Chicago City Wire

Wirepoints reports Chicago Public Schools is facing significant challenges in educating its Hispanic students, with only 17 out of 100 students reading at grade level and just 12 out of 100 proficient in math.

"The ongoing education failures in Chicago deserve far more attention,” Wirepoints said in a press release. “The media should be investigating why results are so low. Parents should be demanding answers from school officials. And district administrators should be in a crisis-intervention mode to improve outcomes.” 

Wirepoints President Ted Dabrowski unveiled the report in a meeting with Hispanic leaders at Benito Juarez High School in Pilsen. 

“At Benito Juarez, only 46 of 1,700 students are proficient in math, and just 70 students read at grade level,” Wirepoints reported. “With Hispanics making up the fastest growing demographic in Chicago, it’s essential the city provides those students with the skills they need to succeed in either college or a career. Unfortunately, instead of addressing this crisis of poor achievement, union, district and state officials are covering up CPS’ failures with policies, data and standards that create a façade of success.” 

Wirepoints’ report lays out the standards that give parents what it says is a false sense of progress. It also analyzes CPS’ spending data and concludes the district’s achievement crisis is not due to low funding. Chicago schools spend more per student than all large districts except New York City, with a total expenditure (including debt and capital) of nearly $30,000 per student in 2023.

Wirepoints’ report accuses education officials of concealing student achievement failures through policies, data manipulation, and inflated teacher evaluations, creating a false impression of progress. Examples include automatically promoting students despite low proficiency levels, misleading graduation rates, and high ratings for teachers despite poor student outcomes. The group notes disparities between reported success and actual student performance highlight a need for reforms to ensure Hispanic students receive a quality education in Chicago.

The report was released in Spanish as well.

The Invest In Kids Tax Scholarship Program, according to the Prairie State Wire, was left out of the 2024 state budget, leaving the enrollment of 2,280 Hispanic students in private schools in jeopardy. The school choice program helps place students in high-achieving private schools, some with 100% of graduating classes being placed in four-year universities which far outperforms that of Chicago Public Schools which sends 42% of its graduates to undergraduate programs. Invest In Kids helps nearly 9,400 students statewide.