Catalyst Chicago
Chicago Public Schools students did not make significant improvement over the past two years in reading and continued to lag behind other large cities in reading and math on the National Assessment of Educational Progress.But there are a few bright spots for CPS. Unlike New York City, none of the average scores dropped, though only in 8th-grade math was there a marked gain in average scores.
Also, fewer students are scoring below basic, especially in 8th grade math. (Below basic is the lowest category.) In 2002, 58 percent of CPS 8th-graders scored below basic in math; in 2009, the number fell to 49 percent and in 2011, to 40 percent...