The Nation : Many Chicago Pupils Lack Basic Skills

Half the children who enter the Chicago public school system are unable to say their first and last names or to speak in complete, simple sentences, a new survey of kindergarten teachers indicates. Also, most of the youngsters are unable to identify basic shapes such as squares and circles, hold a pencil or crayon correctly, or settle disputes without physical aggression, the survey found. The findings, published in the Chicago Sun-Times, resulted from a poll in late May by the newspaper indicating that Chicago’s public schools are overwhelmed with many low-income children who start kindergarten unprepared for classroom learning. The paper also surveyed kindergarten teachers in the affluent suburb of Wilmette, where the vast majority of children entering their classes could perform all of the basic tasks.