Scores drop at schools under tightest rein June 6, 2001 BY DAVE NEWBART AND ROSALIND ROSSI STAFF REPORTERS The five high schools receiving the most intensive sanctions by Chicago Public Schools officials saw significant enough declines in reading and math test scores that CEO Paul Vallas said Tuesday he will not use them in any additional schools. Scores dipped in math at four of the high schools and dropped in reading at three of them, test results released Tuesday show. The results were made public the same day officials released a new look at the city's overall test scores showing the schools are faring better when compared with new national norms than was thought when the results were originally released last month. The rise came after the Chicago Public Schools used a process called renorming, in which test scores here are compared with a more recent sample of test scores nationwide than before. The renorming showed 41.7 percent of elementary students are reading at or above the new national norms, as opposed to the 37.8 percent announced last month. Officials touted the new number as the highest since before 1990. "It shows our kids have been improving as compared to the national norms," Vallas said. But one national testing expert said it was "inappropriate and highly misleading" to suggest the recalculated scores show major improvements from past years because scores from those years weren't recalculated using the new standards. "To try to compare previous years' scores with the new scores is totally meaningless," said Walter Haney, senior research associate in the Center for the Study of Testing at Boston College. Chicago schools officials acknowledged they would have to recalculate prior years to produce comparisons, but said the overall trend is upward--and showed Chicago compared better nationally than previously thought. But the news from the schools placed under "intervention" last year was less encouraging. The procedure is the harshest to date used by officials to turn around failing schools. It involves a total overhaul of the school's administration, bringing in outside experts in several areas and totally revamping the curriculum. It is also expensive, costing about $400,000 per school, compared with the $80,000 to $90,000 it costs to put a school on probation, a less invasive method. Collins High School saw the biggest drops. Only 4.9 percent of its students read at national norms in 2001, compared with 10.9 percent last year. Its math scores dropped from 27 percent to 12.2 percent. School officials did not return calls seeking comment. Orr High School's scores also dropped in both reading and math. Bowen High School saw its reading scores drop by 3 percentage points, to 10.5 percent. Its math went up by just one-tenth of a point to 21.6. The drop in reading scores was so disconcerting that members of the local school council have called a special meeting Monday to request that the school be taken out of intervention. "It has proven to be completely unsuccessful," council vice president Neil Bosanko said. Officials said the process needs to be given at least another year before evaluating. "It's disappointing to see the results after a year, but we really expected to see the big changes after the schools reopen in the fall of 2001," said Phil Hansen, accountability chief at the public schools. -- 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/>
