CPS touts rising reading and grad rates

• Leaders attribute the recent gains, at least in part, to COVID-era funding that's drying up next year, amplifying the urgency to fill the district's budget deficit.

What they're saying: "We're seeing just strong momentum … And we're seeing it at scale," CPS CEO Pedro Martinez told a City Council committee last week.

By the numbers: High school graduation rates rose to a high of 85% in 2023, per a UChicago Consortium on School Research study released Friday. They were 80% in 2019.

• Reading and math scores among third through eighth graders who took the Illinois Assessment of Readiness (IAR) test rose 4.6 and 0.8 points, respectively, from the 2022-23 school year to 2023-2024, per CPS data.

Yes, but: That still means only about 31% of students met or exceeded standards in reading and 19% in math.

• While reading scores rose nearly 4 percentage points over pre-pandemic levels, math scores are still 6 points behind.

Zoom in: The UChicago report also showed a record four-year college enrollment rate of 43% and projected college completion rate (over 10 years) for current ninth graders of 31%.

The intrigue: The report says the total number of "college completers" in each CPS graduating class has risen over the past 10 years even as the district's total enrollment declined.

• Despite serving student populations that often struggle with graduation rates, CPS rates now trail just 5 points behind the national averages.

What we're watching: How the district does on the Illinois State Board of Education report card assessing academic achievement at schools across the state.

• It comes out Oct. 30, two days before the first the new interim school board is expected to meet for the first time.