Startling statistics: 75% of students in Chicago’s lowest-performing elementary schools do not meet state standards in reading and math; 95% of students in Chicago’s lowest-performing high schools struggle with basic algebra and summarizing reading assignments

There is a lot of talk in Chicago about “struggling public schools” and “fixing public education.” But year after year, school reform is not enacted and thousands more students are forced to attend failing schools.

Three years ago, then state Sen. Rev. James Meeks, D-Chicago, proposed a bill that would have given students in the lowest-performing 10 percent of Chicago schools a ticket out of these failing schools. These students would have received an opportunity scholarship, or voucher, which they could use to attend any school they wanted – public or private. The bill passed the Illinois Senate, but died in the House and never reached the governor’s desk.

Because that bill failed, thousands of students have been trapped in Chicago’s worst schools. A new report from the nonpartisan Illinois Policy Institute takes a close look at just how bad the bottom 10 percent of Chicago Public Schools are, and makes the case for much-needed education reform.

“If you’re not rich enough to attend a private school, smart enough to attend a magnet school or lucky enough to attend a charter school, then you’re forced to attend a school system that consistently fails its students,” said Ted Dabrowski, vice president of policy at the Illinois Policy Institute and an education reform expert. “The poor quality of education at Chicago’s lowest-performing schools leaves lasting scars that follow students well into high school and adulthood. We have to do better. We have to give these students a ticket out of failing schools so they can live up to their full potential.”

Here are some highlights from the Illinois Policy Institute’s report, titled “Trapped in Chicago’s worst schools: Education outcomes in Chicago’s lowest-performing public schools“:

• The Institute’s report looks at the lowest-performing 10 percent of CPS schools, which includes eight high schools and 42 elementary schools.

• Approximately 21,372 students attend the bottom 10 percent of CPS schools.

• In the lowest-performing elementary schools, 75 percent of students do not meet state standards in reading and math.

• In the lowest-performing high schools, 95 percent of students do not meet state standards in math and reading, which means they struggle with basic algebra and summarizing reading assignments.

• Chronic truancy is a problem in the worst CPS schools, but also systemwide. Across all CPS schools, during the 2010-11 school year approximately 1 in 8 CPS students missed a month or more of school.

Education expert Ted Dabrowski is available for interviews in Chicago.

Click here to download the report.

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For interviews or bookings, contact: Diana Rickert or Nathaniel Hamilton at 312-607-4977.