As third quarter finals wrap up a week of testing, we at the Royal Page find our thoughts consumed with the letter grades we will find on our report cards in a week or two to come.

What we don’t necessarily realize is that in completing the Minnesota Comprehensive Assessments (MCA) last week, we created a ‘Report Card’ of sorts for our school, viewable on the website of the Minnesota Department of Education (MDE).

According to the MDE, the MCA is given to “help districts measure student progress toward Minnesota’s academic standards and also meet the requirements of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act.” MDE then uses our scores along with other statistics to create their report card, measuring schools’ proficiency, growth, achievement-gap reduction, and graduation.

In sporting events, the Lake Conference inspires competition, rivalry. We fight for our wins and brood over our losses.

Every athlete has their rival in another team. Academically, there is a disconnect. Who do we compete with in academics?

Moreover, why aren’t we competing to be the smartest?

Just last week, Monday Advisory was dismissed to make space for a pep fest, celebrating the accomplishments of winter athletes and clubs. Where was the celebration for our eight National Merit Finalists? We celebrate when students sign with a university for athletics, but have we celebrated the students who earned full-ride scholarships for academics?

Is this a problem in our school or in our nation?

By MDE’s Report Card, HHS is the second to last in the Lake Conference, in front of only Eden Prairie.

Graduation rate is another aspect measured by MDE.

At HHS, 609 students were seniors in 2013-14.

The MDE statistics show that come spring, only 528 of them graduated. 81 seniors did not don their caps or receive their diplomas; 13.3 percent of the 2014 class did not graduate.

Of those 81, 61 students continued in schooling and another 15 dropped out. The other five were unknown.

For the last several years, our graduation rate has remained below 87 percent, along with a similar percentage from Eden Prairie. The rest of the Lake conference is in the 90 percent range.

We have coaches who inspire us to defeat the other team in athletics. What would it look like if staff pushed us academically to beat the same “teams” we face on the field?

Furthermore, MDE reported that in the 2013-14 school year, 30 percent of students were not “on track” for success, or making substantial yearly growth.

Royal Page staff members have seen basketball practices where the person doing the last sprint of killer gets cheered on by all his or her teammates. We’ve seen the softball practices where one dropped ball means a lap for everyone.

What if we fought for our academics the same way we fight out on the basketball court? If we looked out for our fellow classmates the same way we looked out for a teammate?

Why shouldn’t we recognize our academic achievements the same way we recognize our athletes?

In a generation of “no child left behind,” we have to recognize that is not true – there are students left behind. It takes consciousness to manifest change, so we at the Royal Page hope you hear us when we say we want better for our school.

Perhaps one day, school spirit will extend to the classroom. Because if we push each other, we are the ones with the ability to make all students “on track.” Our current and future classes can top the Lake Conference and even rival with the state champions.