D150: That’s one way to improve scores

Get ready for student achievement to improve this year — not because the kids are actually performing any better, but because District 150 has decided to lower the grading standards. For decades, the school has employed the traditional scale:

A = 93 – 100
B = 86 – 92
C = 77 – 85
D = 70 – 76
F = 0 – 69

Starting this fall, they switched to this scale:

A = 90 – 100
B = 80 – 89
C = 70 – 79
D = 60 – 69
F = 50* – 59

*Note: The student handbook says an “F” is 40-59, but a handout I recently received from the teachers said 50-59. Either way, it’s unclear to me why it wouldn’t be 0-59. What grade is it if the student earns something less than 40 or 50? Is it not still an “F”?

Obviously, this new scale makes it significantly easier to get higher letter grades, which are the only ones that go on the student’s permanent record and make up his or her grade-point average. It means that students who do work in the 60-69 range will now receive passing grades instead of failing grades. And it also means that District 150 scores will look inflated when compared to other area school districts. Here are elementary school grading scales for some surrounding communities (based on grading scales published on their school websites):

Grade Dunlap Morton G’town Hills
A 92-100 93-100 94-100
B 84-91 85-92 86-93
C 74-83 77-84 76-85
D 66-73 70-76 70-75
F 0-65 0-69 0-69

I’ve searched the school board minutes for some mention of this change to the grading scale and have yet to find it. I’m not the only one who was surprised. The teachers I talked to said they found out about it the first day of school via memo. Furthermore, the teachers I spoke with said they are not in favor of the easier grading scale, nor were they consulted.

So, the question is, when was this decision made, and why?

Mayor Ardis asks for feedback on budget

I received this yesterday but haven’t had a chance to post it until today:

September 15, 2009

As many of you know, the City Council has been wrestling with our 2010 budget for several months now. We have been working to balance the City’s budget like you have to balance yours……. Identifying needs vs. wants and being more efficient with the income you have available. During this challenging economic situation, the process has not been easy.

To this point, the City Council has already trimmed over $8.5 million dollars from next years budget. If sales tax revenue continues to come in below our expectations, it may be necessary to trim another $4 to $5 million to balance our budget. We’ve made significant reductions in our operating budget next year and identified over 40 positions that will not be filled throughout all city departments, including police and fire. In the coming weeks, we may find it necessary to lay off 20-30 more employees. This all equates to a drastic cut in service to our constituent taxpayers.

During this process we have focused on being open and transparent. With this in mind I’d like to solicit your input as we move towards making final decisions on next years budget. This will not be a scientific poll by any stretch, but an opportunity to provide me with your thoughts on a few budget related questions. I will share your responses with the rest of the City Council and the City Manager.

These are tough times but I am confident the City Council will make the right decisions to get us through this with the least amount of additional cost to you. And we hope to get this done with the least amount of job losses possible. Thank you for taking the time to respond. Feel free to pass this on to other concerned citizens.

Please click here to take this short, 3-question survey

Jim Ardis