Is LTHS 'Commendable' Rating A Good Thing?

LA GRANGE, IL – During a presentation this week, Lyons Township High School officials noted the state gave the school a "commendable" rating.

That sounds good. Is it?

In Illinois, a commendable school is one that is not in the top 10 percent, but its graduation rate exceeds 67 percent and there are no underperforming student groups.

School board member Michael Thomas questioned the commendable rating.

"It says no underperforming student groups," he said. "I'm not getting that. We do have underperforming student groups."

He was told the state has a definition for that.

Thomas responded, "It's like we're better than the lowest of the low."

Kristine Zieman, the coordinator of assessment and research, explained what the state meant by underperforming student subgroups. She said Lyons Township would lose its commendable rating if any of its student subgroups' performance fell into the bottom 5 percent of schools.

She said 81 percent of schools receive the commendable rating.

Lyons Township's overall student performance usually outperforms the state average by a lot. That is typical of a school with a low percentage of low-income students.

The school's SAT scores have been dropping in recent years, but they are still well above the state average.