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http://www.nypost.com/news/nationalnews/21812.htm
WINDY CITY SCHOOLS LET UP
By CARL CAMPANILE
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
March 25, 2004 -- CHICAGO, Ill. - Chicago's school system yesterday scaled back its sweeping program to end "social promotions" - a week after Mayor Bloomberg forced through his own program requiring tougher graduation requirements for New York City's third-graders.
Chicago imposed the strictest promotion standards of any of the nation's major cities in 1998, requiring st
dents to score well on national exams in both reading and math.
But the Chicago Board of Education yesterday revised the policy by dropping the requirement that students perform well on the math tes
t. <
br>
Under the new policy, approved unanimously, a student will be promoted if he
does well on the reading test - even if he or she flunks the math test.
The move comes amid rising concerns that too many kids in the Windy City were being held back.
A staggering 100,000 have been forced to repeat a grade since the high-stakes testing policy was implemented. The policy applied to students in the third, sixth and eighth grades.
Bloomberg's policy applies only to third-graders, but requires them to reach minimum standards on both the math and reading exams.
Chicago schools chief Arne Duncan yesterday insisted social promotion is still "absolutely . . . wrong" because it advances unprepared kids.
"You're setting them up for failure
later in life," he said.
He said the new policy would correctly focus on the more important of the two tests,
"We're putting a huge spotlight on reading," Duncan
said
.
Ch
icago also abandoned its practice of forcing a student to repeat a grade more than once if he or she does poorly on tests.
http://www.nypost.com/news/nationalnews/21812.htm
WINDY CITY SCHOOLS LET UP
By CARL CAMPANILE
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
March 25, 2004 -- CHICAGO, Ill. - Chicago's school system yesterday scaled back its sweeping program to end "social promotions" - a week after Mayor Bloomberg forced through his own program requiring tougher graduation requirements for New York City's third-graders.
Chicago imposed the strictest promotion standards of any of the nation's major cities in 1998, requiring st
dents to score well on national exams in both reading and math.
But the Chicago Board of Education yesterday revised the policy by dropping the requirement that students perform well on the math tes
t. <
br>
Under the new policy, approved unanimously, a student will be promoted if he
does well on the reading test - even if he or she flunks the math test.
The move comes amid rising concerns that too many kids in the Windy City were being held back.
A staggering 100,000 have been forced to repeat a grade since the high-stakes testing policy was implemented. The policy applied to students in the third, sixth and eighth grades.
Bloomberg's policy applies only to third-graders, but requires them to reach minimum standards on both the math and reading exams.
Chicago schools chief Arne Duncan yesterday insisted social promotion is still "absolutely . . . wrong" because it advances unprepared kids.
"You're setting them up for failure
later in life," he said.
He said the new policy would correctly focus on the more important of the two tests,
"We're putting a huge spotlight on reading," Duncan
said
.
Ch
icago also abandoned its practice of forcing a student to repeat a grade more than once if he or she does poorly on tests.