Kaneland grades on par with other districts

An analysis of grading practices at area high schools seems to indicate Kaneland High School students receive about the same number of A's, even though Kaneland has a stricter grading scale, according to school officials.

Parents last fall asked the school board to change the grading system for grades sixth through 12th. Presently, Kaneland uses a 7-point system: A student needs at least a 93 out of 100 points to get an A, 86 for a B, 79 for a C.

Parents said this put their children at disadvantage for college admission, scholarships and auto insurance discounts, because other high schools use 10-point systems in which 90 points is an A. Several hundred people signed a petition asking for a change.

Kaneland administrators asked 15 schools, in the Western Sun and soon-to-form Northern Illinois Big 12 athletics and activities conference, for a grades distribution. Seven participated.

Kaneland ranked second in the number of A's granted in the 2009 school year, with 47.3 percent. The top school gave out 49.2, and the third 45.5 percent. On average, 37 percent of the grades given out at all the schools were A's; 29 percent were B's (Kaneland is 27.3); and 19 percent of the grades are C's (Kaneland's rate is 19.8 percent).

And as it turns out, not every area school is using a 10-point scale. Some use an 8-point scale, some a 7-point, and some a combination of 10- and 7-point scales.

The administration is recommending the school board stick to its original plan, which was to have the curriculum department review the grading process and the purpose of grades during the 2010-11 school year.

The board will discuss the grades study at its meeting at 7 p.m. Monday in the library at the high school, Meredith and Keslinger roads, Maple Park.