the most disappointing results are reported to be among African-American students, versus in other urban districts led by New York and contrary to what some interpretations of other tests have said. Some other cities have their own jaw-droppers, such as Atlanta's gap for low-income students generally and Washington DC's for all minority student groups. This test is the National Report Card, a sample of 680,00 pupils nationwide, 8,000 in Chicago. It tests in key subjects, and is highly regarded. Note that the measures below are of a high bar- whether the student is "proficient." What state tests measure is the percentage at or above "basic" or standard.
Chicago students did show slight progress from the last national comparison in 2003 and Latino reading is up sharply--in fact, Latino 8th graders exceeded both national and other big city performance. Top The Iowa test has been dropped. A new ISAT preparer company is in place. It has provided extensive study materials. ISAT is the nationally-mandated standard for Illin0is and is more a "comprehension/state of achievement" test than was Iowa. A 1-page report card of each pupil's high school is being sent at least annually to parents, is on CPS website and available in the school. The card measures student outcomes, academic progress, participation in school activities and more. These include 5-year graduation rates, graduates who advance to college or employment, students in advanced placement classes, absenteeism, teacher qualifications, and school cleanliness--17 categories in all, selected by focus groups. Excluded is police enforcement activity, instead having a student survey on how safe the school is. This is part of the high school revitalization initiative. The state's report card is different, stressing academic progress, demographics, teacher characteristics. Chicago ranked 10th of 11 big cities in 4th grade math, 7th in 8th grade math, 8th in 4th grade reading and 6th (the middle) in 8th grade math. Supt. Duncan said he is very concerned about the lag of African-American students and the flat scores of 4th graders across the board. "It dramatically demonstrates the need for more preschool and full-day kindergarten. Teachers' Union president Marilyn Stewart pointed to instability in the African-Americans' schools and homes. According to the Tribune, she especially cites African American schools having been hit hard by recent school closings, with pupils being shuffled from building to building, and so many of the homes are single-parent. Others also point to budget skimping and cutbacks, either forcing schools/lscs to find there own way to keep positions or forbidding them to do so. ____________________________________________________________ The long drought in high school reading score improvement appears to have been somewhat broken in 2005. Not so for math. But overall, nationally, the Sun-Times of Nov. 9 says scores have stagnated, hit a brick wall. This was reiterated in the March 12 2007 Tribune which says high school scores have stagnated. Kenwood has made progress considerably faster than the state average, but not enough to get off the watch list. Staff knows it needs to concentrate on math and science. Caution- although the NCLB low performing students the school now has to take made major progress at Kenwood, when their scores are added in the school looks like it is stagnant or backsliding. This should abate. Early ISAT reports are good in reading and composite city wide, and for the neighborhood Area 15 schools. ISAT scores determine "Adequate Yearly Progress." The local exceptions are Reavis and Shoesmith. The former went down to a composite of 27 on a sharp drop in math scores (3rd gr. from 38 to 28.5, 5th from 22.4 to 12.1.). Shoesmith composite dropped 5 percent to 47.7, just above the 47.5 percent marker for probation. Canter shot up over 10 to a composite of 76.6, Ray went up slightly to 73.3, Bret Harte also shot up 10 points to 72.3 pushed by reading improvements of 20 percent to 72.0. Kozminski improved by 6.6 points from 38 to 45, closing in on getting off probation (it has a new approach to reading and for math.) First results from the 2005 Iowa tests of elementary students appear to show strong gains for kids and schools at the bottom of performance--in fact, steady decline in number or percentage of students in the lowest quartile of meeting national performance standards. Math, however, continues to slip slightly. The problem is that CPS is not, says it lacks the resources to, apply the best of what has proven out to all schools--in fact, some schools are going back to larger class size due to staff and other budget cuts. CF 2004: The gains for poorest performing did not seem to have come to schools in HPK deemed not bad enough for probation. Other scores see-sawed.
In 2005, the ranking was: Murray slipped some to the 90% at national standard level, next were Ray and Bret Harte- Ray stable in the mid-high 70s, Harte soaring into the low 70s, Canter moving through the 60s- by some measures at 76%- and poised to make major gains, Shoesmith sinking into the high 40s, Kozminski rising into the mid 40s, and Reavis slipping from an already lesser standing. Harte,
which has come up 20 points in a few years and is the biggest gainer,
2005 scores:
In 2004, lowest-performing Kozminski and Reavis stayed quite stable at a low level- 21% to 36% meeting standards. There was a 5 point drop in math at Kozminski. Low-mid-range Shoesmith dropped a bit. Murray dropped seriously (its expanded student body is economically more diverse). Canter dropped consistently with 7th graders citywide under test and other changes. Kenwood's 7th and 8 th magnet program slipped by stayed in the mid 90% meeting standards. Ray stayed as last year in the mid 70s. Bret Harte was the star with a 9% gain in reading scores.
