From: Cayata Dixon -------------------- City test scores offer ray of hope -------------------- Though most kids fail, gains seen on many exams By Michael Martinez and Stephanie Banchero Tribune staff reporters September 7, 2001 The struggling Chicago public schools improved their scores on most state tests in the elementary grades last spring, outpacing the state's gains in many cases and providing a measure of hope to weary educators. Of the 13 tests given in grammar schools, Chicago posted gains on nine, declines on three and no change on one, officials said Thursday. The state improved on seven. In addition, when there was improvement on a particular exam, the city's increase often outpaced the state's. In 3rd-grade math, for example, the percentage of pupils passing the test went up 10 points, compared with 5 points for Illinois overall. Still, on all but one exam, fewer than half of Chicago pupils passed, and on every exam the percentage who passed lagged far behind the state average. Chicago's share of pupils in the worst results category, called academic warning, often was twice as high as the state's. "I'm very pleased," said Phil Hansen, the system's chief accountability officer. "Am I complacent? No. Can we do better? Yes." The Illinois Standards Achievement Tests, which debuted in 1999, are administered in Grades 3, 5 and 8 in reading, math and writing. In Grades 4 and 7, the state gives pupils tests in science and social science. For the first time last school year, the state had all 11th graders take a new Prairie State Achievement Examination, which tests students in all five subjects and includes the complete ACT college-entrance test. On that exam, Chicago also scored far worse than the state, Thursday's figures indicate. For example, the city's best result was in reading, where 36 percent of the students passed --but the statewide average was 57 percent. Officials also announced that the city's graduating seniors last school year scored an average of 17.8 on the ACT, the highest level since 1990. Nationally, ACT scores have been flat for five years. Figures are not yet available for juniors who took the ACT as part of the Prairie State exam. For some officials, the higher ISAT scores were a vindication of their efforts last year to delay the state test date from February to April. When 80 percent of the city's schools were deemed failing in 2000, former Chicago schools chief Paul Vallas insisted the state exam be held later in the school year, when students were better prepared, sparking a bitter feud with the Illinois State Board of Education. The extra time was critical, Vallas and Hansen argued, because most city students live in poverty and come to school dramatically unprepared compared with middle-class suburban students. After Chicago threatened to break state law and administer the state test later on its own, state officials pushed the 2001 testing date back to April. "I think that having the test at the end of the year did help us," Hansen said. "That was our concern back then and that concern has been validated" by the test results. Added Vallas: "Vindicated or not, I'm pleased to see the scores go up. That said and done, nobody should be satisfied with where we're at." Vallas' successor, Arne Duncan, wasn't available for comment Thursday but said in a statement: "Overall, although we are somewhat behind the state ... our improvement from the 2000 scores was at a faster pace than the state. We have to continue to close the gap." A dramatic drop in 8th-grade writing scores--11 points in Chicago and 9 points statewide--led Chicago school officials to raise questions about the test. State Supt. Glenn "Max" McGee said the state will look into the matter, noting the test questions may not have engaged students as much as the previous year. In 2000, students were asked to write about metal detectors less than a year after the massacre at Columbine High School; scores in Chicago, which was installing detectors in its schools, soared that year. Later this year, the state will release its annual "school report cards" and a list of failing schools. A year ago, 750 schools, or about one in four, fell on that list, and 390 of them were in Chicago--or 80 percent of the city's elementary schools. City high schools didn't participate in last year's testing. Also Thursday, state officials released the disappointing final results for the first year of the Prairie State exam. At least 40 percent of high school juniors failed in one subject or more. In reading, 57 percent of the state's students passed, compared with 36 percent in Chicago. In math, it was 54 percent for Illinois and 26 percent in Chicago; and in writing, 60 percent for Illinois and 35 percent in Chicago. On the science exam, 50 percent of the state's juniors passed, compared with 21 percent in Chicago. And on the social science test, 57 percent of Illinois students passed, compared with 29 percent in Chicago. "I am somewhat disappointed the results are not better," McGee said. "But given the fact that this is such a difficult test, we cannot be too surprised." Copyright (c) 2001, Chicago Tribune -------------------- Subscribe to the Chicago Tribune Today! Good Eating, Your Place, and TV Week -- just a few reasons to get the Chicago Tribune at home every Wednesday, Friday and Sunday. 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