In high school, students are forced to take various standardized tests that supposedly gauge intelligence and skill.

Throughout the year, students take so many practice tests from release TAKS, to benchmarks, to field tests, that the testing becomes self-defeating.

Science TAKS Tutorials will be offered each Monday and Wednesday after school from 4:00 pm – 4:50 pm in room 5240 during the month of April.

Throughout high school, it’s typical for the average student to be taught that gaining certain academic achievements is the only thing that matters.

Obtaining the status of National Merit Scholar, Top 10%, or commended performance on TAKS seems to be all that teachers, administrators and other students talk about.

FYP, the Flexible Year Plan, is a program that allows schools to send home students who meet certain criteria two weeks early. Traditionally, the FYP two-week period has been held at the end of each school year.

This year, however, FYP will be split into two, one-week periods. The first FYP period will be the week after winter holidays. The second FYP period will be at the end of the school year as it has been in the past.

As Mrs. Willett would say, testing season has arrived. From the TAKS to the SAT, the spring semester of high school is filled with an abundance of standardized testing.

After the Texas Education Agency (TEA) released their annual school ratings, an inaccurate picture was garnered regarding the success of students due to the “unacceptable” rating awarded to BHS.

However, administrators are extremely pleased with the performance of students on the most recent TAKS test.