OF 100 CHICAGO PUBLIC SCHOOL FRESHMEN, SIX WILL GET A COLLEGE DEGREE

The Chicago Tribune reports:

Of every 100 freshmen entering a Chicago public high school, only about six will earn a bachelor's degree by the time they're in their mid-20s, according to a first-of-its-kind study released Thursday by the Consortium on Chicago School Research.

The prospects are even worse for African-American and Latino male freshmen, who only have about a 3 percent chance of obtaining a bachelor's degree by the time they're 25.

The study, which tracked Chicago high school students who graduated in 1998 and 1999, also found that making it to college doesn't ensure success: Of the city public school students who went to a four-year college, only about 35 percent earned a bachelor's degree within six years, compared with 64 percent nationally.

Researchers say they're not exactly sure why Chicago schools alumni graduate from college in such low numbers, but that poor preparation during high school and too few resources at the college level contribute to the problem.

The irony here is the Democratic Party which has run Chicago since the New Deal, claims to be the party of education.Look at the results.Chicago might be the worst public school system in the country.But,Mayor Daley and gang hold them themselves up as the model of reform.