Our Experience with the ELA State Test

The ELA state test this year was taken by all grades on Thursday and Friday. (4/11 and 4/12). The test, however, was not mandatory and students had the option to opt out of the test. Despite this, many students, unfortunately, had to power through this dreadful experience (at least in our opinion). Some classes this year tested in their homerooms while others didn’t for the first 3 periods and had the whole day to complete the test. After that, the students who needed more time were moved to another room to continue. 

More about the state test itself: state tests are used to measure which students achieve the NYS learning standards in math and ELA. This helps the state determine whether schools, districts, and the state meet the required learning standards specified. So, it is just a test to see how well students are doing in school. High schools don’t look at state test scores. Yay for us!

Opinions

Elisa - Oh my goodness why did this year take so long. I needed so much extra time for both days, I think I lost all my brain cells. The short responses for the first day didn’t make any sense like what was that passage even about. The first day, I needed extra time until the end of period 6. The second day I needed extra time until halfway into 7th period. MY HAND HURTS SO BAD. At least the multiple choice was ok.

Cynthia - The state test is an extremely long and tiring test that takes all of your willpower. When you have practiced for the test, you still feel unprepared because you never know what is actually going to be on the test. Not only that, there is an essay that you have to finish in the unlimited amount of time you have. That might sound pretty okay, considering that we have unlimited time. However, writing an essay, short responses, and answering multiple-choice questions is going to tire you out really quickly. Despite this, the questions are way easier than what we learned in class. This only makes the state test a bit less annoying to do. 

Iris - For me, this year’s state test wasn’t as difficult as last year’s. For the first session, I worked on it until the end of 4th period. The multiple-choice questions were quite easy but the short responses were a bit confusing. For the second session, I unfortunately spent MORE THAN 4 HOURS ON IT which took me way longer than I thought it would. Its completely fine because I learned that it’s ok to be a slow worker. My middle finger literally has the fattest bruise next to it because of the essay and I was on the verge of crying in the testing room. IN ADDITION, THERE WAS THIS REALLY CREEPY WEIRD 6 GRADER SITTING NEAR ME AND WHAT REALLY CREEPED ME OUT WAS THAT HE TURNED TO ME AND STUCK HIS EYEBALL TO THE TOP OF HIS EYELID AND STARTED TWITCHING AT ME WITH THE OTHER EYE. It made me really uncomfortable. But overall, I feel pretty confident in my responses. What made me worry was the practice questions we did in class, which were for some reason incredibly hard. I thought the state test was going to be similar to like the HMH unit test we do but fortunately, it was not.