Poor and minority students at many of the premier public schools in the region continue to fail standardized tests while their classmates flourish, as stark new data show that schools have done little to close the decades-old achievement gap.
Startling disparities at some of the most highly touted suburban schools, masked in previous years by strong overall test scores, emerged from a Tribune analysis of Illinois Report Card information released to the public Wednesday.
At Naperville Central High School, for example, 88 percent of white juniors passed state math tests, compared with 36 percent of African-Americans. At Barrington High School, 85 percent of white students met standards in reading, versus 27 percent of Hispanics.
Those numbers could land those schools and more than a thousand others statewide on the wrong side of new federal education reforms, if they do not showed marked improvement by 2004.
Until now, schools were judged by their composite test scores, limiting failure primarily to poor and urban schools. But the No Child Left Behind Law requires states to separately track minority, low-income, limited-English and special-education students, demanding that each subgroup within a school meet standards.
If even one subgroup fails to reach the goal in either reading or math, the school is considered academically troubled.
According to the Tribune analysis, between 1,550 and 1,900 of 3,800 eligible schools had at least one subgroup of 20 or more students fail to meet state standards in 2002. Included on the list are such perennial all-stars as Hinsdale Central High School, Beye Elementary School in Oak Park and Springman Junior High School in Glenview.
The failure may be still more widespread, but at least 1,000 schools did not fill out forms properly, making it impossible to determine the race and income status of students who flunked.
Details of the federal law, including the minimum number of students needed to qualify as a subgroup, are still being negotiated. But if subgroup test scores don’t improve sufficiently over the next two years, schools that receive federal poverty funds could be forced to offer to bus students to better schools by 2004.
The new data is sure to spark angst among educators, parents and elected officials across the state who are unaccustomed to seeing their schools cast in such a poor light. The surprising failure rate and problems with schools’ self-reporting also could inflame the debate surrounding implementation of the exacting federal education reforms signed in January.
“This should serve as a distinct wake-up call to all of us,” said Robert Schiller, state superintendent of education. “We know there are going to be a lot of local school officials disturbed and angry that, despite all the hard work they have put forth, they now find themselves falling short of the federal guidelines.
“But the bottom line is we all have to find a way to help close the gap because it’s the right thing to do for our children.”
The achievement gap has been a pernicious problem across the country for decades. After shrinking during the 1970s and ’80s, it expanded during the 1990s. Nationally, the average reading and math scores of black high school seniors equal those of 8th-grade white students.
Josh Clark, an African-American honors student at Oak Park-River Forest High School, said the gap is as much about cultural factors as it is about the school system.
“Sometimes minorities feel they don’t have a right to succeed or that they should succeed,” said Clark, a sophomore. “Oak Park has great teachers, a great staff, and they have a wonderful curriculum, but if the kids don’t really feel they want to succeed, that’s not really going to do any good.”
Rich Deptuch, assistant superintendent for curriculum and instruction at Oak Park-River Forest High School, is a member of a national group that has spent four years studying the gap.
Officials in the west suburban school spent 50 hours interviewing African-American students about relationships with peers, attitudes about school, study habits, parental involvement and comfort level on campus.
School officials retrained teachers and created a program to help black freshmen navigate high school. They mentored 8th graders in summer school and met with parents. They plucked some general-track minority students and put them into honors courses. And they worked with students who had attendance and discipline problems.
Many programs were successful. The African-American students did well in honors classes. Those in summer school posted mainly A’s, B’s and C’s as freshmen. Suspensions went down. Attendance went up. More black students graduated.
Michelle Nirde, a black sophomore, said she is glad school officials encouraged her to enroll in honors courses, where the B’s she earned gave her new confidence.
“They help you through it if they feel you’re not reaching your potential,” she said.
Still, in the one area where the school is judged by state and federal officials–test scores–there has been little movement. This year, about 82 percent of white students passed the state math and reading tests, compared with about 35 percent of black students. Deptuch said that is barely better than in past years.
