Introduction to the Issues

In 1995, the state of Illinois granted new powers to Chicago's Mayor, Richard Daley. Daley used these powers on July 1, 1995 to appoint a new Board of Trustees and management team to run the Chicago Public Schools. Major issues involved in the reform movement headed by Daley and his team include budget problems, teacher contracts and a series of "Children First" educational initiatives.

Since 1995, many initial improvements have been made with regards to financial problems and teacher contracts which have received widespread approbation. However, the educational initiatives aimed at raising academic achievement have proven controversial. In the fall of 1996, Chicago Public Schools Chief Paul Vallas placed 109 schools on academic probation, skipping the remediation step for many. School level remediation and probation are legally defined as separate stages in a process aimed at improving school performance. School remediation and probation were created by the original School Reform Act. In 1995, revisions to the Reform Act gave the power to place schools on remediation or probation to the school system's chief executive officer; Paul Vallas currently occupies that position.

Under law, a school that has failed to develop or adequately implement a school improvement plan may be placed on remediation. If it is determined that a school's problems cannot be rectified under remediation, the law states that that school may be placed on probation. A school does not need to undergo remediation before being placed on probation. Vallas has skipped the remediation process for many schools and has placed them directly on probation.

In determining remediation or probation status for schools, the Vallas administration has developed criteria which focus almost exclusively on a school's percentage of students scoring at or above the national average on the elementary school Iowa Test of Basic Skills (ITBS) or the high school Tests of Achievement and Proficiency (TAP). Vallas chose these tests as the probation standard in a last minute decision and despite the fact that they had been deemphasized in recent years and the focus had been on the statewide Illinois Goal Assessment Program (IGAP) tests.

The Illinois State Board of Education had previously established an "academic watch list," which means that for three years in a row, at least 50% of the school's students have not met minimum state requirements on the Illinois Goals Assessment Program (IGAP) tests, and the school's scores are not rising. The IGAP tests are tied to the Illinois State Goals for Learning and the Chicago Academic Standards and Frameworks. In November of 1996, Vallas shifted his focus to the ITBS and TAP results placing schools on probation where less than 15 percent of the students scored at or above national norms on the reading section of the ITBS, and in high schools, on the TAP. Vallas made the decision to switch tests in without informing schools in advance. On September 18, 1996, he announced a decision to use both reading and math scores, and on September 30, 1996, announced the criteria for the first time. As a result, many schools which had focused on the IGAP tests and had made significant score improvements were still placed on remediation or probation.

Under the Vallas probation strategy a school must develop a plan to address their deficiencies. The Vallas administration assists schools under probation by sending intervention teams to the schools to: identify strengths and weaknesses; interview teachers and administrators; analyze classroom instruction for minutes of instruction, teaching methods, whether lesson plans are followed, whether lessons are aligned with state goals, and how special education and bilingual students are treated; assess building security and cleanliness; and review the budget. Schools chose an outside educational organization with which to work on curriculum and instruction; a portion of the organization's fee is paid for from the school's budget. Their initial choices were: DePaul University School of Education (School Achievement Structure), DePaul University Center for Urban Education, the Erikson Institute, Malcolm X College (Direct Instruction), National-Louis University, Northeastern Illinois University and Roosevelt University. Project mangers were appointed to asses whether schools were acting on their remediation plans. There was a manager for elementary schools, high schools, special education, bilingual programs, local school councils and Direct Instruction and the School Achievement Structure.

If a school does not make adequate progress under probation the central administration can legally dismiss principals and teachers, new local school council elections can be ordered, schools may be shut down and reopened with new staff and programs, or they may be closed down. The Vallas administration is providing probation project managers who will assist schools with their changes and serve as a liaison with the Office of Accountability. If the school requests, they will be assigned a school business manager so the principal may focus on education. Each region will be assigned three mentors for principals to use as a resource; schools moving from remediation to probation will continue to work with their outside organization and those directly assigned to probation will begin work with the organization of their choice. The Teacher Accountability Unit will aid principals in staff evaluations and evaluating staffing needs. All probation teams will include the school principal and a member of the local school council.

