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Ferretti backs school choice, cites low proficiency in Chicago schools
Summary
On Public Affairs TV, Bob Ferretti promoted school choice as a remedy for uneven proficiency rates in Illinois schools and pointed to data he and the host cited showing large gaps between graduation rates and grade-level proficiency in Chicago Public Schools.
Bob Ferretti said parents should be able to choose schools — including charters, private schools and homeschooling — and argued that parental choice and competition would improve outcomes. "The parents should be able to have, school choice and go to schools of what they want," Ferretti said when asked how to expand options for the state's roughly 2,000,000 K'12 students.
Host Berkowitz cited Illinois State Board of Education figures for Chicago schools, saying that while graduation rates can be high, proficiency in reading and math is often much lower: "...CPS had graduated 79% in Chicago at CPS, but only 11% could read a grade level," he said on air. Both speakers urged policy changes, and Ferretti suggested the attorney general has contract-review powers that could be used to inspect how taxpayer funds are spent on education programs.
