The Chicago Sun-Times (10/21, Rossi, 241K) reports that according to data released by the Illinois State Board of Education, only eight public high schools in the state made their Adequate Yearly Progress goals under NCLB, meaning that the other nearly 99% are labeled "failing" under the "increasingly demanding" law. The piece quotes board Chairman Gery Chico lamenting that many high-quality schools were designated as failing. "Schools that miss AYP for six consecutive years face the most severe sanctions, which can include closure. Nearly 400 Illinois schools now fall into that category." Chico added that the state's quest for a waiver to NCLB is part of an attempt to seek "a more 'realistic' accountability system with 'rigorous' but 'attainable' goals."
The Chicago Tribune (10/21, Malone, Little, Rado, 475K) reports that when elementary and middle schools are factored in, "two-thirds of Illinois public schools this year failed to meet federal test targets that signal students can read and do math well, marking a record rate of failure for the state's school system." The Tribune adds that state educators and legislators say "the results raise questions not only about the schools themselves, but about" NCLB. Moreover, "A stunning 98.5 percent of Illinois' 666 public high schools fell short." The Tribune notes that Education Secretary Arne Duncan "predicted that as many as 82 percent of the nation's public schools may miss the law's annual targets for academic improvement this year."
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