OAKS Testing

June 3, 2010  
Filed under Uncategorized

Mandated as of this year by the State of Oregon, sophomores and freshmen will have to pass all areas of their OAKS (Oregon Assessment Of Knowledge Skills) in order to graduate.
However, the tests sometimes appear with material that some students may not yet have learned. For instance, in a sophomore math OAKS test, there are questions about parabolas, while all geometry students have not yet studied parabolas. Unless a student decides to study parabolas on his own, he will not know how to correctly answer, and so, must guess. The state has made it clear that they want students to pass the OAKS tests in order to graduate. “The questions are there for the state to know which students are ahead, standard or behind as far as their academic achievement in the different subjects,” says sophomore Aric Rudnick. Aric takes honors and A.P. classes. “Because if they are not passing the test, they are obviously behind, and so must be brought up to par.” Most students pass their OAKS tests, if not on the first, the second or third try. Teachers encourage kids to retake the tests until they pass, and if they do pass, until they exceed.
There is, of course, nothing wrong with teachers wanting students to push themselves to achieve greater OAKS test (or any test of academics for that matter,) results. Schools receive more (or less) funding depending on how they score on the tests, and some students are encouraged to try and try again to exceed the expectations of the OAKS tests for the school to be well-funded for the next year. Matt Fox, a teacher at Mountain View said, “It’s really high-stakes testing, which isn’t a good way to determine how much a school gets funded for the next year. Schools should be funded depending on yearly progress not solely on the OAKS tests, since some people are terrible testers.” Mr. Fox also said that the state has provided some alternatives to test taking, “There are some work samples that can be taken in lieu of the OAKS test, for things like reading.” While most students do pass the OAKS tests, there are the handfuls of students who do not, even after multiple times. Though some of these people do not desire to graduate high school, by not passing the tests, it casts a poor light on the school.
OAKS testing is now a requirement to graduate, however is also a way to bring funding to the school based on students’ academic achievements. Students who will try to leave the high school they attend a better place than when they found it will try and try again to exceed the tests, which is a kind service to the school and teachers. The new regulations on the testing will somewhat change the dynamic of Mountain View High School, but for the most part, school will remain the same. “OAKS state testing, though tedious and seemingly pointless to busy students, is really much more of a convenience than a hassle. It allows the state to figure out what is and isn’t working and also helps them root out the boring and seemingly pointless holes in its curriculum,” says Aric. OAKS testing is a new system in high schools around the state, but it is here to stay.