IHSAA Considering adding a Socioeconomic Factor to Determine Football Classifications

[gohawks50]

A recommendation from the IHSAA’s classification committee last week to adopt a classification model similar to one currently used by the Minnesota State High School League – reducing 40 percent of a school’s free or reduced lunch count from their annual enrollment to determine their final classification number – was approved by the Board of Control on Monday.

Classifications in Iowa high school athletics are currently determined solely by enrollment. If approved, the socioeconomic factor would apply to IHSAA football starting in the 2023-24 school year.




The proposed model adjusts the IHSAA classification number for all participating schools by factoring school district free/reduced lunch (FRL) percentages into the state-provided BEDS (grades 9-11) enrollment.

For the IHSAA’s classification number, FRL percentages must be submitted through the Department of Education or a school’s BEDS enrollment will not receive an adjustment.

How: Reduce a school’s BEDS enrollment by 40 percent of its district’s FRL percentage.

Example: A school’s BEDS enrollment (9-11) for the upcoming school year is 1,000. The district’s FRL percentage is 37%.

• 1,000 – (0.40 x [1,000 x 0.37])
• 1,000 – 0.40 x 370
• 1,000 – 148
• IHSAA classification number: 852

Board Briefs: Dec. 6, 2022 | IHSAA

Following the IHSAA's latest board meeting, a socioeconomic factor for IHSAA football classifications advances to membership vote.

www.iahsaa.org

 

[joelbc1]

It will be interesting to see how this all shakes out in the end......Living in DSM there will be a huge impact on competitiveness/schedules....but currently there is no way a metro school can compete with any 'burb school in FB....

 

[SIXERS24]

It's the 3/5 Compromise for Poor People Crazy

 

[gohawks50]

It will be interesting to see how this all shakes out in the end......Living in DSM there will be a huge impact on competitiveness/schedules....but currently there is no way a metro school can compete with any 'burb school in FB....

I also wonder how this will impact private schools most of them are pretty small so even if they have a low free and reduced rate it probably won't change their assigned class.

 

[Bulldogs1974]

I also wonder how this will impact private schools most of them are pretty small so even if they have a low free and reduced rate it probably won't change their assigned class.

it will be interesting. Many hover around the top of their class so schools above them dropping further could bump them up.

 

[SIXERS24]

Football only why?

 

[gohawks50]

Football only why?

Just guessing, but I imagine football is the most expensive sport to offer in high school.

 

[SIXERS24]

Why not Basketball Baseball Track and Wrestling they all have poor kids playing too.

 

[torbee]

Instead of trying to fix the problem, the solution is to tell them "Go be poor somewhere else."

Sickening, IMO.

 

[Hoosierhawkeye]

Is there evidence that wealthy schools have an advantage over poorer schools of similar size?

 

[Hoosierhawkeye]

Instead of trying to fix the problem, the solution is to tell them "Go be poor somewhere else."

Sickening, IMO.

I'm not sure that the athletic association can fix the problem though. That's kind of on the state legislators.

 

[torbee]

Is there evidence that wealthy schools have an advantage over poorer schools of similar size?

You're kidding, right?

 

[gohawks50]

Is there evidence that wealthy schools have an advantage over poorer schools of similar size?

I think they are considering that wealthy schools are more likely to have better facilities. (i.e. weight rooms, practice fields, equipment, etc.)

 

[Whatsgoingonwitgyouguys0190]

Is there evidence that wealthy schools have an advantage over poorer schools of similar size?

If socioeconomic reasons affect participation and that is what we are really worried about why not do like a 3 year average of participation to decide classes? On top of that allow schools a one bump up if the school wants but no moving down.

 

[gohawks50]

Are their any HROT members from Minnesota that could tell us how this has impacted schools in their state?

 

[THE_DEVIL]

Football only why?

Just guessing, but I imagine football is the most expensive sport to offer in high school.

The article I read says football is the only sport the state does regular season scheduling. I don't know if that is true or not.

