The official student newspaper of Walter Johnson High School

The Pitch

The official student newspaper of Walter Johnson High School

The Pitch

The official student newspaper of Walter Johnson High School

The Pitch

Revived Government HSA Upsets Students

Revived Government HSA Upsets Students

While the end of the school year brings final exams and projects, students are still required to take other standardized tests before leaving for summer break. The Maryland High School Assessments (HSAs) are standardized tests in three main subjects including Algebra 1, English 10 and Biology in which students must receive at least a minimum score in order to graduate from high school. However, the Government HSA was brought back this year, after it was discontinued two years ago during the 2010-2011 school year.

Since 2009, HSAs have been part of the Maryland High School graduation requirement, and are “tests that measure school and individual student progress,” according to the Maryland State Department of Education. However, a countywide ruling stated that students who took the AP Government exam did not have to take the HSA, as those students already sat through another exam. Students enrolled in honors or on-level government courses had to take the HSA. Some students who took the HSA, however, were upset they had to take the test.

“The exam was really easy,” said sophomore Lucas Absolon, “And pointless. The entire exam was basically common sense.” He added that even though AP students had to take their AP exam, they should have also been required to take the Government HSA because those students are still taking a Government course. Social Studies teacher Rainer Kulenkampff disagrees.

“I understand that students might think ‘this sucks,'” he said. “However, it is important that the county maintains an emphasis on developing well rounded and informed citizens and this is one way to make sure that goal is met.”

Story continues below advertisement

He added that students also had a lot of time to review and that helped put them in the mindset need to take the HSA, which is something that will also be needed on the final exam. AP level students are exempt from a final exam, and typically complete a project or a paper in its place.

During the 2012 General Assembly session, legislation concerning the reinstatement of the Government HSA was introduced. The House and Senate both unanimously passed the legislation and respective bills, and Governor Martin O’Malley signed them law on May 22, 2012, which resulted in the revival of the Government HSA. Absolon said he was upset that the HSA was resinstated in the first place.

“It was a waste of time,” he said. “They shouldn’t have brought it back.”

During the current school year, the Government HSA will not actually be part of the graduation requirement, but instead only a formative assessment to let teachers and administrators be prepared for the 2013-2014 school year, where it will be a requirement for all future high school students. This means no student currently in high school is required to pass the Government HSA for their graduation requirement. However, they must either pass the Biology, Algebra and English HSAs or earn a cumulative score of 1208 after taking all of them.

Incoming ninth graders entering in the 2013-2014 school year and beyond, however, must pass the Government HSA as well as the other three or earn a combined score of 1602 as part of their graduation requirement.

To pass these exams, students are given practice tests and prep by their teachers, but sophomore Zac Levi didn’t think students were prepared enough.

“Besides the prep, they really could have just given us more time to prepare,” he said. “While I may not like the tests, they are still a requirement, so lets just give people more time to get the best score they can.”

 

 

0
0
Leave a Comment
Donate to The Pitch
$775
$1000
Contributed
Our Goal

Your donation will support the student journalists of Walter Johnson High School. Your contribution will allow us to purchase equipment and cover our annual website hosting costs.

More to Discover
About the Contributor
Izzy Salant, Print News Editor
Junior Isaac Salant, known as Izzy, is excited to be on his second year of Pitch staff. He is the Print News Editor after being the Print Assistant News Editor & Online News Co-Editor last year. He has had a passion for journalism for a while and has a journalism background as his father is a reporter for Bloomberg News. Aside from The Pitch, Izzy likes baseball and acting, takes Tae Kwon Do and is involved with Live at WJ, where he performs comedy and magic. Additionally, Izzy hopes to be a part of WJ S*T*A*G*E, and is an anchor on The Daily Lineup, where he is frequently known to mess up.
Donate to The Pitch
$775
$1000
Contributed
Our Goal

Comments (0)

All The Pitch Picks Reader Picks Sort: Newest

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *