Daley defends Chicago Public Schools gains

'VALID GROWTH' | Slams critics who scoff at prior test score results

Mayor Daley unveiled a batch of "incremental'' Chicago Public Schools test score gains Wednesday while dumping on recent claims that school progress under his watch has been exaggerated.

Daley bristled at a report by the Civic Committee of the Commercial Club charging that most of the elementary gains CPS touted as "dramatic'' are due to 2006 changes in the state test.

"They only refer to Chicago," Daley said of the report questioning city test results. "Why don't they [talk about] where they live? The businessmen -- aren't their kids getting a good education? Are all their scores phony? ...

"Why don't you mention where you go to school? Or your grandchildren? Why haven't they mentioned them? Ah hah. Why? That's the question,'' Daley said.

Daley implied the modest gains released Wednesday indicated they were for real, not inflated. Schools CEO Ron Huberman called them "incremental'' but steady.

The percentage of CPS third- through eighth-graders passing state tests rose 2 percentage points, to 67.5 percent, preliminary data indicated.

"We're not talking about 10, 15, 20 percent,'' Daley said. "This is a valid growth pattern. ... To say there's no progress ... is ... ridiculous.''

Reading -- a key Daley focus for years -- rose the least, only 1.1 percentage points, to nearly 65 percent passing. Math had the biggest jump, up 3 percentage points, to 72 percent.

City scores skyrocketed by double digits in 2006, after kids statewide were given more time to take the elementary test and questions were enlivened with color and more graphics.

At the time, the Chicago Sun-Times quoted experts as saying test changes probably goosed up scores, but Daley and his school team didn't hesitate to take credit, calling the increases "historic'' and a "tipping point.''

On Wednesday Huberman attributed the math boost to the University of Chicago Everyday Math program finally gaining traction. He said he hopes to improve reading scores by following the model of schools with the best gains.