Chicago's proven results.Regarding your two stories about Chicago's ending of social promotion ("Retaining Retention" and "Teachers and Students Speak," Features, Winter 2005), it should be noted that one of the most important policy decisions that Chicago mayor Richard M. Daley Richard Michael Daley (born April 24, 1942) is a United States politician, member of the national and local Democratic Party and current mayor of Chicago, Illinois. He was elected mayor in 1989 and reelected in 1991, 1995, 1999, 2003, and 2007. made when he took control of the public schools in 1995 was to end social promotions. Before then, the high school dropout (1) On magnetic media, a bit that has lost its strength due to a surface defect or recording malfunction. If the bit is in an audio or video file, it might be detected by the error correction circuitry and either corrected or not, but if not, it is often not noticed by the human rate was almost 16 percent; the percentage of our elementary students meeting national norms on the Iowa Test of Basic Skills The Iowa Test of Basic Skills (ITBS) are a set of standardized tests given annually to school students in the United States. These tests are given to students beginning in kindergarten and progressing until Grade 8 to assess educational development. in reading was less than 37; the percentage of our students testing in the bottom quarter was about 32. But things have changed. By 2003 the dropout rate had fallen to 13 percent, the percentage of students meeting national norms was up to 41, and the percentage of students testing in the bottom quartile Quartile A statistical term describing a division of observations into four defined intervals based upon the values of the data and how they compare to the entire set of observations. Notes: Each quartile contains 25% of the total observations. was down to about 24--better than the nation as a whole. This is all to say that we see retention as a tool to help students get the help they need. And it works. Your articles note many of these facts, but it must be pointed out that the key to making retention effective is to recognize it as a warning sign and fix the problem. This year, we have refined our policy to require that a personalized per·son·al·ize tr.v. per·son·al·ized, per·son·al·iz·ing, per·son·al·iz·es 1. To take (a general remark or characterization) in a personal manner. 2. To attribute human or personal qualities to; personify. learning plan be designed for each student retained, so that the principal, teacher, and parents can all monitor the child's progress. These students also work with specially trained teachers. And previously retained 4th and 7th graders now have access to extra learning opportunities after school and during the summer to make sure they stay on track. We also are working to prevent retentions before they even occur, by targeting high-retention schools and implementing an intensive literacy program in the early grades. We already have more than 30,000 preschool slots systemwide and have expanded this program into full-day kindergarten in targeted schools. We look forward to a day when no children are retained, not because they are simply passed along without scrutiny, but because they have mastered the skills and concepts needed for their grade level. On that day, we will know that we truly have served every child in every school. ARNE DUNCAN Arne Duncan (born 11-6-1964) is an American education administrator and basketball player who is the current Chief Executive Officer of the Chicago Public Schools. Duncan attended the University of Chicago Laboratory Schools. Chief Executive Officer Chicago Public Schools Chicago Public Schools, commonly abbreviated as CPS by local residents and politicians, is a school district that controls over 600 public elementary and high schools in Chicago, Illinois. |
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