CHICAGO (WBBM NEWSRADIO) - The head of the Archdiocese of Chicago Catholic Schools is criticizing a study on a controversial scholarship program and its results in state classrooms.
The nonprofit research agency WestEd is behind the 14-month study that found elementary students across Illinois who received scholarships through the Invest in Kids tax credit program fared worse in both math and reading than public school students.
Supporters of the program say it gives more students a chance at private school education. Among those supporters is Greg Richmond, superintendent of Archdiocese of Chicago Catholic Schools.
In a statement, Richmond called the study's findings "meaningless."
He added that scholarship recipients at Chicago Catholic Schools have been shown to perform better than Chicago Public Schools students.
"Unfortunately, this report is a disservice to all families and communities in Illinois," Richmond said.
Here is the superintendent's full statement:
"We are disappointed that the methodology of the report is so faulty that its conclusions are meaningless. An extreme case of comparing apples to oranges, the report compares the academic performance of scholarship recipients, who must meet low-income eligibility requirements, to the performance of all public school students, including middle- and upper-income students. In doing so, it concludes that the low-income students in the scholarship program did not do as well as all public school students, which includes middle- and upper-income students.
"Our own analyses have shown the opposite is more likely to be true. Statewide, when comparing scholarship recipients in Catholic schools to public school students who are eligible for free- and reduced-price lunch, which is a far more appropriate comparison, scholarship students perform higher in both math and reading.
"Within Chicago, scholarship recipients at Catholic schools perform at higher levels than Chicago Public School students, even though the CPS comparison includes middle- and upper-income families.
"There are many good educators and staff who work in public education and the many good families who enroll their children in public schools. This is not 'us against them,' or it should not be. We want all children to have a receive a good education. All families and all communities are better off when parents can choose a school, public or nonpublic, that best meets the needs of their children.
"Unfortunately, this report is a disservice to all families and communities in Illinois. We call on the State Board of Education to retract this report and conduct the analysis again in the manner required by State Law: a comparison of low-income students in the Invest in Kids program to low-income students statewide."
Listen to our new podcast Looped In: Chicago
Listen to WBBM Newsradio now on Audacy!
Sign up and follow WBBM Newsradio
Facebook | Twitter | Instagram I TikTok
