Washington Post rips Chicago Teachers Union for pursuing social justice initiatives as students struggle
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 a Saturday editorial, 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 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."
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The editorial board contended that it's "hard to believe the union has students’ best interests at heart when its bosses continue to ignore the biggest problems" such as subpar test scores and the continued lowering of academic standards.
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 that "effective instruction starts by showing up."
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"For the fourth year in a row, chronic absenteeism among students stayed stuck near 40 percent, about 16 points higher than in 2019. Teachers are also playing hooky, with about 43 percent of educators missing 10 or more days of school, compared to 34 percent statewide," the editorial board noted, adding that "teacher absences are a top predictor of student success."
Pointing to the CTU's leadership under President Stacy Davis Gates, the Post wrote that the district's troubling performance should come as no surprise, asserting that "failure seems to be the gold standard for this union." The outlet warned that Davis Gates will now be able to "spread her radical agenda across the state" after being elected to head the Illinois Federation of Teachers.
"Davis Gates, who has a history of blowing off mandatory union audits and has described testing as ‘junk science rooted in White supremacy,’ is clearly allergic to accountability and excellence," the Post wrote.
In closing, the editorial board asserted that "if the CTU actually cares about fighting injustice, it should focus on the basics," before once again calling out the district for failing its students.
"Black students in third through [eighth] grade score 33 percent lower on reading than White students, and low-income students score 32 percent lower than the rest. Meanwhile, the union is being investigated by the House Education and Workforce Committee for failing to produce an annual audit of its spending over the last five years," the Post concluded.
The Chicago Teachers union did not immediately return Fox News Digital's request for comment.