West Lauderdale High School students took the benchmarks on November 13-15. The subjects that they were tested on were English, math, and biology. The purpose of taking these is to see where their knowledge lies and which areas they need to improve in. Usually, during testing, students will get called to different rooms where it is quiet at all times. This is so they can focus and concentrate better. 

Students typically feel stressed out, tired, and unmotivated to do more work after these tests. Olivia Hodge, a 9th grader, says, “we need more time to take them and have more breaks.” She feels that students need more time so they don’t have to rush and can have a little more time to look over their answers.

As Mrs. Renee Foreman stated, “State assessments are very important for all involved. Students must rest well the night before their state assessments and eat a healthy breakfast in the morning. Students must bring their fully charged iPads to school on their assessment day. Remember, no one may bring an electronic device into the testing environment. This includes, but is not limited to, cell phones, smart watches, earbuds, etc. Doing so will result in your tests being invalidated, and you will have to retake them next semester. Passing your state assessment is a graduation requirement, so everyone should always do their best and work hard in the classroom.”