 

[gohawks50]

If socioeconomic reasons affect participation and that is what we are really worried about why not do like a 3 year average of participation to decide classes? On top of that allow schools a one bump up if the school wants but no moving down.

Socioeconomics affects more than participation at the high school level. Think about how it impacts whether kids participate in youth football. A lot of schools with good football teams have an active developmental program for elementary students run by parents.

 

[StormHawk42]

Is there evidence that wealthy schools have an advantage over poorer schools of similar size?

There’s a stat that made the rounds some time ago that indicated something crazy about the disparity in Iowa. Not even going to try to quote it but I recall the cut off for the haves and have nots was like 30% free and reduced lunch.

It was a pretty alarming statistic I recall.

 

[Whatsgoingonwitgyouguys0190]

Socioeconomics affects more than participation at the high school level. Think about how it impacts whether kids participate in youth football. A lot of schools with good football teams have an active developmental program for elementary students run by parents.

I guess we were affected by farm kids missing a few morning lifting things for family work, but Our poor kids were most of our top athletes came from though. I guess I didn’t see it from from my extremely small sample size but I’m sure they’ve got studies to back it up

 

[Tom Paris]

Is there evidence that wealthy schools have an advantage over poorer schools of similar size?

Yes.

 

[StormHawk42]

Football only why?

Socioeconomics are almost always correlated to participation. It’s one thing if the team only needs 10-15 but when it needs 40+ to have a functioning JV/Varsity program, it’s clearly a different beast.

I refereed a game with DSM East this fall and they had 26 kids on the entire roster. For a 5A program.

North had a “good” season going 4-5 and losing by 70 to Ankeny.

 

[Tom Paris]

I think they are considering that wealthy schools are more likely to have better facilities. (i.e. weight rooms, practice fields, equipment, etc.)

Not to mention access to travel teams, better training, and other things that poor kids don't generally have access to.

 

[joelbc1]

Is there evidence that wealthy schools have an advantage over poorer schools of similar size?

Duh???? yeah.....Look and see what has happened in DSM....not only the growth of the 'burbs but the growth of "private schools" in the city limits of DSM....and just look at how Dowling has improved its brand ever since moving from the inner-city 50 years ago to its current WDM location.....The "losers" in this movement have been the DSM metro urban schools....which is the largest school district in Iowa. And most of it is the result of what we older guys would call "white flight"....

 

[HawkeyeShawn]

Is there evidence that wealthy schools have an advantage over poorer schools of similar size?

SWI comparison. Class 1A Treynor receives a tremendous advantage being very close to Council Bluffs. East of the CB metro has a higher tax base than most of the other rural schools in the conference of similar size. This is due to all of the new construction that has taken place east of CB over the last 30 years. In the past 10 years, Treynor has built a new turf field and huge weight room. Their enrollment flirts with 2A, but this might be enough to move teams down and bump them up.

Meanwhile, our small 1A school is made up of 4 dying towns with very little new construction happening. We can’t afford new bleachers let alone a turf field. Our kids cram into a tiny weight room every morning where they can’t finish their workouts due to too many kids and not enough equipment.

Not specifically picking on Treynor, but this is the case with most metro areas where urban expansion raises the tax base, but teams 15-60 miles away don’t receive the same benefit. I’m sure Van Meter is similar in Central Iowa. Schools like Treynor and Underwood have a huge economic advantage over schools such as Missouri Valley, Logan Magnolia, Tri-Center, Riverside (Oakland), IKM, etc. .

 

[onlyTheObvious]

Last poor school to make a run in 4A (now 5A) was Marshalltown.

I would also make the small religious school play their own damn tournament at the end of the year. Their dominance of almost everything in the lower classes is completely unfair.

 

[bdg8]

so Des Moines Lincoln is moving from 4A to 8 Man?

 

[West Duval Nole]

Florida moved to a separation of Metro and Suburban designation within each class this past year.

 

[JuiceHawk]

I also wonder how this will impact private schools most of them are pretty small so even if they have a low free and reduced rate it probably won't change their assigned class.

Private schools that dont report will be given a 0 for the count on reduced lunch.

