HUNTINGTON -- Today isn't the most exciting day for students across West Virginia. In fact, many would like to skip out on the entire week.
Inevitably, though, the state's third- through eighth-graders and all sophomores must take the WESTEST, the measuring stick for what students have learned in reading and language arts, math, science and social studies.
Salt Rock Elementary Principal Lisa Alexander said as stressful as it is, teachers have worked hard to prepare their students for this week.
"We've worked to prepare them for when (today) comes," Alexander said. "The kids are focused and ready to go."
She said there is no time limit on the tests, but students typically finish up around lunchtime. Still, the mood remains quiet and serious each afternoon until students put their pencils down for the last time Friday.
"Then we are relieved and excited," Alexander said, adding that Salt Rock and many other schools have celebratory parties the following week.
To help students do well on the tests, Cabell County Schools is providing free breakfast every morning this week, even to students in Pre-K, kindergarten and first through second grade as well as freshmen, juniors and seniors who don't take WESTEST.
But the preparation and encouragement also must take place at home, Alexander said.
"We need them to get plenty of rest, and we encourage parents to be supportive," she said. "It's a stressful time for the children, and they need our support."
The WESTEST includes multiple choice, short answer and constructed response questions, but the format students have known since the 2003-04 school year will change next year.
It is being revamped because rigor and 21st century skills are being incorporated into the curriculum. As a result, WESTEST 2 will be a more difficult assessment of the content students should be learning throughout the year.
WESTEST 2 will be field tested during the fall in grades 3 through 11 on a volunteer basis. A field test of the WESTEST 2 writing assessment has been taking place at elementary and high schools throughout West Virginia this spring.
Results are usually available by the end of each summer, so teachers can use them to guide instruction throughout the year. The test also is the state's accountability measure for whether schools are making adequate yearly progress as defined by the federal No Child Left Behind Act.
The changes to the WESTEST also will bring West Virginia in better alignment with the National Assessment for Education Progress, as well as the Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study.
The schedule for third through eighth grade is math, today; reading/language arts, Wednesday; science, Thursday; and social studies, Friday.
The schedule for sophomores is: math, Wednesday; reading/language arts, Thursday; and science, Friday.
There is no school Tuesday because it of the statewide primary election. Students who miss school this week can make up the WESTEST the week of May 19-23.
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