The school recently participated in MAP, Measures of Academic Progress, testing during the first week of April. “We as a school are required to give two different types of standardized tests a year by No Child Left Behind,” guidance counselor Kurt Larkin said. This is a state requirement in place for every public school.

Although the school is required to provide these tests to the students, many question if every student is required to take them. “We have to test 95% of our student population,” Larkin said. “There is no way you can test 100% of the population.”

Students may wonder if the tests are mandatory, simply because they do not want to them. For most, the “I don’t want to” excuse will not work. However,  Larkin said if a student is going to be disruptive in during the test, there is no sense in putting him/her in the classroom to distract the other students and teacher.

When realizing that MAP tests are not technically required, students may be inclined to not try as hard during test week. However, working hard on these tests can be critical. “All of the standardized tests are apart of your permanent record,” Larkin said. Also when students are taking AP classes at the high school MAP scores are used to find proficiency in certain areas.