Dist. 204 wants to honor achievement without class rankings
Indian Prairie School District 204 officials are looking for community feedback on how to best recognize high school academic achievement without using class rank.
While class rankings will still occur this year, they're likely to be gone in 2011-12. District officials pointed out that many area districts have done away with the ranking system and that colleges place higher value on other enrollment criteria like college prep courses, the strength of the high school curriculum, standardized test scores and overall grade point averages.
Still, 204 officials recognize the importance of recognizing students for academic excellence. Board members on Monday night discussed the possibility of going with a Latin honor system that would honor students at graduation in different categories based on their grade point averages. They disagreed over what the GPA ranges should be for each honor, and plan to further discuss the idea at their Nov. 1 board meeting.
District 204 staff members were directed to find out how some universities bestow academic honors on their students, because many use the Latin honor system that gives students the summa cum laude, magna cum laude and cum laude distinctions.
District staff members originally suggested the top 5 percent of students be given special recognition. Based on the grade point averages of last year's graduating class, about nine students who had a 4.6 GPA or more would have received the summa cum laude distinction; 29 had a GPA between 4.4-4.59 for the magna cum laude honor, and an additional 60 had GPAs of 4.2-4.39, which would merit the cum laude honor.
Some board members thought any student with a 4.0 GPA or higher should be recognized with the special distinction. Last year, that would have added 115 students to the group and would have meant the district was recognizing the top 10 percent. “I want to make the case that anyone who graduates with more than a 4.0 has done something pretty special, board member Mark Metzger said.
Other board members worried parents and students in the top 5 percent wouldn't be happy to be lumped in with a larger group. “I just think there's something about the top 5 percent, board member Alka Tyle said. “Our students and our families are competitive, and the top 10 percent is not going to have the same impact.
The public will have a chance to weigh in on the proposed change after the Nov. 1 board meeting. If there is a lot of response, district officials will hold community meetings to address concerns. The district, which serves mostly Aurora and Naperville, also will continue to recognize Indian Prairie Scholars with GPAs of 3.6 and up.