Schools which are reconstituted, those which are temporarily shut down and reopened with new staff and programs, undergo a more severe intervention program. When the school is shut down, an intervention team interviews every member of the administration, faculty and staff and reviews all the evaluations. Decisions are made about retaining and firing teachers, staff and administration, new staff and administrators are hired, a school plan is developed and the school is reopened with a new focus.

The reform movement, through state law applicable to Chicago, has made it somewhat easier for principals to remove poorly performing teachers. Principals or their designee must evaluate the classroom performance of a teacher twice during the school year; at lease one of the classroom visits must be made by the principal. During these visits a teacher visitation form is completed by placing check marks or short comments under the categories of "strength," "weakness," or "does not apply" for a long series of criteria. The criteria are grouped under headings of: "instruction", the "school environment," "professional and personal standards," and the Chicago Academic Standards and Framework. In addition, the form asks for an evaluation of the teacher's interaction with the "school-wide environment," "community relationships," " and "professional responsibilities" using the same categories. Before the end of the year, the principal prepares the "Teacher Evaluation Review" form and shares this with the teacher. The form allows for the principal to comment on the teacher's performance and requires that the teacher receive one of four performance ratings: superior, excellent, satisfactory or unsatisfactory. A teacher who receives an unsatisfactory rating will begin the teacher remediation process.

Teachers within their first three years of service are considered probationary teachers. Whenever a principal determines that a probationary teacher is perfuming unsatisfactorily, the principal officially notifies the teacher and arranges a conference at which the principal states the reasons for the rating and offers suggestions and assistance to the teacher for improvement. Following this original meeting, the principal visits the teacher at least three times and has at least three conferences with the teacher, and provides the teacher with written suggestions. The district superintendent also visits the teacher. Forty school days after the issuance of the first unsatisfactory rating, the principal will again evaluate the teacher. If the teacher is still unsatisfactory, the principal will present a written notice to the teacher in a private conference. The Department of Personnel then calls a conference with the teacher, the principal, the district superintendent, and the assistant superintendent in charge of personnel during which the teacher's rating is discussed and at the conclusion a recommendation is made to the General Superintendent of Schools regarding the action to be taken.

Tenured teachers, teachers who have been with the school system for at least three years, undergo a different evaluation process. After two separate instances of in-class observation, the principal may determine that the performance of a tenured teacher is unsatisfactory. At this time, the principal will notify the teacher in writing and hold a conference with the teacher. Within 10 days, a consulting teacher is selected to aid the unsatisfactory teacher and a plan of remediation is determined by the principal and the consulting teacher. After the remediation plan has been determined, the teacher then has 45 days to rectify his or her performance before another evaluation. If, at this evaluation, the principal deems the teacher satisfactory, the teacher will undergo a year of monthly and quarterly evaluations, before being reinstated to the schedule of annual evaluations. If the teacher's performance has not improved after this initial 45 days, the principal may begin dismissal proceedings, or the principal may decide to extend the remediation period. The remediation period can be extended for an additional 45 days on four occasions. If after the final remediation period the teacher's performance is still unsatisfactory, dismissal proceedings will begin.

Once a teacher has been dismissed, whether it results from school reconstitution, unsatisfactory performance, declining school enrollments or program changes, that teacher will receive pay for 10 months while he or she searches for a new permanent job within the system. This time period was cut from 20 months in July of 1997. If teachers are not hired within 30 days they must serve as substitute teachers within the system four days each week.

In 1996, Chicago Public Schools also ended their policy of social promotion and established test-based requirements for student promotion. Students in the third, sixth and eighth grades who are determined to be "underachieving" are required to attend summer bridge programs. Students must attend summer bridge if: they receive a failing grade in reading or math, they fall below board-set cutoff scores on the math or reading portions of the Iowa Test of Basic Skills, or they have low test scores and more than 20 days of unexcused absences. Only upon successful completion of the summer bridge program can a student be promoted to the next grade; if a student fails to attend Summer Bridge he or she will not be promoted. "Success" in summer bridge is determined by a score on a standardized test administered at the end of the program. For example, students in the eighth grade who fail to score a grade equivalent score of 6.9 or higher on the Iowa Test of Basic Skills (ITBS) after the summer bridge program will repeat the grade. A grade equivalent score of 6.9 represents the normal achievement level of an average sixth grade student in the ninth month of the school year on an eighth grade test. Eighth grade students under the age of 15 whose scores did not meet the requirement will return to their elementary schools, while those over 15 will attend a special transition facility.

