Not A Single Student Is Proficient In Reading Or Math At 55 Chicago Schools: REPORT

 In 55 Chicago Public Schools, not one student met grade level expectations in either math or reading during the 2021-2022 school year, according to a Wirepoints report.

Out of 649 Chicago Public Schools, 22 schools have zero students who met grade level expectations for reading while no students were proficient in math in 33 schools during the 2021-2022 school year, according to a Wirepoints report. The data analyzed is from the Illinois State Board of Education annual report which details how schools within the state are performing.

“Defenders of the current system are sure to invoke COVID as the big reason for the low scores,” Ted Dabrowski and John Klingner, authors of the report, stated. “But a look at the 2019 numbers show that the reading and math numbers were only slightly better than they are now.” 

Within the state of Illinois, 30 schools did not have any students read at grade level during the 2021-2022 school year, the report stated. Approximately 53 schools in Illinois have zero students proficient in math.

In 930 schools within the state, just one out of ten students meet math grade-level expectations, the report stated. In 622 Illinois schools, one out of ten students, or fewer, are reading proficiently.

The report comes as the nation battles historic learning loss; since 2019, every state has seen a decline in its students’ math scores while the nation’s reading scores dropped to fall in line with numbers from 1990.

“The bottom line is everyone suffered in the pandemic.. because of the pandemic,” Randi Weingarten, president of the American Federation of Teachers, said in October. “The disruption was everywhere, and it was bad regardless of whether schools were remote or in person. We are focused now on the urgent need to help kids recover and thrive.”

Of the 33 schools without a student testing proficient in math, the Illinois State Board of Education rated seven as “commendable,” the second-highest accountability rating that can be awarded, the report stated. Approximately six schools of the 22 with zero students reading at grade-level were awarded a “commendable” rating from the Board of Education.