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Lincoln-Sudbury Regional High School will soon standardize class leveling across all departments. According to Superintendent Andrew Stephens, the inconsistencies in class level designations from one department to the next led to confusion for students applying to colleges, and a lack of clarity for college admissions professionals. (1:01:30)
A working group has been developing standard level designations (they settled on “Honors”, “High Honors” and “College Prep”), and that will push through each of the departments. Each department will have to determine the level designation for each class they offer.
Stephens said he expects that work to be complete by the early fall of 2024, and transcripts will be updated during the 2024-2024 school year. The school will also need to update the Program of Studies with the new course levels.
With consistent naming conventions across departments and on student transcripts, seniors would be able to fill out the Common App without confusion. The new levels match the leveling options in the drop-down menus of the applications according to Stephens.
Stephens noted:
“It’s a fairly tectonic move for L-S, as the current [method] that has been in place has been in place for decades.”
The new level system does not contemplate Advanced Placement or “AP” courses. When asked during the June 11 L-S School Committee meeting, Stephens said it was premature to get into the AP discussion, but that it’s a conversation the district will be having.
There’s some complexity in the implementation, as was highlighted by committee member Lucy Maulsby. She asked how this might impact or apply to sequential class offerings that need to be taken in order by students. It’s common for world language and math classes to be offered as a structured sequence. Superintendent Stephens responded that those are questions that they’re going to have to answer by the final rollout in the fall.
During the L-S School Committee discussion, Stephens made it clear that the intent is to “meet students where they are” and offering some choice around class levels. He emphasized that not all courses are going to be High Honors:
“You also want to meet kids where they are. And you want to have places where kids stretch. And you want to have the ability for a choice to occur. And you also don’t want to, at the same time that you’re doing something that has that consistency, undercut a lot of what is at the heart of L-S culture with respect to choice, and with respect to some of that autonomy that comes. Student autonomy, teacher autonomy.”
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