Freshmen Placement Day

Getting incoming freshmen registered for classes is a “hands-on” activity. The 450+ 8th graders who were invited to attend my high school based on their entrance exam taken in January attend one of four sessions on a Sunday in March. These sessions begin with a group gathering in the new cafeteria and a welcome address by both the principal and president. Before the session begins, students and their parents pick up packets that contain their scores on each section of the exam.

These scores can be a real shock to the student and parents. Most people think that if their child is a straight “A” student at their grade school they will score in the top few percentile of the incoming class. We realize, after decades of experience, that grades in Jr. High School are useless at placing students in freshmen classes. There is so much variation in difficulty level at the 70+ feeder schools we draw from that there is no way to compare students from different schools based on grades. The single activity all incoming freshmen compete in is the entrance exam, and we have found that it is extremely accurate at placing students. Sure, some students who score lower on the exam just had a bad day. These students usually excel once here and are moved up early in the year.

After the welcome session, students and their parents go to smaller sessions consisting of 10-12 students with their parents and a guidance counselor who explains the scores and how we use them for placement. Earlier in the week, department chairs mark which course each student qualifies to begin in on the registration sheets. I placed all 450+ students in one of the levels of Biology. Incoming students are placed in Honors Biology if they scored in the 90th percentile or above on the entrance exam. Students who scored in the 40th to 89th percentiles are placed in a regular biology class. And, if they are below the 40th percentile, they will be placed in a “modified” level of biology.

Most students accept the recommended placement, turn in their registration information, and go home. Needless to say, some do not. The next stop, for those who want to argue about the placement decision, is the department chairs. We all have assigned tables in a large room—library or resource room—where parents can come and plead their child’s case. Fathers tend not to challenge the placement decision made by the department chair. Most placement “arguments” are with mothers who are shocked to see how the entrance exam failed to identify the genius in the child and place them in the highest possible level of everything. If the child is close to the required score, I move them up without a fight.

When their scores are far below those required, I attempt to talk them out of it. We are told not to tell them they are wrong but, rather, re-explain the placement requirements and try to get them to calm down. When that doesn’t work I explain to them that in the first few weeks of school teachers will be looking for students who are excelling in lower levels and move them up, agreeing that sometimes the test scores are not a true indication of ability. This pacifies 80% of them and all is well. Every fall teachers do move about three or four students up in placement, but most stay where they are when they discover that the exam placed them correctly.

When even this accommodation doesn’t satisfy the parent I tell them I will place their name on a list of students that want to be placed higher. I ask them to have their grade school science teacher contact me so we can talk about the placement. When I speak with the grade school teacher I ask them to compare the incoming student with a former student they have taught who attended our school. Most of the time the Jr. high teacher either doesn’t have a former student to compare them to who would have excelled at my school, or the student they remember ended up being just average when here. Either way, I deny the new placement. Sometimes the parent tries to go over my head to the principal, but that almost never works. Sometimes the teacher does compare them to a former student who excelled here and I move the new student up as requested.

This year I have four students on my “list” and am waiting for contact from the grade school. I have already heard from one teacher who identified the student as not very capable and said he should not be placed higher. Most of the students on this list are never moved up because no grade school teacher ever contacts me—maybe they are able to talk some sense into the mother when I am not. Either way, I always have a throbbing headache when the day is over. Luckily, it’s only one day a year.