“Politicians make it sound like it’s simple. If we tell you to do this, you will be able to do this,” he said. “It’s going to take time and effort from teachers, administrators, parents, students, the community, churches. But I can guarantee that putting us on a list of `failing schools’ is certainly not going to make our test scores go up.”
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Gary Orfield, a professor of education and social policy at Harvard University and one of the nation’s leading experts on the achievement gap, traces the chasm to social–rather than intellectual–differences.
Disparities in parental education, peer group influences, ability to navigate school bureaucracy, course placements, expectation level and plain discrimination all contribute to the gulf, he said.
“Our society is stratified and segregated, and that affects schoolkids’ opportunities and experiences in a lot of ways,” Orfield said. “To really solve the problem would require that we have a much more equal society. You’d have to look at social policy, housing patterns, all kinds of things. . . . People who think it’s only a school problem are deluding themselves.”
Each November, the Illinois State Board of Education releases data on the Illinois Standards Achievement Tests, given to elementary students; the 11th-grade Prairie State Achievement Exam; the Illinois Alternate Assessment for special education students; and the Illinois Measure of Annual Growth in English for students with limited English skills.
In years past, the state board used the ISAT and PSAE to determine whether 50 percent of students at each school met minimum standards. Schools falling short of that mark landed on an academic warning list.
The new federal guidelines require the state to include all four tests and mandate that each subgroup of students meet the passing mark.
This year, the pass rate is expected to drop from 50 to about 40 percent, based on a federally defined formula. Then the bar will begin rising each year until it reaches 100 percent of students passing in 2014.
The state also must determine the minimum number of students that constitutes a statistically sound subgroup. State school officials have talked about setting the minimum at 20 to 30 students.
John A. Lorenz, principal of Highland Park High School, said the goal of leaving no child behind is admirable but difficult to carry out.
Hispanic students make up about 15 percent of his school’s population. About 5 percent of them passed a state math test, and 12 percent met the reading goals. About 84 percent of white students passed the exams.
Lorenz said many of the Hispanic students come into his school with limited English skills and are expected to take a rigorous five-hour state test.
“All of the research shows that for a student to really acquire a language and be able to use it effectively takes about seven years,” Lorenz said. “So we identify these students as juniors, and are we going to turn them around in a year? I don’t think we can. But . . . if we identify them in 3rd or 4th grade and get them the assistance that they need, I think we can be successful.”
Some schools are closing the gap.
At Pioneer Elementary School in Romeoville, more than 80 percent of all students passed state tests in 2001. But only 15 percent of black students scored in the highest percentile, compared with 48 percent of white students.
“It smacked us in the face,” said Principal Donna Hayley. “We had a lot of discussion in our building and asked, `Are we doing something wrong? Are we treating African-American students differently?'”
Hayley did not institute any special programs but asked teachers to reassess teaching techniques and make adjustments. They looked at whom they called on during class and how much time they gave each student to answer.
This year at the school, 55 percent of white youngsters and 35 percent of black kids scored in the top percentile on state tests.
“The achievement gap can be touchy and uncomfortable because you have to deal with race issues,” Hayley said. “But we decided we had to talk about it if we wanted to solve it. I think that’s what needs to happen on a state and national level if we are ever going to fix this problem.”
– – –
2002 SCHOOL REPORT CARDS
Ranking the region’s school districts by spending and salary
Here’s a breakdown of the districts in the six-county Chicago area that spend the most and least per pupil and have the highest and lowest teacher salaries. Included are county (C) and percentage of test scores that met or exceeded state standards (MET) in four categories: elementary, high school, special education and limited English.
