Strong curricula, better professional development for teachers, and shared leadership between parent councils, principals, and teachers are among the most important factors to improve student learning, a report drawing on the experience of the Chicago public schools argues.
The report—sponsored by the Chicago-based Parents United for Responsible Education and the Cambridge, Mass.-based National Center for Fair & Open Testing or FairTest—says that schools in the 415,000-student Chicago district responded better to decentralized reforms than to top-down, assessment-heavy initiatives similar to the federal No Child Left Behind Act. The report covers the progress of the city’s public schools from 1990 to the present.
“Chicago School Reform: Lessons for the Nation” is available from FairTest.
