As the school year kicks off, administrators are changing the schedules and making room for a new, unorthodox class.
The new break in Monday classes are now called success periods and they are for all grade levels at Mooresville High School. They include 32 minute long classes with a rotation every five weeks.
For seniors, they are getting prepped on how to survive this thing called life. They will be learning the essentials of what to expect when going out into the world and living without the security and resources that their parents provide.
“It’s really helpful for the kids who do not know much about how the real world works,”
senior Lauren Francis said.
For the junior class, the then sophomores, took the ISTEP last year that determined whether or not he or she would graduate high school.
“I think we should have more opportunities like this at Mooresville High School,” junior Sam Thesier said.
Only 31 percent of the juniors passed the math portion of the ISTEP. In a class of 338, that means that only 105 students passed the math ISTEP. Over half of the class failed.
For the reading portion, seventy-one percent passed the ISTEP, which is more appealing than the math portion.
For the juniors that did pass the math and the reading, they will be able to have the opportunity to study for the SAT and the ACT. The students who did not pass will be studying to retake the ISTEP either this December or this March.
The schools can issues waivers that means that a person does not necessarily have to pass the ISTEP in order to graduate. In order to do that, though, they must a student must pass three requirements:
- Pass the English 10 and Algebra I course by the time of graduation
- Fulfill the requirements of the Evidence-based waiver
- Fulfill the requirements of the Work-readiness waiver
For more information, visit: https://www.doe.in.gov/assessment/meeting-assessment-requirement-graduationwaiver-process
For the sophomores, they will be preparing to take the ISTEP this year. They will be going over what to expect for the English and math ISTEP that they will take later this school year.
“I think the success period is a great idea to get us ready for tests and things later in life,” sophomore Allison Ignas said.
For the freshmen, they will be getting on a website that determines where they are at academically and see what each student needs to focus on prior to taking future tests and exams for better results. These exams would include the ISTEP, the SAT, and the ACT.
“I look forward to learning future steps to determine my priorities in life,” freshman Sawyer Flinn said.
Whether or not the success period is in fact a success, students will hopefully be benefiting in the opportunity to evaluate what they know and what they don’t know when it comes to future tests and preparing for the future.