Counties: Cook (C) DuPage (D) Kane (K) Lake (L) McHenry (M) Will (W)
%%
HIGH SCHOOL DISTRICTS
By per-pupil spending (State average: $11,167)
FIVE HIGHEST C SPENDING MET
Highland Park H S Dist 113 L $17,636 77%
Evanston Twp H S Dist 202 C 16,284 65%
Northfield Twp H S Dist 225 C 14.931 82%
Niles Twp Comm H S Dist 219 C 14,672 67%
New Trier Twp H S Dist 203 C 14,314 89%
FIVE LOWEST C SPENDING MET
Marengo Comm H S Dist 154 M $6,352 63%
McHenry Comm H S Dist 156 M 7,578 61%
Lincoln-Way Comm H S Dist 210 W 8,349 68%
Grayslake Comm H S Dist 127 L 8,731 66%
Warren Twp H Sl Dist 121 L 8,799 66%
By average teacher salary (State average: $65,699)
FIVE HIGHEST C SALARY MET
Palatine H S Dist 211 C $87,677 66%
Highland Park H S Dist 113 L 77,878 77%
Northfield Twp H S Dist 225 C 77,862 82%
Lake Forest Comm H S Dist 115 L 75,902 85%
New Trier Twp H S Dist 203 C 75,480 89%
FIVE LOWEST C SALARY MET
Marengo Comm H S Dist 154 M $43,554 63%
Richmond-Burton C H S D 157 M 44,498 71%
Grayslake Comm H S Dist 127 L 52,427 66%
Antioch Comm H S Dist 117 L 53,853 59%
Joliet Twp High School Dist 204 W 54,652 35%
ELEMENTARY DISTRICTS
By per-pupil spending (State average: $7,442)
FIVE HIGHEST C SPENDING MET
Rondout School Dist 72 L $18,225 79%
Butler School Dist 53 D 14,378 88%
Norridge School Dist 80 C 13,431 76%
Northbrook Elem School Dist 27 C 12,395 85%
Salt Creek School Dist 48 D 12,289 78%
FIVE LOWEST C SPENDING MET
Summit Hill School Dist 161 W $4,816 77%
Mokena School Dist 159 W 4,865 79%
Maywood-Melrose Pk Dist 89 C 4,881 35%
Marengo-Union El Cons D 165 M 4,913 65%
Elwood C C School Dist 203 W 4,948 67%
By average teacher salary (State average: $47,163)
FIVE HIGHEST C SALARY MET
Rondout School Dist 72 L $69,409 79%
Butler School Dist 53 D 66,782 88%
Northbrook/Glenview Sch Dist 30 C 62,543 88%
Hinsdale C C School Dist 181 D 61,803 92%
Schaumburg C C School Dist 54 C 60,928 75%
FIVE LOWEST C SALARY MET
Joliet School Dist 81 W $31,098 62%
Fairmont School Dist 89 W 35,205 25%
Sauk Village School Dist 168 C 35,658 57%
Will County School Dist 92 W 35,694 70%
Steger School Dist 194 C 35,843 60%
UNIT DISTRICTS (Districts that include grades K-12)
By per-pupil spending (State average: $7,546)
FIVE HIGHEST C SPENDING MET
Reed-Custer C U Sch Dist 255U W $11,009 66%
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Lisle C U School Dist 202 D 10,153 76%
Barrington C U School Dist 220 L 9,549 83%
North Chicago School Dist 187 L 9,363 43%
Westmont C U School Dist 201 D 9,224 74%
FIVE LOWEST C SPENDING MET
Wilmington C U Sch Dist 209U W $5,726 68%
Harvard C U School Dist 50 M 6,227 51%
Plainfield School Dist 202 W 6,270 67%
Beecher C U School Dist 200U W 6,317 76%
Peotone C U School Dist 207U W 6,346 69%
By average teacher salary (State average: $47,828)
FIVE HIGHEST C SALARY MET
Westmont C U Sch Dist 201 D $64,033 74%
Barrington C U School Dist 220 L 61,964 83%
Naperville C U Dist 203 D 61,131 86%
Lisle C U School Dist 202 D 59,807 76%
Elmhurst School Dist 205 D 58,768 80%
FIVE LOWEST C SALARY MET
Wilmington C U Sch Dist 209U W $36,882 68%
Alden-Hebron School Dist 19 M 37,323 68%
Huntley School Dist 158 M 37,530 72%
Plainfield School Dist 202 W 37,930 67%
Beecher C U School Dist 200U W 38,028 76%
Overall statewide average
Illinois mandates four separate tests for public elementary, high school
and special education students as well as students with limited English
proficiency.
