Diane Rado – Page 7 –

5th graders Mihir Sheth and Julia Toth are recorded near a green screen as they say their multiplication tables in their revamped classroom at Meadowview Elementary School in Woodridge, Nov. 4, 2015.

Illinois schools’ strengths, weaknesses exposed in statewide survey

June 16, 2018 at 10:39 a.m.

Like educators across Illinois, Bolingbrook High School teachers were asked to share candid observations about their administrators as part of an anonymous state survey earlier this year — and they...

State school Superintendent Tony Smith, shown April 22, 2015, in Chicago, touted gains in college readiness among high school graduates in 2015 during a media call on Oct. 30.

Illinois public schools chief touts academic gains, admits more work to be done

May 25, 2019 at 1:00 p.m.

State school Superintendent Tony Smith on Friday touted increases in the percentage of 2015 high school graduates considered prepared for college classes, even as the state's own analysis reveals a...

Seniors Eshwar Kishore, left, and Raqib Adebayo raise their hands during an Advanced Placement chemistry class at Fremd High School in Palatine.

Most Illinois high schools leave grads unprepared for college

May 25, 2019 at 1:00 p.m.

Most Illinois high schools are sending off the majority of their graduates unprepared for college, five years after Illinois launched an academic overhaul called Common Core to get students ready...

Illinois Rep. Jack Franks, D-Marengo, watches the vote tote board while on the House floor during session at the Illinois State Capitol Wednesday, Sept. 2, 2015, in Springfield, Ill.

Lawmaker miffed after Illinois education leaders skip meeting on perks

August 19, 2019 at 12:19 a.m.

Illinois' state school superintendent and the chairman of the Illinois State Board of Education declined to appear before a legislative committee Tuesday morning, escalating tensions between lawmakers and education officials...

Former state schools Superintendent Christopher Koch has drawn criticism for leaving his post with nearly $207,000 on top of his regular salary because of a severance payment and money for unused vacation days. The Tribune has found several dozen other departing staffers also got cash bonuses and payments for unused vacation, sick and personal days.

State education agency paid thousands to departing employees

August 19, 2019 at 12:18 a.m.

Lawmakers grilled Illinois State Board of Education officials this summer about an $89,000 severance payment awarded to outgoing state schools Superintendent Christopher Koch, but they likely didn't know the half...

State lawmakers want to know why schools Superintendent Tony Smith, shown in April, is receiving a special stipend in addition to his salary.

Lawmakers ask state education officials to explain superintendent perk

August 19, 2019 at 12:14 a.m.

The controversy over a special stipend given to new state school Superintendent Tony Smith isn't over yet. Lawmakers have asked Illinois State Board of Education officials to appear before a...

Rob Heald, right, and son Marco, 7, work together to find clues in a scavenger hunt during a "Family Education Night" at Shorewood Elementary School intended to help cement bonds between schools, parents and communities. Such initiatives will be considered in scoring of schools under a new state rating system.

Like kids, schools and districts will be graded on a 100-point scale

August 19, 2019 at 12:03 a.m.

Like students taking a traditional classroom test, schools and districts across Illinois will be evaluated on a 100-point scale and given labels such as "exemplar" for earning 90 to 100...

This sign sits on the desk of third-grade teacher Sara Ancira last year in Naperville. At two northwest suburban high schools, hundreds of students have declined to take the controversial PARCC exam.

Most Illinois students fall short on new PARCC tests

August 18, 2019 at 9:41 p.m.

In a troubling picture of performance, the vast majority of Illinois students failed to reach the high academic bar on the new state PARCC exams, meaning they weren't on track...

State superintendent letter warns schools to brace for PARCC results

August 18, 2019 at 9:25 p.m.

State schools Superintendent Tony Smith is bracing school districts for what could be the most dismal statewide test scores in years, indicating that students did worse last spring on the...

Luke Vander Pluym, second from left, a history, personal finance and civics instructor at Rickover Naval Academy, goes over a group exercise with other instructors, at George Westinghouse College Prep in Chicago on Aug. 26, 2015.

Civics class required for high school graduation will push the envelope

August 18, 2019 at 8:33 p.m.

A civics makeover is unfolding in a school cafeteria on Chicago's West Side, where some 40 Chicago Public School teachers are debating hot-button issues and role-playing as members and staffers...

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