Julia Ticus is frustrated. Nearing the end of the first semester of her senior year at Evanston Township High School, she has yet to read a novel in her mixed honors-level English class.
“I’m really disappointed because this class honestly feels like a waste of time,” Ticus said. “I’m one of three or four students that actually does the homework every day, and the in-class discussions aren’t great.”
Ticus is one of many ETHS seniors who were surprised this year when the honors-only English classes were eliminated from their curriculum. These students, along with dozens of parents, teachers and community members, discussed mixed-level classes at a forum Thursday night.
The meeting, hosted by the Parent Teacher Student Association, was a follow-up to an Oct. 6 forum when nearly 200 people showed up to voice their concerns over the shift.
“After seeing the reaction at the last forum, we really want to provide you with an additional chance to speak,” said Candace Davis, PTSA co-president. “This meeting is really intended to increase and improve the communication around this subject.”
At ETHS, mixed-level honors classes are designed to increase rigor and academic achievement among lower-achieving students, Davis said. The classes include a range of students with test scores from the 40th to 94th percentiles.
“The bell curve theory tells us that high achievers and low achievers should be separated,” ETHS senior Solomon Miller said. “I don’t see how lumping everyone together could work.”
Several parents questioned how teachers could successfully teach a class with such academic disparity. Deb Bailey, a teacher with mixed-level experience, said that classrooms often end up segmented as a result of the gap and teachers’ inability to meet high demands.
“Mixed-level classes are crushing for me to teach because it’s impossible to meet everyone’s needs,” she said.
Many felt that the move was a hasty attempt by the administration to get Hispanic and African-American students up to the standards of the No Child Left Behind Act. ETHS has failed to meet “adequate yearly progress” for minority subgroups in every year since the law took effect in 2002.
“This is about race,” said ETHS alumnus John Fuller. “We have a high percentage of black kids failing, so it’s clear we need to look at some alternatives if mixed classes aren’t working.”
Board of Education student representative Adam Newman criticized the administration’s attempt to use a “one-size-fits-all” approach to the problem, saying that it was done quickly to avoid backlash from parents and teachers.
“They were scared of exactly what has happened here tonight, and they should be held accountable,” he said.
While another meeting with members of the school board is already planned for Nov. 24, Newman encouraged parents to continue pushing for a change in the meantime.
“You are the ones who can make a difference,” he said. “Trust me, there isn’t anything the administration fears more than a passionate parent.”
