From: Cayata Dixon -------------------- Latest ISAT scores show disappointing results -------------------- By Stephanie Banchero. Tribune staff reporter September 4, 2001, 2:02 PM CDT Despite an aggressive effort to boost academic achievement across the state, test scores released today show Illinois public school pupils slipped this year in reading and writing and barely improved in mathematics. Additionally, a wide achievement gap continued to exist between white and minority children, according to a comparison of statewide Illinois Standards Achievement Test (ISAT) scores from the 2000-01 and 1999-2000 school years. State Education Supt. Glenn "Max" McGee called results of the most recent ISATs "disappointing," and said the chasm between white and minority performance is "intolerable" and "inexcusable." "We are not progressing fast enough," McGee said at a news conference in Springfield, where the scores were released. "We have some nice movement in math, but we have an achievement gap we need to address and, obviously, reading and writing need continued emphasis." The less-than-impressive ISAT results come as a major blow to state and local officials who had hoped that, after three years of using a curriculum aligned to the tests, scores would improve more substantially. The continued poor results are partly to blame for McGee's recent ouster. Members of the Illinois State Board of Education asked for McGee's resignation last week, in part, because test scores are not improving fast enough. The state schools superintendent said he would leave his $216,000-a-year post when his three-year contract expires Dec. 31. But the snail-like progress of Illinois schoolchildren mirrors what other states have seen after instituting more rigorous testing programs. Despite the overall poor showing, there was one positive sign: Illinois 3rd, 5th and 8th graders all showed improvement on the rigorous math exam. For the first time since the ISAT was administered, as many 8th graders passed the math test as failed it. And 3rd graders jumped from 69 percent passing to 74 percent. But those gains were offset by a disappointing showing on the reading exam. Scores remained static for 3rd and 5th graders and dipped substantially for 8th graders. In 2000, 72 percent of 8th graders passed the reading test. This year, only 66 percent did so. McGee could not explain the drop in 8th-grade reading scores and said state officials are investigating whether there was a problem with the test question. McGee released results today for 3rd, 5th and 8th graders who took the math, reading and writing ISAT in the school year that ended in June. He also released scores for 4th and 7th graders who took the science and social science exam. Results from the high school state test are expected to be released Thursday. ISAT scores for individual schools are to be released this fall. 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. Subscribe by calling 1-800-TRIBUNE (1-800-874-2863) or online at chicagotribune.com/subscribe -- This is the CPS Science Teacher List. To unsubscribe, send a message to <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> For more information: <http://home.sprintmail.com/~mikelach/subscribe.html>. To search the archives: <http://www.mail-archive.com/science%40lists.csi.cps.k12.il.us/>
