State Testing for Elementary, Junior High, and High School
By Arriah Ludden
State testing occurs across the entire state of Nebraska, typically for elementary students all the way up to high school students. All students from grades 3-10 have to take state testing, and there is no way to get out of it. The purpose of the tests is to show what students have learned.
“State testing is the Nebraska Department of Education’s system to gauge where students are academically in each public school district in the state. Our yearly results allow us to see where our strengths and weaknesses lie in the core curricular areas of English, Science, and Mathematics. Over the years, the test has changed to a certain extent. This year’s English Language Arts test for our 7th and 8th graders included quite a bit more reading, along with opportunities for the students to provide written answers and responses rather than all multiple choice,” high school principal Mark Brahmer says.
The tests are really beneficial for teachers and staff to see how students are doing in classes. The tests track year-to-year academic growth, and are also a progress checkpoint for students. The results of the tests show students' strengths and weaknesses in each class, so teachers can figure out what concept they need to go back and reteach to help students understand what they are learning.
State tests do not have a standard score that students have to meet, so students do not get in trouble for not meeting a certain score. All students are encouraged to try their best, just like they would on any other test. When taking the test, there is no time limit, and students have as much time as they need to complete the test.
“For the review that we did, I call ‘hammer down on the grammar' which is focusing on the grammar department with commas and capitalization," English teacher Ryan Ohnoutka says.
