Benchmarks!

Volume 3: December Comments Off

By: Yara Hidalgo

Many students think that the Benchmarks given to us aren’t accurate measures of student learning because for most subjects they test us on concepts we haven’t even learned. When I asked Libertad Carlos, a senior at LPS San Jose, what she thought about benchmarks she politely responded, “I don’t see the point of taking the benchmarks if most of the time our classes aren’t ready for them.” Many students that I asked seemed to agree with her response. Although, when asking them what subject they thought was the easiest, almost all of them said English. I think it’s because the English benchmark tests us on Language Arts, and all of the grades are being tested on the same concepts; it’s just that it’s by grade level.

As a senior, I can say this quarter we were somewhat prepared to take the American Government Benchmark. There were concepts on the test that we had been learning. For Physics, many of us didn’t feel prepared at all because the concepts we were being tested on we hadn’t covered in class. Sophomore Angelica Solis said she doesn’t feel like it is fair for us to take benchmarks when we haven’t even touched the topics being tested, which is why I think it’s a waste of time.

I’m aware of the fact that Benchmarks are given to the students because it’s a way of preparing for the STAR test, and see where the Leadership Public Schools are at. From my Journalism advisor, Devin, I know that the reason why every child gets tested by the STAR test is because of the federal law called NO CHILD LEFT BEHIND. Basically, it states that by about the late 2010’s all students should achieve proficiency. If they don’t, then there’s a problem with the school. And, it could be penalized through sanctions or state takeover. Others also argue that you can’t really measure the knowledge of the students by having them take standardized, multiple choice tests.

The LPS network decided to create these benchmarks so that the students can get better at test taking skills, but this is a minor reason why we have them. Most schools don’t have this system, so when STAR tests come some don’t have the test skills. The big reason is because they want to know how much we’ve learned. Benchmarks also help teachers see how well students understood the material they taught. It’s just the lack of information provided to students on what the purpose of the benchmarks is.

I think that many students feel confused about the benchmarks and don’t think they’re useful because nobody has actually sat there and tried to explain it to them. After writing this article I feel like I know more than I use to about the purpose of the benchmarks. Hopefully students will be able to understand a little bit about the purpose of benchmarks.

admin @ December 19, 2007