Pandemic Has Little Effect On D-86 Grades: Records

HINSDALE, IL — In October, Hinsdale High School District 86's superintendent lamented the "sheer volume of D's and F's" at Central and South as a result of remote learning.

But statistics on recently issued grades indicate a more positive story.

In one way, Central and South saw a better situation last semester, with both issuing a greater percentage of A's, according to District 86 data.

At South, 48 percent of grades were A's in the fall semester. That's up from 42 percent in fall 2019. Meanwhile, 57 percent of Central's grades were A's in fall 2020, up from 52 percent a year earlier.

At South and Central, the percentage of B's and C's dropped slightly.

At the same time, both schools issued more grades on the lower end, but not alarmingly so. Last semester, 4 percent of Central's grades fell under the categories of D, F, incomplete and no grade. That was up from 3 percent in fall 2019. South also saw an increase of a percentage point, to 12 percent, in the lower categories.

At last week's school board meeting, South's principal, Arwen Pokorny Lyp, said the use of "incomplete" grades was widely expanded in the last semester.

"Students who received incompletes were typically students who were missing a few core assignments that needed to be completed before an academic grade was issued," she said. "This was a student who did most of their work and was successful most of the time, but was missing a few key things and their grade was sitting at an F at the end of the semester."

Students have until Friday to complete their work for the first semester, she said.

The "no grade" designation was new this year, Pokorny Lyp said. It's similar to an F, but it doesn't come with a penalty for a student's grade point average, she said.

"The student is held accountable for making up that credit," Pokorny Lyp said.

In late October, Superintendent Tammy Prentiss told the school board that the effects of remote learning had hurt students' grades. She said the students were suffering more "academic duress" than is the norm for both schools.

Prentiss said the district was "all hands on deck" identifying struggling students and making sure they come into the school for extra help, so the semester is not lost for them.

"The sheer volume of D's and F's are a problem at both campuses," the superintendent told the board.

In response to a public records request, Patch found Elmhurst School District 205 saw a slight increase in F's last semester.