West Cook News

When asked in 2016 by River Forest parents why their school district was dramatically changing its schools' curriculum and teaching methods, then-School Board President Ralph Martire had a quick answer.

“Best practices.”

But five years into them, Martire’s "best practices," which sought to prioritize equalizing white and black student test scores, rather than simply raising them, are leading to worst-ever outcomes for River Forest students, at least as measured by the Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE).

A West Cook News analysis of ISBE compiled test score data shows District 90 students posted record-low scores in English and math in 2021, part of a steady five year slide since Martire’s changes were implemented in 2016.

Today, some four in ten River Forest students in grades K-8 are testing below their grade level and are deemed "not ready for the next level," according to ISBE's reporting on the state  Illinois Assessment of Readiness (IAR). That's double the failure rate of 2016, or the year Martire, a teacher's union lobbyist and political activist, became District 90 board president.

District 90's 79 black students, who make up about six percent of the district total of 1,400, have fared worst of all.

In 2021, just one in four black River Forest students tested at grade level in mathematics, down 12 percentage points from 2019. 

Black students tested slightly better in English, with three in ten at grade level, down 14 points from 2019.

"Its brilliant stuff"" 

As District 90 board president, Martire quickly created an "Equity Committee," that he chaired. It would propose changes to the way River Forest teachers instructed students, making equality of outcome their primary goal.

Then, Martire charged the board with adopting recommendations from his new committee. 

 “After reviewing District 90 student achievement data, considering research pertaining to “best practice” in pedagogy... the Equity Committee submits the following recommendations.” wrote Martire.

He emphasized a methodology called UDL, or "Universal Design for Learning," which deems it racist to let high-achieving students learn ahead of their lower-achieving peers, or to emphasize test performance over so-called "social-emotional" priorities.

Supporters call it "an effective framework to teach Black and Brown students that can "eliminate the violence of academic and social prejudice that kills the spirit of our babies and belittles the needs and experiences of people of color."

Martire, 61, left River Forest District 90 in 2019. But UDL has survived, even as student test scores fall further each year-- down 23 percent in English and ten percent in math.

To be sure, Martire, who is now a member of the Oak Park and River Forest High School District 200 School Board, isn't disillusioned.

He's now pushing Oak Park and River Forest High School to implement the same changes,

At a Mar. 10 board presentation, Martire touted "UDL" as "the right road" for OPRF.

"Its an international best practice," he said. "Its brilliant stuff."

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New curriculum, lower test scores

River Forest School District 90 student scores on the annual Illinois Assessment of Readiness (IAR) test have fallen since a new "equity" curriculum was installed by School Board President Ralph Martire in 2016. 

District English scores are down 23 percent and Math down 10 percent over five years.

	All Students
Year	English	Math
2021	59	57
2020	No Data
2019	69	63
2018	71	63
2017	73	64
2016	77	63

75 percent of black River Forest students score below grade level in math

The Martire "equity" curriculum prioritized equalizing test scores between racial categories. But in 2021, after five years, only one in four River Forest black students tested at grade level, and Asian students tested 13.5 points higher than whites.

	English
	2019	2021
White	71.7	60.8
Black	45.1	31.3
Hispanic	60.2	53.4
Asian	80	73.5
	Math
	2019	2021
White	66.6	60.7
Black	37.1	25.5
Hispanic	44.4	38.6
Asian	78.2	73.5

Source: Illinois State Board of Education