Cognitive-thinking skills, problem-solving skills, higher-order thinking, and deep learning are viewed by many as more important in education today than ever before. Yet, there are wide disparities in the relative attainment of these skills between racial and socio-economic groups. School District 65’s recent Achievement Report presented to the School Board on Jan. 28, reflects wide […]
Category: Reports & Analyses
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The Federal Housing Administration’s Role in Segregating and Cutting Off Mortgage Financing for Black Families in Chicago, 1934-1960
Abstract of Article In 1969, a lawsuit commonly known as the Contract Buyers League (CBL) case was filed in federal court in Chicago on behalf of about 2,600 Black families who had purchased homes from real estate speculators on the south and west sides of Chicago between 1952 and 1968. The complaint alleged that the real […]
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MAP Normative Data Shows Significantly Higher Achievement Levels for CPS Students than NAEP or PARCC
Each year, students in thousands of school districts throughout the nation take the Measures of Academic Progress (MAP) test. Many school districts use norm tables prepared by the Northwest Evaluation Association (NWEA) in 2015 to report how their students are doing compared to other students in the nation. NWEA is the owner of the MAP […]
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The Nature of the Achievement Gap at District 65, And the Scope of the Opportunity Gap
After Sean Reardon, Ph.D., Professor of Poverty and Inequality in Education at Stanford University, spoke at Evanston Township High School on May 4, several members of the District 65 School Board have argued that Dr. Reardon’s research demonstrates that school districts such as Berkeley and Atlanta have twice the income gap as District 65, but […]
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Erie Family Health Center Helps Build Young Minds Through Reach Out and Read Program
For the last nine years, Erie Family Health Center has been a partner with the Reach Out and Read program, a national program designed to encourage parents to read to their children, from infancy through age 5. When Erie established a new clinic at 1285 Hartrey Ave. in Evanston in 2013, the program was implemented […]
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Decline of City’s Affordable Housing Expected to Continue
The amount of affordable housing in Evanston has steadily declined in the last decade, making it difficult for low- and moderate-income households to locate here. In addition, 86% of the low- and moderate income households who currently reside here are paying more in housing costs than is viewed as being sustainable. These trends are not […]
Posted inReports & Analyses
The ISAT Fiasco: ISBE Low-balls New Cut Scores, Where’s the Accountability?
The Illinois State Board of Education’s history in setting cut scores to “meet standards” on the Illinois Standard Achievement Test (ISAT) is a disturbing one. For many years the cut scores (i.e., the proficiency levels) to “meet standards” on the ISATs were among the lowest in the nation. The cut scores were set so low […]
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Early Childhood Experiences Have an Enormous Impact on How a Child’s Brain Develops
This article updates an article published in the RoundTable on Jan. 7, 2009. It focuses on the importance of early childhood experiences in forming the architecture of the brain, and primarily relies on five reports issued by the National Scientific Council on the Developing Child (NSCDC), one of which was issued jointly with the National […]
Posted inReports & Analyses
ISBE Low-Balls New ISAT Cut Scores, Misalignment With PSAE and ACT College Readiness Continues
In February 2012, the Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE) filed with the U.S. Department of Education an application for a waiver from certain requirements of the No Child Left Behind Act. In its application, ISBE acknowledged that the cut scores (e.g. the proficiency levels) to “meet standards” on the Illinois Standard Achievement Test (ISAT) […]
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We Support District 65’s $48.2 Million Referendum to Establish a School in the Fifth Ward: Our Analysis and Views
The RoundTable published a lenthy editorial supporting the 2012 Referendum to establish a new school in the Fifth Ward. To review the editorial in its entirety, click on the link below. An excerpt from the editorial is published below: “The central core was once the attendance area for Foster School, which was converted to a […]