High school boasts four National Merit Scholars

Tuesday, May 2, 2006 | 7:26 a.m.

Coronado High School leads the Clark County School District this year in National Merit Scholars, with four students earning $2,500 each toward their higher education goals.

Cameron Ball, Andrew Green, Stephanie Senef and Wen-Hui Tan - all seniors at the Henderson campus - were among 15,000 national finalists. Students are selected by a committee of college admissions officers and high school counselors. More than $30 million in scholarship money is expected to be distributed this year.

Valley High School won boasting rights with National Merit Scholar Lynn Jane Ho, who expects to study engineering. The private Meadows School has three winners: Brittany Breed, Elizabeth Degori and Jeremy Leibowitz.

Tan is no stranger to national honors. She was one of just 32 students in the country to score a perfect 36 on the ACT exam in April 2005.

Beginning in August, Clark County's teachers will be required to give both halves of a semester equal weight in determining student grades.

The School Board voted Thursday to establish the new requirement.

In the past, a teacher might decide to base a final semester grade on 1,000 points, with 700 points assigned in the first quarter. That could work against a student, said Jane Kadoich, the district's director of guidance and counseling.

"If a student does poorly in the first quarter and the teacher only provides 300 points in the second quarter, the student never has an opportunity to dig out," Kadoich said. "On the other end of spectrum, a student who does well the first quarter may think (he can) coast for the rest of the year."

The change takes effect with the start of the new school year in August.

The School Board also approved a new grading scale that matches a numerical average to each letter grade. The scale, standard in many districts as well as in higher education, sets an A at 90 to 100, a B at 80 to 89 and a C at 70 to 79. The prior regulation called for an A to equal excellent achievement while a B was above average and a C was average.

The updated regulations also call for a revised appeals process for parents to dispute their child's grade, including requiring administrators to review the matter within 10 days.

A process is also set in place for parents to appeal a school administrator's decision to the region superintendent.

Ron Montoya, principal of Valley High School, said the proposed new grading scale is what his teachers have followed for years, including in the international baccalaureate and magnet programs.

Montoya said he has not had any parents complain about their children's grades since the addition several years ago of EdLine, an online program that allows parents to check daily attendance, quiz scores and upcoming homework assignments.

"Parents are well aware of where their kids stand on a daily basis," Montoya said. "It's the greatest invention of all time."