It’s no secret that America’s public schools aren’t in good shape, but finding out just how badly students are doing is going to come as a shock to many.
First, there was the pandemic, which shut kids inside like caged rats for two years. Then, there are the consistently falling standards that have already been plaguing schools, especially in crime-ridden inner-city neighborhoods.
Just how bad have things become? Read on and find out.
Can’t Read, Can’t Do Math
A new report about schools in Chicago alone, reveals that 55 public schools have no students who are actually able to proficiently read or do math at the grade level they are in.
The data comes from a Wirepoints report based on the Illinois Department of Education’s 2022 report on the state of their public schools. The state has given them billions in funding, but it hasn’t made a mark in far too many schools across states like Illinois and cities like Chicago.
As state Senator Willie Preston pointed out, children are being left behind and throwing money at the problem is clearly not the solution.
As a Democrat, Preston shares many of his party’s views, but he admits that government can’t be the “solution” for every problem out there.
Instead, Preston thinks parents need to get more involved in raising and disciplining their kids and schools need to start spending money well, instead of just wasting it.
FAILING SCHOOLS: 55 Chicago Public Schools Have No Students Proficient in Reading or Math https://t.co/FL3IMaibAc
— Joe Pags Pagliarulo (@JoeTalkShow) February 16, 2023
A Deeper Look at the Numbers
The 55 schools in question included 22 schools with zero students able to read at their grade level and 33 schools with zero students able to do math at the basics of their grade level.
Preston says this is mainly due to the pandemic when remote learning was put in place. Many kids didn’t receive the schooling they needed, partly in cases where they didn’t have access to computers or technology.
Here’s the problem with that: as the report authors point out, Chicago’s numbers in 2019 were not much better than this. Chicago public schools received $9.4 billion this fiscal year plus $1.8 billion extra through Biden’s American Rescue Plan.
Where are the results? It’s clearly not just bad teachers.
The more we turn a blind eye to these kinds of things, the more we pave the way to a crime-ridden, dangerous, and horrible future.
Even a quick look around shows Chicago is far from alone, with Baltimore, for example, reporting 23 public schools where zero students understand any basic math.
You read that right.
Report finds in 23 public schools in Baltimore NONE of the children understand basic math https://t.co/Hgjc281xDJ
— Daily Mail US (@DailyMail) February 14, 2023
The Bottom Line
Having this many grade school kids who can not do basic reading or math is a national shame. It’s time to stop making excuses and take a much more critical look at what’s going on in places like Chicago.
This article appeared in FreshOffThePress and has been published here with permission.
