fhspress.com Mustang Stampede Foothill High School

High School test scores affect college course schedules

By JESSICA GOMEZ
fhspress.com Feature Co-Editor
Class of 2012

Photo by Anthony Valles.

Tests are a part of school. They always have been and always will be. Tests encompass what students are expected to learn and also serve the purpose of providing evidence of students' effort and learning, as well as, what teachers have taught and/or have failed to teach. Tests hold students accountable for learning and teachers accountable for teaching.

For the majority of students' school years, students have taken the California Standards Test, (also known as the CST), as they are administered to students in grades 2 through 11. The CST's are a component of the STAR (Standardized Testing and Reporting) Program, and are developed specifically for California by Californian educators and test developers. The sole purpose of the CST's is to measure students' progress towards mastering and learning California's state-adopted content standards, which detail what students should know and be able to do in each subject tested, in accordance with their grade level. The CST's test English Language Arts (ELA), mathematics, science, and history–social science. Students at our school took these tests Monday through Thursday the week of April 16-20.

Juniors and seniors who are in Advanced Placement classes, or AP classes for short, will be testing for those classes in May. The AP Spanish test will be on May 8. AP Calculus will be on May 9, AP English Literature on May 10, AP German on May 11, AP Physics and AP Biology on May 14, AP American Government and Politics and AP United States History on May 15, AP English Composition on May 16, and AP Macroeconomics on May 17.

here is a fee of $87 to take an AP test, but students who qualify can get fee waivers and pay only $5 per test. Taking an AP test has a few benefits. Not only do they look good for college applications, but they also provide students who get a passing score of 3 (scores range from 1-5) with college credits for that class. Plus, students won't have to take the class or its equivalent in college.

What a great way to save some money!

jessica.gomez@fhspress.com

FOOTHILL HIGH SCHOOL fhspress.com SACRAMENTO, CALIFORNIA