The Southeast Polk School District will be turning out over two hundred young adults who are “not proficient” according to the State of Iowa’s 2023 Spring Student Assessments.

If I had to read between the lines, I would say that Southeast Polk is sitting in some hot water with the Iowa Department of Education regarding academics. Making the shift to Standardized Referenced Grading and Reassessments is a way to make the school district look better on paper. Students are not being held to a higher standard. We are lowering the standards making it easier for students to pass classes. Meanwhile we are not making it easier on these same students as they venture out into trade school, a college career or even directly into the workforce. The result in this lower standard of grading will likely mean that faculty, administration and the school board have fewer eyes on them for poor academic performance in one of the largest school districts in the state. The long-lasting result will also be that we are also producing less educated & responsible adults.