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Edward Osby, a welding instructor at Simeon Career Academy, points to the white marker board in his classroom and notes that the math problem on it is not one that should stymie high school students. Yet months into the year, he’s still teaching it.

“Students should know how to convert six-tenths of a yard into inches,” Osby says. Such a proclamation—that students are behind academically—is not unusual in CPS. At almost 85 percent of high schools, the average scores of incoming freshmen are far below national norms.

In Osby’s welding class, students immediately see how their...

Behind the city’s hard sell to be selected as the host city for the 2016 Olympics, Mayor Richard M. Daley is working with business leaders to make sure that Chicago has an ample supply of hospitality workers to take care of tourists.

Hospitality is one of the four shortage areas that are the focus of the city’s effort to revamp workforce development, including career training in Chicago’s public schools. The other areas are nursing, transportation and technology.

The campaign stems from the need to close a statewide deficit of so-called middle-skill workers—those who have a...

Walk into any CPS high school and you’re likely to see college banners as well as posters urging students to fill out financial aid forms or go on college tours.

The message is loud and clear: College is the path to success.

The displays underscore an ongoing tension about the value of career and technical education in a society that promotes a bachelor’s degree as the best route to a good job. In a recent broadcast of the ABC newsmagazine “20/20,” some experts challenged that conventional wisdom with the assertion that some students may earn more, and do better career-wise...