What Is NGSS Testing?
Last week, Juniors took the NGSS test, short for the Next Generation Science Standards, which is a CT-based test. According to Mrs. Goyette, the contents of the test are “Biology, Chemistry, Physics, and possibly some questions about the environment or engineering.” Juniors are the only high school students to take the NGSS.
How was the testing environment?
Students were required to take this test in either the gymnasium or the cafeteria. Students in both areas said the environment could be stressful. Adolfo Lopez mentions that, “the seats had no cushioning and were hard; we had no personal space and the sunlight was a distraction.”
Another student, Micah West, offers another concern. “They assigned my seat with some people I really don’t like.” Sanija Abozovski’s concern was that “there wasn’t enough time and the presence of so many teachers was stressful.”
All of these stress factors at the same time could cause a student with anxiety to be stressed and therefore have a worse performance. All the students mentioned that there were times they could not focus or would be distracted due to those factors.
Was the testing fair?
Many students have mixed feelings about if this test was fair. When Sanija was asked if she thought the test was fair, she stated, “Absolutely not, I feel like almost everyone who walked out of the testing room said they guessed on almost every question, I wasn’t taught many of the subjects.”
Teachers do not agree. Mrs Goyette stated, “I think the test is fair the one reason, being it asks more problem solving questions.” She followed it up by saying, “It depends on the scopes and sequences students may have taken by eleventh grade.” This explains why some students said the testing was fair, but many said it was unfair.
