Juniors take issue with timing of Smarter Blanace testing

With the burden of balancing studying for APs, ACTs and SATs, many juniors have become upset with the new California State Test- ing schedule, which are being held in the last two weeks of April, with AP season directly after that in the first two weeks of May. This year the new Smarter Balance tests re- quire all juniors to miss two weeks of instruction: one week out of their English classes and one out of their history classes.According to O-House Principal Regina Zurbano, these alterations to the testing schedule are largely a result of conflicts between the SMMUSD calendar and the window of testing for Smarter Balanced tests. Smarter Balance tests are only allowed to occur after 80% of the school year has passed, and then must be administered within the next month. Sa- mo’s recognized leadership body, the Instructional Planning Committee (IPC), decided to hold the tests in the last two weeks of may because it was the only time that fell within the smarter balanced testing window, that did not interfere with spring break or AP tests.“We knew that this was a schedule we had to live with and [the IPC] decided to try to minimize the frustration and the impact as best we could,”English teacher Jennifer Pust said. “We knew we had to test in History and in English, because that’s where 11th graders are. We had History host testing the first week, so they would have a week to reconnect with their students before their exam. The AP English Language and Composition Exam isn’t until the following week, May 13, so we’re going to have two weeks back with our students before the test.”Principal Eva Mayoral believes that if students think of the test as an opportunity to show Samo’s strengths, they will feel more comfortable with the schedule.

“It’s important to recognize that the [Smarter Balance] test isn’t just a test of English and Math,” Mayoral said. “It’s a test of 11th graders across all domains: their ability to read, write, reason and calculate. So the more we think of it as just a test of our school and how well we’ve done with our students over time, the less of a bitter pill it will be to swallow.”However, many junior students are still not satisfied with this year’s testing schedule.“It’s really frustrating that State testing was put the first two weeks before AP testing because it puts so much unnecessary pressure, specifically on the juniors who are already in the hardest year of high school and are absolutely going insane trying to do what they’re supposed to do and can’t pull it off,” Cashel O’Malley (’16) said.