Word: iowa
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Dates: during 1970-1979
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...High is a product of the prosperous, progressive '60s. Built in 1968 on 80 acres of farm land across the Iowa River from the downtown area, the three-story brick and stone building was designed with the latest educational theories in mind. The $4.5 million school was provided with a 2,000-spectator gym, a little theater, a music wing and a large central commons area for student socializing...
...Iowa City (pop. 49,000), a faculty town?the University of Iowa is the main industry?with a taxpaying base of prospering middle-class professionals, was in an innovative mood. It approved when Merlin Ludwig, then superintendent of schools, granted West's 1,040 students a nonvoting chair on the board of education in 1970. Ludwig also introduced a more flexible curriculum. Grades were abolished at the elementary-school level, and a pass-fail option was installed at West. As a final gesture, Ludwig declared a new motto for his school district: "Iowa City Puts the Student First." In short...
...believe in individual education but not in handing a kid a book and saying 'Teach yourself,' " she explains. Acting Superintendent David Cronin agrees that teaching the basics and reinstating grades in the elementary schools are the burning issues in Iowa City. He sees the concerns as legitimate but also feels that the clock cannot be turned back entirely, that "the good old days are gone...
...about academic danger signs. Composite scores on the ACT test, an Iowa-bred competitor of the SAT exam, have been drifting downward since 1972. Meanwhile, almost 70% of the West seniors who took the ACT test this year had a grade point average of 3 or higher out of a possible 4, compared with only 39% in 1970. For the past four years, A's have been the most commonly awarded grade. Says Senior Kyle Schulz: "If you get a C, that's terrible...
...Iowa City school board's determination to bring back "the basics" is shared by parents and school administrators across the U.S. Indeed back-to-basics is the latest rallying cry among U.S. educators, who are yet again attempting to define the purpose and direction of American public education. Some educators find it easy to agree on what has gone wrong with the schools. Says...