Warren High unveils plan to end testing scrutiny
Warren Township High School in Gurnee has a plan officials hope will end accusations it treated students differently for testing purposes last spring in violation of state and federal requirements.
Warren intends to increase academic requirements students must meet to be promoted through their four-year high school career. The higher standards would be broader than only determining eligibility for a state achievement test given to juniors.
Illinois' top education office claims Warren improperly prevented 150 of 1,000 juniors from taking the Prairie State Achievement Exam because they didn't meet higher academic standards for eligibility. The state agency has allowed a similar complaint lodged by a retired Warren teacher to proceed simultaneously.
Warren board members last year approved an administration recommendation that students must have earned 11 credit hours by the fifth semester - up from eight - and completed other requirements to take the Prairie State tests in April. The Illinois State Board of Education in July ordered Warren to end the practice, contending it treated students differently for testing purposes.
District 121 officials stressed the more challenging academic standards were not enacted to prevent poor students from taking the exam to boost annual report card scores.
By a 4-2 vote Tuesday night, Warren District 121 board members approved standards a student must meet to become a sophomore, junior and senior.
Warren Superintendent Phil Sobocinski said the new guidelines will be part of a response to the state order and the complaint by the ex-instructor, Rick Bryan. Sobocinski maintains the district did nothing wrong in its move to increase expectations for students before allowing them to take the state achievement exam as juniors.
State education officials must approve Warren's procedure for class designations, which as of now will be part of the 2009-10 student-parent handbook.
"We think we'll be clear with the (state)," District 121 board President John Anderson said.
This year's students would need to meet the old requirement of having earned eight credit hours to be considered juniors. However, Sobocinski said, most juniors typically are at 11 credit hours.
Higher standards for all four years would begin with the freshmen if Warren's plan gains state approval. For example, those in the 2013 graduating class must earn six credit hours instead of four as part of the beefed-up criteria to be classified as sophomores, and 11 rather than eight for junior status.
Sobocinski said Warren didn't receive any parent complaints over the 150 underachieving juniors who were not allowed to participate in the Prairie State process, which includes the ACT college entrance exam.
"When those kids didn't take the (Prairie State), they were taking a practice test," he said. "You know what their comments were? 'Thank you for not making us do the real test, I wasn't ready.' "
Warren board members Richard Conley and Jeanette Thommes cast the two opposing votes. Thommes said she was concerned the school board was moving too fast.
Melina Wright, the state board of education's No Child Left Behind liaison, had said in a directive that Warren risks losing federal funding if it continues with a system that allowed only juniors with 11 credit hours to take the Prairie State exam. She said such a practice violates state and federal requirements.
State board of education spokeswoman Mary Ann Fergus said Warren was expected to file its reply to the student testing accusations by Sept. 15. State schools Superintendent Christopher Koch will issue a ruling.