Ingenuity State of the Arts Report 2016-17 Ingenuity_SOTA_2016-17 | Page 43
DISCIPLINES AND DEPTH
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District-run schools continue to be most likely to be rated as Strong or
Excelling on this measure, with 62 percent of district-run schools receiving
one of these ratings in 2016–17. However, the largest increase in schools
rated as Excelling on this measure occurred among charter and contract
schools. In 2016–17, 24 percent of responding charter and contract schools
received this rating, a 13-percentage-point increase over 2015–16. At the
same time, a much smaller share (11 percent) were rated as Emerging in
2016–17, a 10-percentage-point drop from 2015–16. This upward movement
of schools from Emerging to Excelling scores is the type of progress the CSC
aims to encourage across all measures in both the elementary and high
school rubrics.
ACROSS ALL TYPES, A MAJORITY OF HIGH SCHOOLS WERE CATEGORIZED
AS STRONG OR EXCELLING IN THE DISCIPLINES & DEPTH
3
+ multi-level
disciplines
3 single-level
disciplines
2 single- or multi-
level disciplines
0 or 1 single-
or multi-level
disciplines
62% 55% 40%
District-run 26
95 schools Charter & Contract
38 schools Options
20 schools
The number of arts disciplines and the depth of coursework available
directly relates to CPS graduation requirements. In February 2016, the
Chicago Board of Education approved an amendment to graduation
requirements that now allows students to fulfill their two credits of arts
courses in any arts discipline recognized by the State of Illinois. 27 Previously,
students could only fulfill this requirement in music and visual arts and
were required to take courses in two separate disciplines. Beginning with
the freshman class of 2016–17, students are required only to take two arts
courses—including two courses in the same discipline. Schools are still to
offer at least two arts disciplines so that students can self-select their
preferred discipline of study.
26
27
Includes AUSL, ISP, and Service Learning Academies
“Getting to the Next Grade.” Chicago Public Schools. http://cps.edu/Pages/Gettingtothenextgrade.aspx.
PROGRESS REPORT | 2016–17