We give students the S-Test and New Jersey ASK to find out where students' deficits lie, just as my doctor tests my vitamin D levels to see if I need supplementation or a mammogram to see if I have a problem. All our students need proficiency in basic skills so that they can function in upper high school and college and the complicated world we live in. If you don't understand how compound interest works, for example, you are at higher risk of foreclosure.
Students need to be aware that they have areas that need improvement and that we believe that putting more effort into these areas will bring success. THIS NOT AN ABILITY ISSUE BUT A NEED FOR HARD WORK. If they do not know they have a problem, how can they be motivated to solve that problem.
Even the students who achieved passing scores on the S-Test and New Jersey ASK have deficits as you can see from their individual student reports (ISRs) you received. Perhaps using the term HSPA AT RISK was overkill for freshmen, but we constantly tell this information to juniors and seniors who have already failed the HSPA. Children and families need to be made aware long before while there is plenty of time to solve the problem.
