State Testing Updates

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Katie Henry, Editor in Chief

In the midst of the current pandemic, upperclassmen across the globe fear the cancellation of their proms, graduations and other cherished events that mark the end of the school year. Though the SAT is not something they ever imagined cherishing, that too will be an event missed out on. This week, the Rhode Island Department of Education officially cancelled the SAT. This will unfortunately complicate the college application process for students all over Rhode Island as well as other states that have made the same decision.

As for AP testing, College Board has decided to postpone the dates, as well as make the tests virtual and short. This means that students will be able to take their AP tests at home in the short time block of 45 minutes. With tests shortened drastically, students have less of a platform to showcase their knowledge of the skills they have mastered over the past year, thus increasing the difficulty of receiving their college credits.

However, Mrs. Branco, head of the NPHS Math Department, takes this opportunity to remain positive about the future: “As a school, we have dived deeper into data analysis resulting in making curriculum decisions that would best serve our students and their needs.  Having this extra time from testing, will allow schools to refine, learn, and evaluate our data and determine our ‘next steps’ for the next school year.”

For now, it is important we make health and safety our priority, stay safe!