Congressman calls out Chicago schools’ academic woes

By Jim Talamonti | The Center Square
The Center Square

(The Center Square) – Chicago Public Schools Superintendent Macquline King testified before Congress that math and reading proficiency rates for CPS students are not acceptable.

King appeared before the U.S. House Committee on Education and Workforce on Wednesday.

U.S. Rep. Burgess Owens, R-Utah, questioned King about academic proficiency rates for students in Chicago Public Schools.

“Is a 77% failure rate in reading ok? A 76% failure rate in math and 88% of our Black students not being able to read, is that ok Dr. King? Is that success or failure?” Burgess asked.

“That is not acceptable,” King said.

King said the district serves more than 316,000 students, down from about 381,000 in 2016.

CPS proposed a $10 billion budget for next school year, up from $6.4 billion in 2016.

During the hearing titled, “Breaking Trust: Attacks on Parental Rights, Inappropriate Content, and Legal Abuses in America’s Schools,” U.S. Rep. Tim Walberg, R-Michigan, asked King about a lawsuit involving Chicago’s Moody Bible Institute.

Walberg said the district refused to allow education students from Chicago’s Moody Bible Institute to gain experience in CPS unless Moody changed its policy on sexuality and gender beliefs.

“We were able to reach an agreement, and those student teachers will be entering Chicago Public Schools as student teachers in the fall,” King said.

Walberg suggested that CPS only changed its position because of the lawsuit and because the district’s stance was unconstitutional.

U.S. Rep. Bob Onder, R-Missouri, asked King if it was CPS policy to forbid biological men or boys from going into locker rooms with biological girls.

“The Chicago Public Schools policy is in alignment with Illinois law,” King said.

U.S. Rep. Jahana Hayes, D-Connecticut, said it is not the job of school administrators to engage in culture wars.

“We’ve had zero hearings, not one, in this Congress or the last on school shootings that are killing children in our classrooms, zero hearings on chronic absenteeism,” Hayes said.

Chicago Public Schools had a chronic absenteeism rate of 40% for students in the 2024-25 school year. The chronic absenteeism rate for public school students statewide was 25% while the national average was 22%.

In April, the Illinois State Board of Education changed its rating system to provide higher marks for schools with greater student attendance but not lowering marks for schools with poor attendance.

Illinois U.S. Rep. Mike Quigley, D-Chicago, said House Republicans wasted taxpayer money by holding a pointless hearing to make transphobic and homophobic accusations.

“Our schools should be safe havens for all kids, no matter their identity,” Quigley said in a statement.