ILLINOIS STUDENTS TEST: 

BELOW AVERAGE

Illinois Students Failing To Keep Pace
Chicago Tribune 9/26/07
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/chi-naep_26sep26,1,4533434.story

Illinois is 30th in achievement, and 5th in funding.  The results of our current educational system are not encouraging.  After spending nearly $10,000 a year on each public school student, half of Chicago’s high school freshman will drop out of school and 11% of Illinois college students need remedial courses once they get to college.  But perhaps the worst measure-  the pay for performance standard-  Illinois is 5th in the nation in education funding, but 30th in the nation in student achievement (index of 15 variables calculated by Education Week).

Results going lower.   Four years ago (2003), Illinois public school kids tested higher than the national average at every grade level.  In 2007, Illinois children scored lower than or equal to the national averages in all but one category.  Drops in many areas were steep:  in 2003, on the national reading exam, only 35% of eighth graders were proficient and by 2007-  only 30% are proficient.  A nearly 20% drop in reading scores represents only one segment (reading) and one grade (eighth) of a report describing the horrific state of education in Illinois.  Source:  www.nationsreportcard.gov

$20 billion spent per year.    Illinois spends $20 billion per year on public education!  Are we receiving value for our money?  Historically, Illinois residents have been very serious about the importance of education.  Education is the second highest line item in the state government budget-  trailing only healthcare.  Combined with local funding, Illinois education expenditures rank in the top 5 in the nation.  Having 900 public school districts, 4,000 public schools and 1,400 nonpublic schools, Illinois has 2.3 million students attending school.  We have a duty to our future to maximize the education for our children.

In Illinois, local sources-  primarily through property taxes-  pay most of the education bill:  nearly 56 cents on each dollar.  This reliance on local funding puts Illinois 3rd in the country behind only Rhode Island (59.4%) and New Jersey (58.6%).  The state funds 34% of the bill and the feds kick in the final 10%.  Most states fund about half of the public education tab. 

In Illinois, the concept of having local taxpayers fund their local schools should provide accountability to taxpayers.  Of course, local control of schools works best in neighborhoods that have good family and social infrastructure.  In poor areas, the percentage of intact families is also lower.  Therefore, the really good concept of the  entity closest to the problem being empowered to help solve the problem, doesn't work at all when the party responsible for the control is broken to begin with.

High Quality Teachers Not Identified.   The biggest impact on student achievement is top quality teachers.  So eliminating weak teachers is a high priority.  In the 2002 No Child Left Behind Law, the feds made every state submit plans for ensuring that a “highly qualified teacher” would be teaching every student.  Illinois only partly met the federal requirements.  Illinois was cited for failing to identify schools with large numbers of teachers who were not high qualified- amongst other citations.  In fact, Illinois watered down the definition of “highly qualified” to the point that the term became meaningless.  Illinois is not serious about cultivating exceptional teachers or a commitment to excellence in education.

Illinois has a watered down the state test.  The Illinois state tests show that students are making double-digit gains since 2003 on all but one grade level of the math and reading exams.  For example, the states eighth grade reading exam showed improvement from 64%-82%, but the National Assessment of Education test (discussed in paragraph 1) showed a drop of 35%-30%.  Mississippi is the most egregious example of a state dumbing down it’s test:  89% of fourth graders passed the state test in 2005, but only 18% passed the National Assessment (the Nations Report Card)!

Fund kids not bureaucracy.  A large amount of education funding never makes it to the classroom.  School administrators have outstanding compensation packages:  $6k car allowances, $250,000 salaries, etc.  In fact, Illinois kids get only 59 cents and the school bureaucracy gets 41 cents on each dollar “spent” on education!  Just recently, Texas standard set a new standard:  each school district must prove that 65% of the money goes to kids or the entire check register of that district must go online!  Every contract goes up on the web.  Transparancy is a bi-partisan solution that even Presidential candidate Barack Obama has endorsed. http://www.reason.org/oath/

Illinois kids #1 in Juvenile Violent Crime Index.  Time is of the essence, Illinois needs to solve education quickly.  Illinois ranks number 1/ 50 states on the Juvenile Violent Crime Index-  with nearly a full 1% of our 10- 17 year old children committing a violent crime. The old saying, “Idle minds are the devils workshop” appears to be true.  Source:  www.ojjdp.ncjrs.org

Illinois needs new and innovative ideas coupled with a backbone of determination and tenacity.

Sources and Resources:

2007 REPORT CARDS FOR ALL STATE SCHOOLS
50 Top Scoring State High Schools
View Story
50 Top Scoring State Middle Schools
View Story
50 Top Scoring Suburban Middle Schools
View Story
50 Top Scoring Chicago Middle Schools
View Story
50 Top Scoring State Elementary Schools
View Story
50 Top Scoing Suburban Elementary Schools
View Story
50 Top Scoring Chicago Elementary Schools
View Story
Chicago Sun-Times 10/31/2007
http://www.suntimes.com/pcds/cgi/schools.cgi

Interactive Illinois Report Card
http://iirc.niu.edu/

Illinois State Board of Education
Slogan:  Illinois Education:  2nd to None.
http://www.isbe.net/

Area Schools face new financial crisis
Daily Southtown  9/18/2007
http://www.dailysouthtown.com/news/kadner/561998,091807Kadner.article

Teacher punished for lounging during No Child Left Behind Test
Chicago Sun-Times  11/02/2007
http://www.suntimes.com/news/education/632175,CST-NWS-teach02.article