On Wednesdays, we test prep
February 2, 2016
Due to a change in state standardized testing this year, every tenth and eleventh grade student will be required to take a test which is published by the ACT. Tenth grade students are required to take the ACT Aspire, which will give students the opportunity to practice testing similar to the real ACT that is accepted by colleges. Eleventh grade students will be taking the normal ACT test. The scores from the test will be accepted by colleges if the student chooses to submit them.
In order to prepare students, principal Randy Rose has come up with an idea that will hopefully result in higher scores on the tests that take place in March. This test practice will be counted as the remediation for the students that are required to have it due to their scores on last year’s PARCC test. For the students not required to take a remedial class, the practice will count as enrichment. The twelfth grade class will be getting to spend this time to work on scholarship applications and other college related issues.
Hoping for all of the students to get the most practice possible in each main subject, Rose has come up with a rotation that will give each student the opportunity to work with a teacher on each subject at least three times before the test.
“A lot of schools are starting to try to find ways that they can get help for kids and do it during the school day because that prevents transportation after school and prevents having teachers stay after school,” Rose said.
Rose decided to put this practice in the middle of the school day on each Wednesday. Rose chose this time and day to practice for the ACT tests, feeling as though this time would have the least amount of conflicts for students. On this day, every class will be 40 minutes long. After the fourth period class, each student will go to their designated subject practice for that week. These test prep sessions are schedule to begin tomorrow.