Hinsdale D-86 Officials Defend New Grading Policies

Darien IL

24 November, 2021

1:35 PM

Description

DARIEN, IL — Hinsdale High School District 86 officials are pushing back against arguments that new grading policies are the chief cause of stress and anxiety among students. Board members Jeff Waters, Debbie Levinthal and Peggy James have expressed concern about the new system. They said some classes are 90 percent or 100 percent based on assessments, which they said was too much. They contend the administration did little to inform students about the changes. And they said the greater emphasis on tests is adding to students' stress and anxiety. A few residents have backed up their arguments during meetings. But at last week's board meeting, Hinsdale Central Principal Bill Walsh defended the new grading policies, which officials say were intended to provide more consistency from class to class. "Honestly, I think District 86 is ahead of the game and other schools are behind the game on this matter," Walsh said. "Yes, we are looking at our practices. Yes, we need to continue to be reflective on them." But he said he thought a "blanket" action to wipe out the new system would be a "poor decision." Walsh said the system was years in the making that involved teachers and administrators, who based their decisions on research and best practices. He also said he knew of no one cause of stress and anxiety among students. No matter their views on the grading system, board members generally agree that stress among students is an issue. Last week, the board voted unanimously to give students and staff days off Monday and Tuesday before Thanksgiving because of the issue. Also, at last week's meeting, Arwen Pokorny Lyp, Hinsdale South High School's principal, recommended against any mid-year decisions to "radically" change grading practices. Before this year, she said, individual teachers and departments changed grading scales and policies from year to year, which was allowed. The new system, she said, is more streamlined and coherent, which "we have been needing for a very long time." Assistant Superintendent Chris Covino said five courses this year are graded 90 percent for assessments and 10 percent for homework and other assignments. That was the case for four of them the previous year, he said. The remaining one was 85 percent tests, 15 percent homework before. Eleven high-level chemistry and physics classes are weighted 100 percent for assessments and 0 percent for homework, Covino said. One of them was that way the previous year. The rest moved from a total points system to weighted grades, with 100 percent for assessments. He said the new policy for those classes is "very, very close" to the previous system. Board member Levinthal disagreed that the changes for the high-level science classes were small. And she said an Advanced Placement Language class that is 90 percent-10 percent was not counted by Covino. Levinthal, a former math teacher, said it was better to put more weight on homework so that teachers can measure how students are doing over the course of a semester. She said she would like to see a full inventory in December about where classes are in grading practices now and where they were before. Covino said he planned such a presentation.