Every fall students take the NWEA assessments.  These tests are taken early in the school year to give teachers, parents and students a better understanding of where each student is starting out and how much they can learn over the school year. The NWEA tests matter, because they allow teachers to plan lessons, where students are in their learning, and shows the growth of the student. The tests show how the student progressed better than classwork, because it compares them to students across America, and to themselves.

Mr. Epler, a Freshman English Lit and Comp teacher, agrees that the NWEA tests help with planning and teaching. It allows for him to teach things that people don’t know and not go over something everyone knows, because they wouldn’t be learning and it wouldn’t be fun to teach.

Mrs. Gabel, a Freshman Math teacher, has her plans made because of the results of the NWEA tests. It helps her know which units to go over, and what units we need to review.

Taking these tests benefit students, and can make learning more enjoyable. It’s not fun to go over the same thing that you already know in math or English classes. It gets dull and boring and makes you want to skip class. Assessment Coordinator, Tj Airhart explained that the NWEA test is a responsive test that adjusts the difficulty of the questions  depending on how the student is answering. If the student is answering correctly,  the test gets harder after each correct answer to see where the students knowledge ends. If a student is struggling, then the questions get easier until a student starts answering correctly. This type of precise measurement helps teachers know where each student has strengths and weaknesses and they can adjust their lessons. Although it takes some time out of class, it is beneficial in the long run.