F-minus | The Salt Lake Tribune

This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2013, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.

Newsweek magazine ranked West High as number one in Utah and 163rd nationally (out of 22,000 high schools). The Utah Legislature's grading system gave it an F grade.

Viewmont scored higher than Bountiful or Woods Cross high schools (both of which got a B), but because three low-proficiency students did not take the test (Viewmont has about 1,750 students), Viewmont violated the participation requirement and got an automatic F.

Forty percent of the grade is based on test scores and 20 percent on graduation rates, both of which would be lower in schools which service poorer neighborhoods. Improvement, which is 40 percent of the grade, should be 100 percent of the criteria.

The school voucher-supporting Legislature has an agenda to purposely fail public schools. They, and the grading system they created, get an F-minus.

Craig Glover

Salt Lake City