New Study Laments Lack of Change in Chicago Classrooms

By Ann Bradley

While the major elements called for in Chicago's landmark school-reform act have been successfully put into place, the bulk of the city's schools have yet to make changes in basic classroom practices, a report released last week concludes.

The analysis, conducted by the independent Chicago Panel on Public School Policy and Finance, examines the progress that has been made in the nation's third-largest school system as a result of the 1988 legislation that created councils to govern each of the city's schools.

Most of its conclusions are drawn from the findings of an intensive, ongoing study of 14 Chicago schools and from other studies...