 

[JuiceHawk]

On the radio they said a little over 10% of schools would switch classification based on last year's data.

 

[joelbc1]

so Des Moines Lincoln is moving from 4A to 8 Man?

"that" is not the problem.....the problem is a lot along socio-economic lines......Most "metro" kids to be honest, are on the poor side of the economic scale here in DSM......those that can afford the transportation, often end up in a neighboring school district (suburban/private).....What is left at the metro schools are the ones that for whatever reason have fallen thru the cracks, as it were......
As large a population school as Lincoln is, I would bet they are lucky to get 60 kids out for football. Its a multi-faced problem and the HS Athletic Association is looking for an answer to their particular interest.

 

[Hoosierhawkeye]

Duh???? yeah.....Look and see what has happened in DSM....not only the growth of the 'burbs but the growth of "private schools" in the city limits of DSM....and just look at how Dowling has improved its brand ever since moving from the inner-city 50 years ago to its current WDM location.....The "losers" in this movement have been the DSM metro urban schools....which is the largest school district in Iowa. And most of it is the result of what we older guys would call "white flight"....

I don't know I don't follow HS athletics, especially not Iowa HS athletics because I don't live there. I was mostly just looking at a question of what is the cumulative W/L record for rich vs poor schools in like the last 10 years.

 

[Hoosierhawkeye]

You're kidding, right?

I don't know I don't follow HS athletics. What's the cumulative W/L record of rich vs poor schools in the last 10 years.

 

[SeaPA]

Interesting concept. I'm somewhat surprised that they would limit it only to football, although the recent change in Florida was also for football only. Here, the old classification system was based solely on # of students; the main issue I had with that is that a public school with 750 students (roughly half boys, half girls) was classified the same as, say, a private all-boys school of 750 -so the private school had twice as many boys from which to build their teams. The new setup first splits things into "Metro" (all schools in the State's 8 most populated counties) and "Suburban" - then divides those classifications based on # of students.

 

[StormHawk42]

I don't know I don't follow HS athletics. What's the cumulative W/L record of rich vs poor schools in the last 10 years.

Until DSM Roosevelt won against Urbandale last year, suburban schools had won about 110 football games in a row against DMPS.

 

[Hoosierhawkeye]

Until DSM Roosevelt won against Urbandale last year, suburban schools had won about 110 football games in a row against DMPS.

That's a pretty impressive winning streak. Is that kind of winning streak generally true state wide?

 

[torbee]

That's a pretty impressive winning streak. Is that kind of winning streak generally true state wide?

Yes.

The metro Davenport schools never beat PV, Bettendorf and North Scott.

I presume the same is in Cedar Rapids vis a vis suburban v. metro schools.

It's gotten quite ludicrous.

 

[Tom Paris]

I don't know I don't follow HS athletics, especially not Iowa HS athletics because I don't live there. I was mostly just looking at a question of what is the cumulative W/L record for rich vs poor schools in like the last 10 years.

I think the last win by a DSM public team against a suburb in football, not counting Valley, was in 2009. Lincoln beat Urbandale if I recall the timeline correctly. It is extremely rare. The games are rarely even competitive against the suburbs of Des Moines or the big private school, Dowling, which I respect because they at least compete with the big schools. Davenport Assumption? Different story.

 

[UI2390]

I think the last win by a DSM public team against a suburb in football, not counting Valley, was in 2009. Lincoln beat Urbandale if I recall the timeline correctly. It is extremely rare. The games are rarely even competitive against the suburbs of Des Moines or the big private school, Dowling, which I respect because they at least compete with the big schools. Davenport Assumption? Different story.

Roosevelt beat Waukee in 2021.

 

[UI2390]

One of my daughters played volleyball at Ankeny and I can tell you there is a huge talent gap between suburban schools and the city schools in volleyball. Most of the Ankeny girls play club ball as well and practice/train year around in open gyms. My daughter played on club teams and most of the girls on those club teams came from the suburbs.

 

[JWolf74]

I support this. It won't fix the issue, but will hopefully make it more competitive for the metro schools.