Arne Duncan's Chicago Success Is Deceptive
The Great Guru of Education is Falling Short on Performance
Jul 26, 2009
Based partially on great accomplishments in Chicago schools, Arne Duncan was named Secretary of Education by Pres. Barack Obama. Taking a second look, the results are not as stellar as once thought.
Chicago School Performance Not Accurate
The Civic Committee of The Commercial Club of Chicago issued a report on June 30, 2009 and it was not very flattering to President Obama’s pick for Education Secretary Arne Duncan. In the past this group has been a supporter of Obama and Duncan but they have found some glitches that left them not too enthusiastic.
When President Obama nominated Arne Duncan for Secretary of Education, he had great supportive evidence of Duncan’s success in Chicago Schools. Chicago’s bureaucratic history left little to be desired among the nation’s schools but Duncan was the savior that turned everything around and was now fit to be the nation’s leader in education. Duncan boasted that student test scores jumped from 38% meeting standards to 67%. Considering that a typical school can hope for improvements in the single digits, this was extraordinary. Kudos to Duncan.
Obama also stated that since Duncan had been the chancellor of Chicago schools, the dropout rates dropped significantly every year. President Obama also stated that ACT scores among Chicago students gained at twice the rate of the typical Illinois student. Arne Duncan is a miracle worker and we need to tell the other 49 states just how to improve schools. Duncan was also placed in charge of stimulus money for education.
The Real Status of Chicago Schools
Unfortunately, the reality of Chicago schools is far from Obama’s great speeches. Yes, Chicago schools have improved but because the condition was so mediocre in the past, the improvement is still far below anything to hail as success.
Obama hailed Duncan’s gain of 29 percentage points in student gains. Well, after adjusting for changes in tests and procedures, the real growth rate was only about 8 percentage points and not 29.
And, that wonderful dropout rate that has dipped each year under Duncan? While it may be technically true, it is still very high. Chicago students have a 50% dropout rate so dropping to 48% is a good start in the right direction but not very significant overall. And, over 70% of 11th-graders fail to meet state standards on a consistent basis. This is hardly a national model for success.
But, just how prepared are Chicago public school students for college? The ACT data shows that Chicago students did score .9 point higher from 2002 to 2006. Great news, right? However, Chicago student’s composite was only 17.4 compared to the nation’s average being around 21. Surrounding states like Wisconsin and Iowa average is above the 22 range. The Illinois average is 20.5.
Duncan’s Role in Chicago Education
Arne Duncan is now the Secretary of Education based on inflated scores and Chicago friendships. Blogger Alexander Russo states, "What I find particularly appalling is that Duncan and Obama, supposed champions of transparency and using research rather than ideology, have cited Chicago’s inflated test scores, even though they knew the increases were exaggerated." [1]
So, while Chicago schools are making improvements, they are not the major turnaround once thought. Does the new Secretary of Education (not even holding a teaching degree) really have the credentials to be in charge of the nation’s schools and allocate the stimulus money?
[1] Greg Toppo, USA Today, "Chicago schools report contradicts Obama and Duncan", July 13, 2009.
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