The Vallas administration credits itself with many positive results from the reforms in the Chicago Public School System. Specifically, his administration cites higher test scores, increased financial stability and more secure teacher contracts. However, there are also many issues of concern and many problems which have yet to be fully resolved.

Many question whether the standardized tests which are being used to evaluate students and schools, are being used appropriately. The Riverside Publishing Company, which produces the Iowa Tests, requires all school systems which use its test to sign a contract stating that the test results will not be used as the single evaluation factor for high stake decisions about students. Contrary to that document, Chicago has been using the Iowa tests to determine grade promotion for students, as well as remediation, probation and reconstitution status for schools. There are also technical issues of reliability and questions about the impact of the tests on school curriculum. Students who attend summer bridge take two different versions of the Iowa Tests, one in the spring which determines their participation in summer bridge, and a different version at the end of the program to determine whether they may be promoted. This presents a reliability problem when attempting to compare students' achievement on the two tests. Using one standardized test to evaluate students and schools can have a significant impact on curriculum on schools, and the ramifications of the use of the Iowa has not yet been assessed in Chicago schools. There has also not yet been a comprehensive study on the effect of the summer school program on students. The first group of eighth graders went through the summer bridge program approximately one year ago, and no one has yet determined the effects of the program on the students' school achievement or the likelihood that they will drop out of school.

Official Documents

Newspaper Articles

05/17/98; St. Petersburg Times

By KENT FISCHER

http://www.sptimes.com/Worldandnation/51798/Chicago_schools_take_.html

• School systems around the nation use many techniques to fight social promotion, but each district's strategy has a common ingredient. Gumption. The districts have set clear, tough academic standards, and stood firm against parents who wanted exceptions made for their children. In Chicago, educators eliminated unsuccessful programs, and transferred the money into projects that work. They returned to the basics: mandatory homework every night, compulsory tutoring for students who continue to lag and an increased emphasis on reading, writing and 'rithmitic. "There's no magic, we just re-introduced something called studying," says Blondean Davis, an assistant superintendent in Chicago.

1/11/98: Detroit News

http://detnews.com:80/1998/nation/9801/11/01110027.htm

• Students at the King School in Chicago are showing their dislike for the recent reconstituion of their high school by a rash of fire alarm pullings. The reform movement in Chicago has been heralded as a model for urban districts around the country, but the positive changes often cited by School Chief Paul Vallas are not recognized with enthusiasm by all. "King is a place where new administrators are hampered by their inexperience; teachers are roiled by in-fighting and frozen with cynicism, and students are daunted by great expectations and distracted by everything from the lure of gangs to the squalls of their own babies."

1/6/98; San Francisco Chronicle

http://www.sfgate.com:80/cgi-bin/chronicle/article.cgi?file=MN44392.DTL&directory=/chronicle/archive/1998/01/06

• Citing Edison Elementary School as an example, this article illuminates many problems with reconstitution efforts and attempts to delineate the actions of successfully reconstituted schools from those in which it was a negative event.

12/11/97; PR Newswire

http://www.prnewswire.com:80/cgi-bin/stories.pl?ACCT=104&STORY=/www/story/12-11-97/376884&EDATE=

• The 1988 Chicago School Reform Act mandated the formation of Local School Councils in order to involve parents and community members in improving education, safety, and order in their local schools. The Act gave the LSC the power to hire and fire the principal, approve the budget, and implement a School Improvement Plan (SIP). Such authority is vastly greater than most other urban school districts around the country, where local school councils have, at best, an advisory role, and is a distinctive element of the Chicago's citywide approach to school reform.

12/05/97; LA Times; Column One
By Stephan Braun, Times Staff Writer

http://www.latimes.com:80/CNS_DAYS/971205/t000110103.html

•  After years of churning out poorly equipped students, King was "reconstituted" last summer, one of seven Chicago high schools designated as failing and in desperate need of radical therapy. Under orders from school officials, King's former principal was ousted, nearly half its 62 veteran teachers were exiled and its 700 students were put on notice that graduation is no longer a sure bet. Yellow-and-black uniforms and identification tags are now mandatory. Teachers are struggling to comply with orders exhorting a quantum leap in standardized test scores next March.