Considerations and backgroundSome background on test score mandates, adequate yearly progress and who's making it is contained in the selection on Kenwood Academy's 2004 scores triumph, in News of Schools page. In the light of what follows, it is disturbing that the State Board of Education voted to cut the writing exam from ISAT and Prairie State (to save a mere $6.4 million) when other states are recognizing how critical writing skills are and the CAT and ACT pre-college exams are putting new emphasis on writing ability. So says Marvin Hoffman, former director of the U of Cs North Kenwood Oakland Charter School in a Tribune Letter August 13, 2004. Tests themselves remain a bone of contention (including with a history of cultural and racial distortion), with some saying they are becoming too difficult, others that they are being dumbed down, and still others that they do not paint a true portrait of the student or class and are becoming the "be-all," introducing distortions. The latest
national results show 70 percent of students are not
proficient in math or reading in light of current National Assessment
standards, despite improvements. Black and Hispanic students continue
to lag. In Illinois, things are somewhat
better, with 29-35 percent of 4th and 8th graders scoring above proficiency
and the rest scoring at the basic level or below (up from 17% to 31%
for 4th graders) and making dramatic improvement, especially
in math, in 2004. Progress in Illinois is seen as steady and significant
over the past two years; and such scores are far below what ISAT shows-
53.1% above proficient in math. Do scores merely
reflect what test is being used--or "taught to"/considered
important by students, since real "learning time"
and what can be given attention to during that time, are necessarily
limited? The state chief of education says results are not good
enough regardless--students are not being readied for college or the
workplace and Illinois is failing to prepare for economic competition. Do scores here show that schools are slipping, failing to improve at the rate of other parts of the state, or succeeding where kids from advantaged homes and where the resources are, or that the tests are being ratcheted up? See below, some of this may sort out as the years pass and scores continue, one hopes to rise. Increasingly, staff is lockstepped: pressured from CPS for all teachers in every department to teach the same lessons at the same time the same way and to teach to the "goal" not the student. Everything is "assessment" and "procedures" driven ("right" steps-and-mucho paperwork). And the federal standard for "making adequate yearly progress" (non-fail) is to have at least 40% of certain grades in the school passing state reading and math tests--and that percentage goes up as the decade progresses. (And CPS has now raised its own standard for staying off probation to 40%.) Other NCLB hoops include requirements for progress by every demographic subgroup re the 40% bar--although a case can be made that this has at least forced schools to pay attention to all. Resources remain low, many say abetted by an out of balance state education tax system. And what's the result? A Tribune article December 19, 2003 alleges that "errors fill testing data, putting conclusions in doubt." One conclusion reported for the 2003 testing season is that Illinois elementary schools show improving test scores- 60% that year, the most in the five years of the ISAT. But nearly 60% high schools slipped on a separate test for 11th graders. For the latter, experts cite educator resistance and student apathy at "yet another test," one not tied to getting into college or to grades and passing to the next grade/graduating. Some schools were reported in the article to be resorting to "desperate measures" while Illinois Superintendent of Education Robert Schiller calls for drastic reform, including toughening Illinois graduation requirements, "among the weakest in the nation," including having an exit exam and geometry and biology required to graduate. December 13 the State Board of Education proposed that starting in 2008-9 students must pass algebra I and biology or chemistry to graduate. The next year, students would have to take three instead of two years of math- to include geometry, and two of science- to include biology and chemistry or physics. For 2011 the rule would include passing the Prairie State Achievement Examination. (One asks, if this test is measuring/failing schools, why wait until 2011 to use it measure students?) (State standards have to be approved by the legislature.) The state announced 44% of schools in 2003 failed to meet at least one standard, but many schools appealed and the final tally was not in as of mid-2004. A Tribune analysis of a sample of undisputed results showed that globally 86.5 and 87.8 percent of elementary schools passed the reading and math, with 83.4 and 76.5 in high schools, but in Chicago only 46-48 of elementary schools and merely 17.8 in reading and 23.3 in math in Chicago high schools passed. Statewide, in high schools the number of schools posting declines on the Prairie State test rose from 50.5 to 57.7. A similar measure for elementary schools shows a major improvement over 2002. Still, Chicago Schools chief Arne Duncan pointed out that 2003 results were the biggest ISAT jump ever and the improvement is larger than the rest of the state. Note: In 2003 no mid-South area schools had "best scores" in terms of percentage tested that exceeded standards. Is the problem