Phila. schoolchildren lag in reading skills | Philadelphia Inquirer | 05/21/2010

Phila. schoolchildren lag in reading skills | Philadelphia Inquirer | 05/21/2010

TOP STORY

Phila. schoolchildren lag in reading skills

In national urban testing, 61 percent of fourth graders scored below basic in reading.

Philadelphia schoolchildren fall into the middle of the pack or lag other pupils in 17 other big-city districts in reading, according to test scores released Thursday.

SPECIAL PROJECTS

Report Card on the Schools

The Inquirer's annual survey of education in the region, with a searchable database of school and district information, and multimedia profiles of area students and high schools.

A Doorway Back

With the dropout problem in Philadelphia at crisis proportions, a chance-of-a-lifetime program offers 40 select students a shot at breaking the cycle of failure. But can they take advantage?

RECENT STORIES

Ackerman set to make top-level changes

Under scrutiny in recent months for her administration's handling of violence and other issues, Philadelphia Schools Superintendent Arlene Ackerman will soon announce major changes to her senior leadership team.

On recheck, thousands of N.J. students fail graduation test

Thousands of New Jersey students may still be in jeopardy of not graduating, based on results of rescored alternative high school exit exams that state education officials released Wednesday.

16 Philadelphia principals lack state credentials

Sixteen principals in the Philadelphia School District are working without proper state certification, officials said Tuesday, citing a failure to monitor staff credentials.

Bitten by the acting bug through Shakespeare

One recent evening, a dedicated group of local thespians was running through a scene in its labor of love, the works of Shakespeare.

Phila. Archdiocese to close special-ed school

The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Philadelphia will close one of its five special-education schools in June. Archangels Academy in Levittown will close, and the school's 30 students will transfer to two other special-education schools operated by the archdiocese, Our Lady of Confidence in Willow Grove and St. Katherine Day School in Wynnewood, the archdiocese announced Monday.