Numbers are everything. Theoretically, a 36 gets you into Harvard, a 100 gets you an A+ on the test and a 5 makes you an AP master. But, just like anything else, a 100 percent is just one grade, and a 36 comes from just one test. At Central, students hold a high reputation for earning these “perfect” numbers quite frequently. Therefore, it comes as a shock to learn that our standardized reading test scores for the Prairie State Achievement Examination (PSAE) are falling.

The Editorial Board of the Central Times is concerned with the results presented at the Naperville Central faculty meeting held on Nov. 24. However, we understand that the PSAE reflects only the performance of students on one given day, and its results should not be taken out of context.

We feel that it is impossible to blame a certain group of people for the disappointing results. Was it the parents who chose too rigorous a course for their child freshman year? The teachers who make the students read books they don’t have an interest in? Or perhaps juniors who resent the fact they must attend two days of testing while all the other grades only have one and take on an apathetic attitude?

The Central Times agrees with Vice Principal Jackie Thornton that regardless of the reason why scores are dropping, Central has many well-qualified teachers who have the ability to remedy the situation.

One solution the Central Times does not agree with, however, is standard-based grading. We understand the advantages and benefits of standards-based grading, but we believe that it would be impractical to implement at the high school level.

We no longer use a check or a simple “satisfactory” to reflect tasks such as “listening skills” or “participation.” In addition, it would be overly-complicated to expect teachers to keep track of how well a student measures up to a standard for each specific aspect of curriculum.

We also believe that allowing students to retake assessments will promote the wrong message to students. Often times in the “work world,” people are not given do-overs or second chances.

In addition, retakes would be impractical for certain subjects. While for math tests, teachers could change the numbers to create different versions of tests, the same could not be done for subjects such as history.