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Adolescent Literacy

A raft of past programs have failed to substantially improve the reading skills of middle grade and high school students. CPS is trying once again, as part of a federal project that aims to help teens learn how to analyze complex non-fiction.

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testing and accountability

Why I boycotted the Prairie State test May 13, 2013 By: Timothy Anderson This spring, I got an unexpected tardy pass from the office at my school, telling me that I had been late to my homeroom. As it turned out, I was marked as late because my homeroom had been changed--I was assigned to a sophomore homeroom instead of a junior one. No one had talked to my mom or me about this. I only found about my demotion because I got a tardy. Read More \| (4) Comments	Testing headed for scrutiny amid protest, boycott April 25, 2013 By: Rebecca Harris Amid an escalating battle over standardized testing that included a “play-in” protest at CPS headquarters last week and a student boycott of the Prairie State Achievement Exam on Wednesday, CPS officials are undertaking a broad review of testing in the Read More \| (7) Comments
Parents, union launch attack against testing February 06, 2013 By: Rebecca Harris and Sarah Karp Parents at Coonley and Ray elementary schools were among those at more than 30 schools around Chicago who circulated petitions today demanding that schools scale back on standardized testing. Read More \| (11) Comments	In the News: CPS parents take on high-stakes testing February 06, 2013 By: Cassandra West A group of Chicago parents is mounting an effort to get CPS to limit standardized testing and provide more transparency about the costs, amount and stakes of the 22 tests now being administered in the district. They've launched a website and a petition. Read More \| (0) Comments
State says student test scores set to plummet under higher standards January 23, 2013 By: Sarah Karp Next year, parents likely will get a rude awakening when they are handed their child’s ISAT scores. After a decade in which ISAT cut scores crept down, state officials are poised to raise them, thereby likely reducing the number of students who meet or exceed standards. Read More \| (3) Comments	CPS, other districts pilot state kindergarten assessment December 21, 2012 By: Rebecca Harris CPS is one of more than 30 districts piloting a new three-times-a-year state assessment for kindergarteners, known as the Kindergarten Individual Development Survey. Read More \| (27) Comments
Parents, teachers air testing concerns at forum November 30, 2012 By: Rebecca Harris A growing number of parents seem to be intrigued by the idea of “opting out” from CPS tests, but are wondering about the implications of not having their children sit for the exams. About 75 people attended a Raise Your Hand forum on testing Thursday night. Also, a Facebook group called Opt Out Chicago now has about 100 members. Read More \| (4) Comments	New performance tasks show promise, but also problems November 30, 2012 By: Rebecca Harris This fall, CPS launched “performance tasks” – short assessments for nearly every subject and grade level that will be used in teacher evaluations. Read More \| (0) Comments
For the Record: School progress reports November 12, 2012 By: Sarah Karp CPS elementary schools, whether they are run by the district or by charter operators, perform about the same overall: A third are doing great, a third so-so and a third perform poorly, according to an analysis of CPS school ratings that were released Monday. Read More \| (2) Comments

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