New school policies implemented
As the school year draws to a close, finals week looms over students. Finals fall on the last three days of school for freshmen, sophomores, and juniors. Some students arrange with their teachers to take their finals early, allowing them to leave for summer vacation earlier. However, according to the school’s finals and absence policy, this not should not be the case.
The school’s current finals and absence policy mandates that if a student is absent on the day of his final and does not return before school ends for the year, the student is responsible for coming in on his or her own time during the summer to take the final in the office. While this has been the policy for as long as Principal Athol Wong has been at the school, this year it will be fully implemented.
In the past, students often arranged with their teachers to take their tests earlier in order for them to leave for summer vacation earlier. Excused absences, such as when a student is sick, allows for the makeup of tests. According to the California Educational Code, “a pupil absent from school under this section shall be allowed to complete all assignments and tests missed during the absence that can be reasonably provided and, upon satisfactory completion within a reasonable period of time, shall be given full credit.”
Nevertheless, absences for students who leave school earlier for something such as vacation are not considered excused. “We understand that there are sometimes emergencies that prevent a student from being at school for their final,” said Wong. “This policy allows for the student to make up their test without repercussions.”
However, the newly enforced policy is not the only change occurring. Next school year, there will also be a changed structure toward attaining entrance into honors level classes. Mostly impacting incoming freshmen, a larger group of students will be required to take a placement test for honors eligibility. In the past, the path to honors used to be determined only by previous grades and California Standardized Testing (CST) scores, and only a handful of prospective freshman students from out-of-district middle schools used to be determined entrance by a placement test. A group of faculty members would then decide who would enter. Jennifer Lockwood, the science department chair, said that these past processes had “no magic formula.”
Now, incoming students transfer from various middle schools with different standards. With the absence of CSTs, it is necessary for some method to compare students coming from different schools with different expectations.
“It allows us to do (what) we have always done,” said Wong, “which is to make placement decisions based on data that is relatively objective, or at least the same for all students. We are not trying to exclude students from honors level classes. We want students to challenge themselves, but we also want students to be successful once they get there.”
This voluntary exam for out-of-district incoming students and students moving up in class level will test for ability in math and English. Eligibility for honors history and science can be determined by scores on these tests. Nevertheless, if the student does not pass the math honors test or wishes to only move up in honors science, there is a second option of taking a freshman science placement test. As for high school students advancing to the honors level, there are subject specific placement tests, most of which have been formerly used.
“Sometimes it is hard to tell because students change,” said Wong. “They mature and they grow up a little bit. Somebody who might not have been ready as a freshman might be very ready as a sophomore. That is why we are careful with (acceptance into classes), but not exclusive.”