Below standards/ academic warning: 39.9%
Meets or exceeds standards: 60.1%
Standards and results for 2002 ISAT
Students at select grade levels take the Illinois Standards
Achievement Test to measure skills in five subject areas.
Percentage of students in each category
Academic Below Meets Exceeds
warning standards standards standards
3RD GRADE
Reading 6.8 31.0 43.6 18.60
Math 7.2 18.6 43.9 30.30
Writing 9.0 34.3 53.6 3.00
4TH GRADE
Science 7.6 25.2 53.3 13.80
Social Science 9.6 30.5 53.7 6.20
5TH GRADE
Reading 1.5 39.4 36.8 22.3
Math 5.2 32.0 54.9 7.9
Writing 5.8 35.4 53.9 4.9
7TH GRADE
Science 9.9 16.8 56.2 17.1
Social Science 1.8 39.6 47.5 11.1
8TH GRADE
Reading 1.0 31.1 57.8 10.2
Math 7.3 40.2 37.3 15.2
Writing 5.2 32.3 57.3 5.2
2002 Prairie State Achievement Examination results
11th -grade students are required to take the PSAE, which measures
achievement of the Illinois Learning Standards.
Reading 8.0 33.9 45.2 13.0
Writing 6.4 34.1 49.5 10.0
Math 10.0 36.4 45.2 8.4
Science 10.6 36.6 41.1 11.7
Social Science 7.1 36.1 42.7 14.0
Top schools in the six-county region
Rankings from the Illinois Standards Achievement Test and Prairie State
Achievement Exam are based on a school’s combined test scores.
AREA SCHOOLS WITH BEST OVERALL 2002 ISAT RESULTS
Not all schools include all grade levels that were tested (3,4,5,7,8).
Ranked on percentage of test scores that met or exceeded state standards
SCHOOL CITY GRADE TESTED* PCT
Young Magnet High School Chicago 7,8 99.8
Middlefork Primary School Northfield 3 99.4
Lenart Elem Regional Gifted Ctr Chicago 3,4,5,7 98.7
Decatur Classical Elem School Chicago 3,4,5 98.6
Edison Elem Regional Gifted Ctr Chicago 3,4,5,7 99.6
Monroe Elementary School Hinsdale 3,4,5 96.6
Harlan Comm Academy H School Chicago 7 96.0
Lincoln Elementary School River Forest 3,4 95.3
(The city name for Lincoln Elementary School as published has been
corrected in this text.)
Edgebrook Elementary School Chicago 3,4,5,7,8 95.3
Prairie Crossing Charter School Grayslake 3,4 95.2
Pleasant Hill Elementary School Palatine 3,4,5 95.2
Crow Island Elementary School Winnetka 3,4 95.0
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Prospect Elementary School Clarendon Hills 3,4,5 94.9
Harper Elementary School Wilmette 3,4 94.9
Madison Elementary School Hinsdale 3,4,5 94.9
* Omitted grades means grade does not exist at school.
AREA SCHOOLS WITH BEST 2002 PSAE SCORES
Ranked on percentage of test scores that met or exceeded state standards
SCHOOL CITY PCT
Northside College Prep. H. School Chicago 96.4
Young Magnet High School Chicago 92.7
New Trier Township High School Winnetka 90.0
Hinsdale Central High School Hinsdale 87.0
Glenbrook North High School Northbrook 86.6
Stevenson High School Lincolnshire 85.9
Naperville Central High School Naperville 85.4
Lake Forest High School Lake Forest 85.2
Deerfield High School Deerfield 84.7
Naperville North High School Chicago Naperville 82.6
%% ———-
Check scores Search for summaries of the test results for your school at chicagotribune.com/schools