11/05/97;  Education Week on the Web

http://www.edweek.org/htbin/fastweb?getdoc+view4+ew1997+1721+0+wAAA+%26%28Chicago%26Study%26Credits%26School-Based%26Reforms%29%26AND%26%28Chicago%26Study%26Credits%26School-Based%26Reforms%29%3AKEYWORDS%26OR%26%28Chicago%26Study%26Credits%26School-Based%

• When Illinois legislators restructured the troubled Chicago public schools in 1988, no one knew to what extent giving parents, principals, and teachers control of school campuses would affect student achievement. According to a study released last week by a local reform group, the change was for the better. But some researchers questioned its conclusions. Nearly half of the 420 schools examined showed either significant progress in reading or maintained their test scores above the national average, the study says. About one in four elementary schools made impressive gains. Those schools posted an average seven-year gain of 15 percent in the proportion of students who scored at or above the national average on the Iowa Test of Basic Skills in reading. The study's authors emphasized that those 111 schools educate about 65,000 students--roughly the enrollment of the entire Denver public schools.

10/29/97: The Los Angeles Times

http://www.latimes.com/sbin/my_iarecord.pl?NS-doc-path=/CNS_DAYS/971029/t000097325.html&NS-doc-offset=17&NS-collection=971029&NS-search-set=/var/tmp/34574/aaaa005o65741cd&

• While visiting Chicago Public Schools, Clinton encouraged the nation to follow Chicago's lead in the education reform movemnt. Clinton supports the end of social promotion, standardized testing programs and local intervention at failing schools. The controversy over school reform continues as House and Senate leaders work on drafting funding legislation for the departments of Labor, Education and Health and Human Services.

10/29/97; Philadelphia Inquirer

http://www.phillynews.com:80/inquirer/97/Oct/29/national/EDUC29.htm

• Clinton endorsed a pioneering program under which Chicago has tested tens of thousands of students for promotion and held back unprecedented numbers who failed to meet academic standards. At the same time, Clinton directed the Education Department to help other school districts replicate another cornerstone of the Chicago reform: aggressive intervention by local school officials to seize control of failing schools.

10/28/97; Reuters

http://nt.excite.com:80/reuters/971028/14.NEWS-EDUCATION.html

• CHICAGO (Reuters) - President Clinton said Tuesday students who fall short of academic standards should not be promoted and said the U.S. government will help state and local authorities revive underperforming public schools. Speaking at the Oscar Mayer Elementary School, Clinton praised Chicago's efforts in reviving an ailing school system. "I want what is happening in Chicago to happen all over America," Clinton said.

09/19/97; The Chicago Tribune

http://www.chicago.tribune.com/news/probate/top.htm

• With political pressure mounting to hold schools more accountable for how well students do, the state on Thursday followed Chicago's lead and took the first step toward closing Illinois' worst schools.

09/15/97:The Chicago Sun Times

http://www.suntimes.com:80/output/capletters/cap15i.htm

• Democratic Illinois Representatives Jesse L. Jackson Jr., and Luis Guttierrez have voiced disapproval of Clinton's National Voluntary Test. They are in firm support of the tests which are being instituted in Chicago Public Schools by Mayor Richard Daley and schools chief Paul Vallas because, they say, the Chicago test is being used to improve student performance, while the Education Department's goals are unclear.

10/27/96; The Chicago Tribune

http://www.chicago.tribune.com/news/probate/von1.htm

• None of the 6th graders in Renee Bearak's reading class is reading at grade level. All are at least two years behind and scored well below national norms on standardized tests. That's the major reason the school was among the 109 Chicago Public Schools placed on academic probation last month -- and why an undercurrent of tension now pervades life there as the school awaits the first visit of an official team sent in by schools chief Paul Vallas. The team is charged with figuring out what's awry at the school and, specifically, how to raise reading scores.

11/30/96; The Chicago Tribune

http://www.chicago.tribune.com/news/probate/von2.htm

• In February, a school board remediation team found some strengths at Von Humboldt, such as a positive school climate and an average of 24 pupils to a classroom, but it also found problems: teachers not having lesson plans, some unattractive classrooms, the absence of "learning centers" or mini-libraries in most classrooms, lesson plans that didn't reflect state educational goals and insufficient materials in bilingual classes.

