catalyst-chicago.org

Shenice began cutting classes at Tilden High in New City shortly after Christmas break last year. She can't think of a reason other than "I just got bored." The 15-year-old failed four classes that semester, greatly boosting the chances she would not graduate on time.

Anita Andrews, assistant principal at Gage Park High, likes to tell this story about her boss, Principal Wilfredo Ortiz:

Driving on 55th Street to a central office meeting, Ortiz spotted a group of truant Gage Park students strolling down the sidewalk. He pulled over, collected their ID tags and ordered them back to school. He went back, too, and called their parents. When he couldn't get through, "He got back in his car, went to their houses, and brought their parents back to the school building," Andrews recalls with amazement. "I don't know where he gets all that energy."

Testing young children is a dicey proposition. On one hand, educators and policy-makers agree that finding out what preschoolers know and building on those skills is important. It is also essential, they say, to determine whether preschool programs are delivering the goods and sufficiently preparing youngsters for grade school.

Yet, early childhood experts warn that much is unknown about how best to teach reading and early math to 3- and 4-year-olds, and that too much emphasis on these academic skills could be detrimental.