As CPS prepares to close a record number of schools, the fate of students and communities is in question.
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New schools: Drivers of change?
Over the past six years, the number of students in higher-performingschools—those in which the majority of students meet state averages onthe ISAT—rose 22 percent. But Renaissance 2010, Mayor Richard M. Daley’s grand 2004 plan to closelow-performing schools and replace them with better ones (mostly charters), has not been the main spark.
By: Sarah Karp / August 3, 2010
From the Summer 2010 issue of Catalyst-Chicago Renaissance 2010
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Map: School performance -
Chart: Snapshot of top schools -
Chart: Latinos left behind -
Chart: Graduate success -
Chart: School demographics
Not really. Over the past six years, the number of students inhigher-performing schools—those in which the majority of students meetstate averages on the ISAT—rose 22 percent.
But Renaissance 2010, Mayor Richard M. Daley’s grand 2004 plan to closelow-performing schools and replace them with better ones (mostly charters), has not been the main spark.
Charters, on average, are performing slightly better on test scoresthan neighborhood schools in their same community. But of the 56schools whose scores have risen above state averages since 2004, fewerthan a third are new schools.
Test score gains in existing neighborhood schools on the North Side did much more to drive scores up.