in high schools results student apathy, non-relationship of the tests to graduation and college admission, demographics, or is it the size, makeup and other effects of high schools themselves? Or a combination or something else? What good is improvement in the 3rd-5th grades if it falls apart in the 8th-11th regardless of the best predictor of school success being proficiency in the first three elementary grades? Check your school's scores- chicagotribune.com/schools. How good was the 2004 test news, and does Illinois skew the results to non-count poorest performers. And is much gain accounted for by more relaxation of rules and school 'navigation' of rules. The good news locally is that a larger percentage of Chicago schools made gains- see article below. And more such accommodations are being considered for 2006That's what the Chicago Tribune charged in a pair of articles December 15 and 16 2005. The number of schools in Illinois meeting the standards rose modestly in math ant reading, the Tribune says, but federal rules were relaxed for many schools, allowing them to escape a failing grade. And a full 1,087 public schools- 29 percent! failed to meet the goals, modestly better than 2003's 1,237--and this year 400+ escaped because they revised their demographic information, as late as the week of this report. Of these, 140 escaped because they didn't have to count late in-transfers or tests on which students didn't answer enough questions..... 16 just because the state changed how it determines test-participation rates, and others because of looser requirements for students with limited English skills. All this applies across the country. In Illinois, 399 whole districts failed vs 454 last year. On the other hand, 541 schools are on the watch list vs. a lesser 360 last year. 72,000 reading and math tests were tossed out because the students enrolled too late (after Sept 30) (56,000) or the students skipped major parts of the exam. (How long has this been going on...!). The former disproportionately effects minority and low-income students--whose families move a lot; the latter also applies most often to disabled students. 56,000 minority students (1 in 5) weren't counted when schools were judged by subgroup performance as required by NCLB. Why? because schools with less than 40 in a category don't have to tabulate for it! 1,800 Illinois schools known to have diversity returned tabulations for no or only white subgroups. Tests disqualified for late enrollment, incompleteness, etc. eliminated 10.7% of black students' tests and 9.3% o special education (at some schools 90% of the special ed kids) vs. 3.7 percent of white students' tests. U.S. Secretary of Education Ray Simon says this is gaming the rules--you can't focus on student subgroups you don't recognize. But Illinois Superintendent of Education Randy Dunn said all aspects of how the law is carried out will be investigated. He says the law scapegoats special education and limited English students so that he feels a "moral imperative to address it, according to the Sun-Times. He cites 235 school districts that failed to meet standards just because of scores from these two categories. "I keep coming back to the moral injustice of this, especially when these children are making progress." He wants both test accommodations and tracking of progress instead of just looking at tests and says expectation special students will meet the same standards as others is unfair. There is also a counter re: the late entrants--is it fair to hold transient student's against a school's score--especially when it's sometimes over 30 percent of enrollment? And principals say they track every student--every student matters. Yet the Tribune asks why the children most intended to be helped by No Child Left Behind--the disadvantaged and disabled- slip through with loopholes and exemptions, saying it's hard enough under the best counting to design a "system that accounts for the variety of lives and communities across an entire state." In 2004 40 percent of students had to pass, 37 percent in each subgroup. Next year these numbers move to 47.5 and 44.5--and reaches 100% in 2014, at which time one guesses every school will be in probation or default. If the 2005 standards were in place in 2004, an additional 390 schools would fail. The tests being gauged are ISAT (Illinois Standards Achievement), Prairie State, IMAGE (limited English skills), and IAAE (for special education). All groups do show an upswing despite rising standards: 40% of African-Americans-up from 38% this year for example, and low-income up 2.5 points and special ed. 2 points, with slim gains for Asian and white. CPS says the gains happened through effort in the classroom, not mandates. But Hispanic/first-language-not-English gains, the Tribune says, may owe much to "savvy management by adults," in order for these to go from 11% to 40 in English and from 26% to 56 in math. And the feds now let those transferring out of bilingual can be counted with "limited English" for two years. Change
in passing rates on ISAT (grades 3,4, 5, 7, 8) Change
in passing rates on ISAT (grade 11)
Hyde Park Elementary Schools' ISAT Results 2003 (percentages of students at or above state standards. AYP= adequate yearly progress- 40% or higher in all subjects)Canter 8th graders graduated summer, 2003 and preceded the change to the new middle school. Kenwood 8th (pre-entry gifted) status is under review.
Kenwood Academy compared on the Prairie State exam--but compare to table that follows and assessment.
