Testing

This week we are taking the ACT Aspire test.  This is a new test fo rour school, taken in grades 3-10.  It will give good data about individual student progress as well as data for our school as it relates to other schools in our state.  This test is taken on the computer, so no bubbles to fill in with number 2 pencils, which is nice.  After a few hangups with the secure login, everyone was able to get on and take the test.  It is timed, which is different than CRT testing, and most students were able to finish without the panic last-minute issues.  Hopefully with it being computer based, the feedback and scores will be back quickly.  Ninth grades will take English Language Arts and Math this week, on Monday and Tuesday, while Tenth graders will also have a paper/pencil Science test, extending their testing week until Wednesday.  Thursday will be make-up testing.

In ninth grade, we are working on essays related to our books this week.  First block is writing what we affectionately call the Happiness Essay, determining factors required to be happy and deciding if their chosen book character achieved happiness in The Great Gatsby.  In fourth block, we are finishing Of Mice and Men and writing a biographical narrative about an important relationship.  We have focused on writing strong theses and I have met with each student about their thesis statement.  So now we are down to the fun part - the writing and revising.  With our reduced class time for testing, some of this work will need to be done at home to meet the deadlines.  Because of their additional testing, tenth graders have reduced class time this week.  We will be discussing The Metamorphosis that we just finished and we have one poem to analyze if we get time.  We will also be reviewing for our final at the end of this week.