Chicago International Charter School Outgains District
On Iowa Test of Basic Skills and the Iowa Test of Achievement and Proficiency
NEW YORK, June 26 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Edison Schools (Nasdaq: EDSN),
the nation's largest private manager of public schools, announced today that
its charter school in Chicago, Illinois, has posted commendable marks on the
Iowa Test of Basic Skills (ITBS) and the Iowa Test of Achievement and
Proficiency (ITAP), which serve as the state's primary tests of academic
accountability. The ITBS is administered in the spring to third through eighth
grades and the ITAP to ninth and tenth grades. From 2001 to 2002, Chicago
International Charter School (CICS) improved its test scores on all subjects
and in every grade level tested and consistently out-gained Chicago Public
Schools (CPS).
The average gains among elementary grades (3-5) from 2001 to 2002 were
15 percentile points for CICS, nine times that of CPS elementary grades. Gains
among the middle grades (6-8) were 7.2 percentile points as compared to
4.7 percentiles points for CPS, and gains among high school students in ninth
and tenth grades were an average of 7 percentile points, more than twice the
3 percentile point gains of CPS ninth and tenth graders. Overall gains from
spring 2001 to spring 2002 were 11 points for CICS versus 3 points for Chicago
Public Schools. Overall average gains were 10.4 points in reading and
11.5 points in math from 2001 to 2002.
In its first year of testing in Spring 2000, Edison students at CICS began
at the 39th percentile on the ITBS while CPS averaged at the 43rd percentile
in that same year. In just two years, Edison has surpassed the district and
moved its students into the 49th percentile while CPS averages at only the
45th percentile.
In the fall of 1999, Edison Schools launched Chicago International Charter
School, its first charter school in Chicago. Under the direction of principal
Robert Lang, the school now serves approximately 1,250 students in grades
K-12. Chosen out of an initial pool of more than eight hundred nominees
Chicago-wide, three graduating seniors at CICS were among the fifty select
students who have been awarded full four-year college scholarships from the
Posse Foundation. These Edison seniors and scholarship winners will be
attending DePauw University, Carleton College and the University of Wisconsin
at Madison, respectively.
"We are thrilled with these results. This Chicago school has done an
excellent job of raising achievement scores and providing a world-class
education for all of its students," said John Chubb, Chief Education Officer.
"These most recent gains on the ITBS and ITAP demonstrate the level of
commitment of teachers, staff and students at all grade levels to improving
achievement and proficiency."
About Edison
Edison Schools manages 133 public schools with a total enrollment of
approximately 74,000 students. Through contracts with local school districts
and public charter school boards, Edison generally assumes educational and
operational responsibility for individual schools in return for funding that
is comparable to that spent on other public schools in the area. Over the
course of three years of intensive research, Edison's team of leading
educators and scholars developed an innovative, research-based curriculum and
school design. Edison opened its first four schools in August 1995, and has
grown rapidly in every subsequent year. For more information, please visit
http://www.edisonschools.com.
Any statements in this press release and any other press release issued by
Edison on or about the date hereof about future expectations, plans and
prospects for Edison, including statements containing the words "believes,"
"anticipates," "plans," "expects," "will," and similar expressions, constitute
forward-looking statements within the meaning of The Private Securities
Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Actual results may differ materially from
those indicated by such forward-looking statements as a result of various
important factors, including the risk factors discussed in our most recent
quarterly report filed with the SEC, and other factors such as, among other
things, the possibility that: (1) Edison, its independent auditors and/or the
SEC may identify additional items that materially and adversely affect
Edison's financial results; (2) the financing discussed separately by Edison
today may not be consummated; and (3) the events relating to the informal SEC
inquiry or its settlement may result in defaults under Edison's material
agreements or give rise to costly and protracted litigation against Edison.
The forward-looking statements included in this press release represent
Edison's estimates as of June 26, 2002. Edison anticipates that subsequent
events and developments will cause its estimates to change. While Edison may
elect to update these forward-looking statements at some point in the future,
Edison specifically disclaims any obligation to do so. These forward-looking
statements should not be relied upon as representing Edison's estimates or
views as of any date subsequent to June 26, 2002.
SOURCE Edison Schools
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Related links:
http://www.edisonschools.com
CONTACT:
John Chubb, +1-212-419-1641, or Adam Tucker,
+1-212-419-1602, both of Edison Schools
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