With this year’s state testing coming around, many students are feeling left in the dark about the purpose of the test. Covid-19 proved that it is not here to help, but that did not stop Camas High School (CHS) from doing their state testing this year.

On October 12, CHS freshmen started their state testing for math. Some students did the test and thought nothing of it, but other upperclassmen worried that passing this test was a graduation requirement.

CHS Counselor Brian Witherspoon said that the test is not a graduation requirement but a way for teachers and parents to understand where a student is at with their learning as well as provide pathways for their career after high school.

Freshman Mattias Rayan said, “I felt very stressed and overwhelmed, the environment added to the pressure because I felt like I was in a jail cell.”

The staff ran into multiple problems during the organization process. The students used to take the test in their math classroom, but this would not work because not all seniors take a math class, so the staff decided they would place students in the North Commons.

CHS Associate Principal Seanna Pitassi also ran into the trouble of not having tables provided for students to test on; students were left with “antique” tables, as Pitassi calls them. Staff also had to deal with reminding the custodian and technology department that there would be testing and to try not to disturb the environment.

Planning tests for thousands of students is a daunting task. Pitassi was just one of the people faced with the task of organizing the testing. CHS staff had to organize where the students would take the test, be trained on how to handle the students when testing, organize when and where the tests would be, and many other difficult tasks.

One challenge is preventing students from cheating. With a test as large as this, many expect cheating to be widespread but it is less common than predicted. Students are expected to drop their backpacks off with their phones or other electronics inside, and the only thing that is permitted is a Chromebook, which is used to administer the test. If a student is caught cheating, they get punished severely. Punishments include loss of credit, suspension, and even expulsion.

2021 was a peculiar year for testing as it is the first year that students have tested on a Chromebook, and this made it especially hard on staff to moderate cheating and other prohibited activities. The screen of the Chromebook provides adequate cover for a student or students to use their phone or other electronics to look up answers, though that should be frowned upon because the test is not one students are graded on, but one to see where they are at in their learning.  

CHS managed to overcome the struggles of making up missed time and tests, and planning required state tests for the entire student body.