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Juniors Pilot New Test

Juniors+Pilot+New+Test
Nate Rosen

Throughout the weeks of May 6 and 13, juniors will be participating in a pilot test that is associated with the Common Core States Standard. Juniors will be randomly selected by the school to take the pilot Math and Writing sections for the new test that will replace CAPT in 2015.

Frank Corbo, the K-12 Coordinator for Mathematics, explained that students will not get individual grades for the pilot test but their participation will help tremendously. “We want to preserve the tradition of excellence at Staples, and, so, the information we get about this pilot will help us to help the kids to be very well-prepared for the real test,” said Corbo.

This pilot assessment is an opportunity for school districts to preview the new testing that will be given to juniors starting in 2015. According to Principal John Dodig, because the state of Connecticut has not given out any sample tests or questions, this is the only way the school can get information.

Since the state test is not yet a law, this pilot test is not mandatory. Dodig said that, if the testing interferes with AP exams, juniors should not take the test. “However, we need a big enough group and a cross section of students to take it,” said Dodig. “If everyone opts out, we will get no results and it will hurt the next junior class.”

Both the Math and Writing sections will be administered through the computer, and the Math section will adapt to the student’s skill level. This means that giving a correct answer will result in the next question being harder while giving an incorrect answer will lead to the next problem being easier.

“The difficulty of the problems an individual student is given will depend on that student’s answer to the previous question,” said Corbo.

More details of the test are still unknown. Guidance counselor Deborah Slocum said that the guidance counselors and the assistant principals are still looking for more specifics about the test.

Still, regardless of all the unknowns, this pilot test is important because it will give the school information on how successful it will do on the real test. For example, Staples has the highest math CAPT scores in the state, but this could change due to the new test.

“If all juniors in the state will have to take this test and if it will be tied to graduation as is CAPT, it would be inexcusable of any principal not to find out how our students will do on this test so that we can be certain that our curriculum and instruction gives our students the skills to do well on it,” said Dodig.

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About the Contributors
Andrea Frost, Breaking News Managing Editor
Andrea Frost ’15 is not only a great writer but a very committed dancer at Westport Company. She takes classes in just about every style of dance including ballet, jazz, modern, tap, and point. Though her favorite style of dance to perform is jazz. “It’s the most energetic and you get to be sassy, where with ballet you have many more restrictions,” Frost said. Being the dedicated dancer that she is, she is at the studio ten hours a week (not including her weekend morning classes) honing her skills. Though she doubts that she will bring her talent to a professional stage, she is passionate and hopes to keep dance a part of her life in anyway possible. Balancing dance and Inklings may be difficult, but Frost proves it possible since she is the Breaking News Managing Editor. Which can be attributed to never growing out of  always asking why. However, curiosity wasn’t what first drew Frost into advanced journalism. She said that it is the community that really is the benefit of the paper, going on to further add that it is similar to the company dancers at Westport Company. Possible due to the  close knit fabric of the paper and the friendly yet competitive atmosphere. Whether she is dancing in the Nutcracker or writing her latest piece for Inklings, Frost is passionate and feeds that passion into her writing.
Nate Rosen, Graphics Coordinator

When flipping through the pages of a freshly printed Inklings on a Friday morning at Staples, text, novelty-fonted headlines and especially graphics and pictures jump out to the Staples students and faculty. And a big applause is long overdue to senior Nate Rosen ’14, who is Graphics Editor in Chief this year and is the man behind a number of graphics in both the paper and web versions of Inklings.

 “It’s a creative outlet for me,” said Rosen ’14 who can be called an artist for his graphics and photos but claims he cannot draw for his life.

Doing graphics for Inklings since freshman year he has created numerous different visuals. One of his favorites is the banner for an article about The Great Gatsby. With gold and metal like textures the banner closely resembles the logo for the 2013 movie.

“That graphic I actually did on my own time, it was more for me,” said Rosen ’14.

Rosen claims that graphics is really a hobby for him; he could be on the Adobe software creating new graphics all day long. However it is easier to have an assignment for a graphic instead of creating the idea on his own.

But no matter how he gets the creative spark or how he creates his artwork, Rosen’s graphics will be printed and posted proudly in Inklings throughout the year.

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