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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, West in many ways came to resemble a college more than a high school.
West is still a showcase school. But times are different, and so are community attitudes. Once overwhelmingly liberal, the school board changed in 1975 when the balance swung, 5 to 2, in favor of the conservatives. The new majority promptly forced Superintendent Ludwig to resign. In an election this fall, the voters turned out the last progressive on the board, which must now find a permanent successor to Ludwig. Several candidates are under consideration—and are being examined closely to see if they will hew to the back-to-basics line. The board has also decreed that a "comprehensive testing program" be introduced to test basic skills.
"Seven years ago, when I ran for the school board, talking basic skills was a no-no," says Board Member Barbara Timmerman, a widowed mother of two.
The first year, she recalls, she was always the dissenting vote. But gradually local sentiment has swung her way.
"I 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."
West High's academic offerings are impressive, and the school boasts twelve semifinalists on this year's National Merit Scholarship competition, which singles out the brightest seniors in America. College-bound seniors can elect advanced placement courses, apply to take courses at the university or propose "study projects," in which they can tackle anything from music to horse training. Yet, as at Medford and Coos Bay, the easier route beguiles many. To graduate, students must complete 180 hours of graded coursework, including 45 hours in language arts (which must include nine terms of English), 15 hours in science and 30 in social studies. But only slightly more than half the coursework is prescribed, and full credit is given for such courses as American Teen-Ager and Interior Decorating. One disgruntled teacher brands them "education by entertainment."
West's critics, many of them dedicated teachers, are worried