Kenwood
is "under evaluation". Source for the statistics: Chicago
Sun-Times. Dyett: Prairie State Math 3.9%, Reading 8.7% Kenwood keeps climbing: State exam scores show Kenwood HS ahead of area pack in 2004
Report card results not in Reavis' favor, Other Hyde Park schools show improvements on state examsHyde Park Herald, December 22, 2004. By Kiratiana E. Freelon Reavis Elementary's standardized test scores dropped significantly according to 2004 Illinois State Board of Education report cards released Dec. 14, while every other Hyde Park school showed a range of improvements. Reavis, 834 E. 50th St., scored lower than last year on the Illinois Standards Achievement Test (ISAT) in third and eighth grande reading and math and well below the city and state averages. Only 17 percent of third-graders scored at or above their grade level in reading and 40 percent in path. Eighth graders lost even and five points in reading and math, respectively. The school's composite ISAT score dropped from 34 to 28, well below the state's mandated 40 percent at or above grade level. Principal Michael Johnson had no explanation for the results. "It would be difficult for me to speak to [the test scores]," said Johnson. "Just as I've come on board; we're trying to change this." This summer the local school council replaced retired Principal Sherman Chambers with Johnson, former director of the North Kenwood/Oakland Charter School, 1119 E. 56th St. Johnson said he hopes to improve scores by focusing on literacy and instruction. "[The scores] are not something that I'm very happy about," Johnson said. " We want the [children] to get the best instruction not just for taking a test but so they can compete." Virginia Vaske, area instructional officer for Reavis, said she hoped the school will an upward trend in test scores next year, perhaps improving by five points. Murray Language Academy, 5335 S. Kenwood Ave., and Ray Elementary School, 5631 S. Kimbark Ave., maintained their high scores from previous years. Ray's composite ISAT scores rose four points. CPS named it a "School of Excellence, " a title given to schools that score above 70 percent on the ISAT. More than 90 percent of Murray students score at or above grade level in math and reading, enough to capture the only title of "school of distinction" in Hyde Park. CPS gave this title to only 29 elementary schools throughout the city. I'm proud of the [scores]," said Katherine Konopasek, principal of Murray. "We went through such a big transition last year. We had a new building, new teacher and 90 more students. I credit our learning community for coming together." Kozminski Community Academy, 936 E. 54th St. scored large gains in math and reading on the ISAT. The school's fifth-graders increased their scores by 10 points and math scores by 8 points. Eighth graders beat the city's reading average by five points. These improvements, however, failed to help the school attain the 40 percent at or above grade level in math and reading that is needed to make adequate yearly progress (AYP) under the federally mandated No Child Left Behind Act. Kozminski must score larger gains next year to reach AYP. The state will increase AYP requirements from 40 percent to 47.5 percent meeting state standards in reading and math. Canter's eighth-graders rebounded from last year's losses in reading and math which helped the school to score the greatest gains in Hyde Park. Eighth graders gained 16 points in reading and 24 points in math. However, the school has yet to attain AYP since its inception three years ago. With a drop only in fifth-grade reading, Bret Harte Elementary School, 1556 E. 56th St., edged closer to academic powerhouses like Murray and Ray. Harte's scores trumped the city averages and earned it the title as a CPS "school of merit," an honor given to schools that score between 50 percent and 69 percent on the ISAT. Harte typically posted scores between 30 and 40 percent just five years ago. Shoesmith 's ISAT test scores remained stable. Fifth-graders increased seven points and six points in reading and math, respectively. Six percent fewer students scored at or above grade level in third-grade math. The school's scores also remained well above the city's average. Kenwood's Principal Arthur Slater reported his school's increasing PSAE scores at a local school council meeting in October. He announced at the meeting that Kenwood is ranked first in every subject in its region, which comprises 22 public high schools. Kenwood, 5015 S. Blackstone Ave., improved in every subject except math on the PSAE, scoring well above the city averages in every subject. Overall, 44 percent of Kenwood juniors met or exceeded state standards, a three percent improvement over last year. On the PSAE, SPS high schools rose 1.9 percent (30.1 to 32.o) to the state's 1.2 (55.2 to 56.4). 79 Chicago public schools cited as "rising stars"79 schools posted major test score gains led by Woodlawn Community Academy (a charter) with double-digit gains. The school attributed this to its "scripted" program, Direct Instruction. This year the number of rising star elementary schools rose from 48 to 71. 8 high schools were so recognized in 2003 and in 2004. National and Illinois NAEP results compared. Source: Chicago Tribune, November 14, 2003 W White, B Black, H Hispanic, A Asian. Illinois did not test 8th graders with NAEP in 2002?
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