Chicago – January 12, 2026
The Washington Post sharply criticized the Chicago Teachers Union (CTU) for pursuing social justice initiatives in its school district even as student reading and math proficiency continues to decline.
In an editorial Saturday, the Post took aim at the CTU’s New Year’s resolutions posted to X on Monday. The union stated that its resolution is to “speak truth to power,” and it committed to “defending Black and brown and immigrant communities who are targeted by federal agents,” as well as “fighting back against an administration trying to dismantle the U.S. Department of Education and roll back civil rights protections.”
“Those are lofty goals in a school district that can hardly teach kids to read and write,” the Post quipped. “In 2025, 43 percent of Chicago’s third through eighth grade students were reading at grade level.
“Only 27 percent were proficient in math. Those are fundamental deficits that haunt kids into high school. In 11th grade, only 40 percent were proficient in reading and 25 percent in math on the ACT.”
As noted by the Post, last summer, the state of Illinois changed proficiency benchmarks for its students’ math and reading scores.
The Post also highlighted the district’s “chronic absenteeism,” an issue with both students and teachers, arguing “effective instruction starts by showing up.”