02/08/97; The Chicago Tribune

http://www.chicago.tribune.com/news/probate/probate.htm

• The Illinois Goal Assessment Program tests are just four weeks away and the Iowa Tests of Basic Skills less than three months down the road. Both tests are considered key gauges of whether the much-touted probation initiative announced by the School Reform Board of Trustees in September turns out to be just another in a long list of ignominious attempts at reforming some of Chicago's worst schools.

03/08/97; The Chicago Tribune

http://www.chicago.tribune.com/news/probate/four.htm

• The annual IGAP test measures whether all schools are meeting state standards, but in Chicago, the IGAP results will play the additional role of measuring the progress of Von Humboldt Elementary School at 2620 W. Hirsch St. and 108 other Chicago public schools on academic probation.
  

05/05/97; The Chicago Tribune

http://www.chicago.tribune.com/news/probate/050597.htm

• Von Humboldt's probation journey, as well as JoMarie's 6th grade education, will soon reach a climax when all 483 elementary schools -- including the 71 on probation -- take the Iowa Tests of Basic Skills this week, the only objective measure of whether any Chicago public schools have improved since Mayor Daley's executive team assumed control almost two years ago.

05/24/97; The Chicago Tribune

http://www.chicago.tribune.com/news/probate/vh6.htm

• In all, 49 of 105 6th graders will be required to attend summer school because they failed to score at least a 5.3 grade level in reading and math. The numbers were no better elsewhere in the school: Summer school will be mandatory for 64 of 109 pupils in 3rd grade and 49 of 94 8th graders.
  

05/24/97; The Chicago Tribune

http://www.chicago.tribune.com/news/probate/052397.htm

• Whether the slew of probation managers, external partners and other visits by the central administration produced tangible changes in instruction remains debatable. But one thing seems indisputable: Probation delivered a psychological punch. "What these scores tell me is that probation is working," Vallas said. Of the 71 elementary schools on probation, 54 improved in reading and 69 in math, according to preliminary reports on the test scores. On Thursday, officials said 22 of those schools are now eligible to be removed from the designation.

06/17/97; The Chicago Tribune

http://www.chicago.tribune.com/news/probate/vh7.htm

• In a scene playing out this week at many of Chicago's 483 public elementary schools -- where a fourth of 8th graders systemwide will not graduate and will have to attend summer school -- Von Humboldt's graduation ceremony was more bittersweet than the academic milestone has ever been at the 112-year-old school.

06/28/97; The Chicago Tribune

http://www.chicago.tribune.com/news/probate/end.htm

• At Von Humboldt, educators learned that selecting a new educational consultant midyear can cause academic setbacks. Also, its textbooks and curriculum may not be teaching all the skills required on standardized tests. So it is now embarking on programs to audit texts, encourage parents to watch over their kids' homework and reading time, to group classes differently and double time spent on reading.

08/16/97; The Chicago Tribune

http://www.chicago.tribune.com/news/probate/081697.htm

• Results at the end of summer school showed that 56 percent of all summer school 3rd graders failed and will be forced to repeat their grade, the figure at Von Humboldt was 71 percent: Only 18 of 62 passed. While 43 percent of all 6th graders enrolled in summer school in Chicago flunked, Von Humboldt saw 66 percent fail to make the cut: Only 15 of 44 passed. And for 8th grade summer school, the systemwide failure figure was 38 percent, compared to 58 percent at Von Humboldt.

08/16/97; The Chicago Tribune

http://www.chicago.tribune.com/news/probate/schools.htm

• Lists all of the Illinois schools currently on probation.

Catalyst

http://www.catalyst-chicago.org/Welcome.html

• Catalyst is an independent publication covering the progress, problems and politics of school reform in Chicago since 1989.

Chicago Educator

http://www.cps.k12.il.us/newspaper/chgoed2.html

Chicago Public Schools

http://www.cps.k12.il.us/index.html

Design for Change

http://www.dfc1.org/

Chicago Public Schools - School Information Database

http://acct.multi1.cps.k12.il.us/

Chicago School Reform Board of Trustees

http://aix.cps.edu/bianca_stuff/trustees.htmls

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