State's ACT scores continue to climb
August 15, 2001
BY DAVE NEWBART STAFF REPORTER
For the fourth time in the past five years, Illinois scores rose on the ACT,
the national college assessment test.
The mean score achieved by Illinois high school seniors was 21.6, one-tenth
of a point higher
Schools target poor readers
August 17, 2001
BY CURTIS LAWRENCE STAFF REPORTER
All students in Chicago's public schools will be required to have a minimum
of two hours of daily reading instruction, reading specialists will be
deployed at low-performing schools, and millions of dollars will be
Race, economic gaps in scores frustrate educators
September 5, 2001
BY ROSALIND ROSSI EDUCATION REPORTER
More than three times as many whites as blacks scored at or above grade
level this year on math tests given to the state's public school eighth
graders.
The gap was almost as great
Kids take the test, say it's too easy
September 6, 2001
BY ANA MENDIETA STAFF REPORTER
Too easy for a teacher?
You bet.
That's what 10 students said after taking a sample Basic Skills test at the
request of the Chicago Sun-Times.
I was surprised of how easy it was. Teachers should have
5,243 Illinois teachers failed key exams
September 6, 2001
BY ROSALIND ROSSI, BECKY BEAUPRE AND KATE N. GROSSMAN STAFF REPORTERS
This past spring, a group of Chicago children learned their lessons from a
teacher who had flunked 24 of 25 tests of teacher competence.
In Elgin District 46,
Why are teacher tests secret? politicians ask
September 7, 2001
BY ROSALIND ROSSI AND DAVE MCKINNEY STAFF REPORTERS
Illinois administrators who hire teachers should be able to see how many
times applicants flunked their competence exams and how they scored,
politicians said Thursday in
