WBEZ
Chicago Public Schools for decades has shouldered a reputation shared by big-city school districts across the country — perennially challenged by poverty and chronically low-performing. It was 30 years ago this year that the U.S. secretary of education declared the school district the “worst in the nation.”
But even as Illinois’ largest school district reels from an ongoing budget crisis, a string of recent studies is challenging the perception of CPS academics as lacking...