West Cook News

Oak Park-River Forest H.S. students taking teacher Amy Hill's American History class this fall could, theoretically, fail.

But it would take some effort.

To earn an 'F' on Hill's grading scale, published this month in her syllabus, an OPRF student would have to average a 19% or lower on class assignments. They could pass her class this fall by answering two out of every 10 questions correctly.

According to the College Board, which manages standardized high school tests for 6,000 U.S. universities, a traditional 4.0 grade point average scale scores anything below 65% as failure, or 6.5 out of 10 questions.

In Hill's class, students managing 65% will receive a "B."

The College Board reports "B" grades as starting at 80%, which is an "A" on Hill's grade scale.

Hill, who is the head of the history division, will award "C" grades to students scoring between 40% and 59%. On her syllabus, she describes students earning a "C" as  having "(met) expectations."

"You have followed instructions and demonstrated an acceptable level of understanding," Hill wrote. "There is room for some improvement, because you have not demonstrated that you understand the material and how it connects to other topics and/or how to apply various concepts within the assessed topic to synthesize a product."

For "D" students -- who score between 20% and 39%-- Hill acknowledges that student "work does not meet the minimum expectations of the assignment" but concedes that "you still need some more time to develop your understanding of the standard in question."

"D" students will have an "option to redo/correct the work and re-submit it to improve your score."

"Your quarter/semester grade will be determined by examining your overall growth and learning in the course," Hill wrote. "Behavioral issues will not impact your grade on assessments, but will be communicated to those concerned through other means."

Students will study "Give Me Liberty!" by Marxist Historian Eric Foner.

"Racism" to blame?

In August, OPRF issued a report authored by the school's Director of Equity Patrick Hardy and its Assistant Superintendent Laurie Fiorenza chronicling a spike in "F" grades by its students in the 2020-21 school year.

It recommended using "existing multi-tiered systems of supports and interventions with additional research-based best practices accelerating student learning while focusing on students’ social and emotional needs" to address a spike in student failure.

The school reported 1,668 failing grades in 2020-21 versus 755 in 2018-19 and 575 in 2017-18. 

OPRF's 617 black students in 2020-21 received 717 of OPRF's failing grades for the 2020-21 year, or 1.16 failing grades per black student, 43% of the total.

The school's 1,934 white students received 467 failing grades, or 0.24 failing grades per white student. OPRF's 417 Hispanic students had 317 failing grades, or 0.76 failing grades per Hispanic student.

The report blamed racism for what it called a "disproportionality" in "black and brown" (Hispanic) failing grades.

"OPRF’s administration will adopt language that makes and keeps the system visible and continues to name racism as a complex interconnected structure," the report said. "We must recognize the unique challenges faced during the pandemic intensify the need for a systemic approach to confronting the racial and socioeconomic discrepancies often experienced by our underrepresented student population."

There are approximately 21,000 grades given at OPRF per semester, or a total of 42,000.

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OPRF's grading scale vs. the College Board Standard

History teacher Amy Hill has created a new scale for grading her American History students this school year. How does it compare to the U.S. standard?

Pct	Amy Hill's Scale	College Board Standard
100%	A	A+
95%	A	A
90%	A	A-
85%	A	B
80%	A	B-
75%	B	C
70%	B	C-
65%	B	D
60%	B	F
55%	C	F
50%	C	F
40%	C	F
30%	D	F
20%	D	F
10%	F	F

Sources: Oak Park-River Forest H.S.; The College Board