Now that testing has ended, Bear River juniors wonder if CAASPP was worth the time and effort.

Bear River High School juniors participated in a sequence of state English and math testing required for all juniors in the state of California. They had to take the CAASPP test, which stands for California Assessment of Student Performance and Progress. The test is intended to provide information about the students to monitor their progress and make sure that they are qualified to graduate high school.

Many juniors thought that the CAASPP testing was pointless in terms of benefiting them for the future.  

Tiana Langseth, a junior, expressed how she felt about the test.

“I think it’s a waste of time because it doesn’t reflect anything that goes towards college,” she said. “Plus, we waste two weeks on it.”

More juniors talked about what they thought about the test.

“It’s a waste of time. I think it’s stupid,” said Dylan Starkey, a junior.

“It’s mediocre, it’s alright,” said Zach Rubey, a junior.

“The testing was very hard and some things on the test were harder than others,” said Taylor Borges, a junior. “I do not think it benefited me because it took up a lot of time. (The only) benefit was other classes giving out less homework.”

Despite what the students felt about the CAASPP test, teachers thought it was very helpful to gauge the students’ progress.

Math Teacher Gayne Nakano talked about what the CAASPP test is and what it does for juniors who take it.

“It gives indications of what and if we are teaching what they want us to teach and how well we are doing as a school,” he said. “Colleges are getting the scores now but it is up to them if they use the scores.”

English Teacher Sherlyn Reafsnyder talked about what the test is and how it gets us ready for the future.

“It gets you ready for college and a future career,” she said. “Every school is different. Where some schools, the student’s senior year is really aggressive, but remember that the colleges only take those sophomore and  junior scores in the past. Now they are just taking the CAASPP. We don’t even know what the intentions are as far as making it like the California exit exam, where you have to pass it before you graduate, because at this point it isn’t there. But they are talking about possibly doing that.”

Math Teacher Vicki Burrell proctored the math CAASPP testing and felt strongly that this testing is beneficial to the school.

“It gives the state a way to compare the schools to see what they are teaching their students,” she said. “This gives students a way to see how they are doing compared to other students. The test is a rough way to get an idea of students learning abilities and a way to display their knowledge.”