This year significant changes were made to the process of MCAS testing at WHS. These included holding the testing during a normal school schedule, rather than the prior practice of a delayed start schedule for all grades other than those who were testing, and holding the testing in the gym rather than in classrooms. These changes have received mixed reactions.  

   Changing the location of MCAS testing led to some positive outcomes in terms of disruptions to classes.

    “It was actually a whole lot easier because typically when we were [testing] in classrooms, we had to take over a whole wing of the school and move all of the classes that normally would have met in those classrooms,” said guidance counselor Gretchen Gugliotta.  “[This year] we only had to displace PE classes, so that made it easier.”

   Students have mixed opinions about this move, however. For some, the struggle of doing MCAS testing was less about the setting and more about the number of students at the testing area creating challenges.

   “There were a lot of people in the gym, so it could be distracting,” said sophomore Beckett Tower. “I had to try really hard to not look at others’ screens.” 

   A major logistical issue that the move to the gym created related to the connectivity issues of the computers.

   “We had to figure out if the gym’s wifi capacity can support 130 kids going on those routers,” said assistant principal Todd Whitten. “The Wi-Fi has to connect to all those devices for the kids to take the test.”

   For students, the most frustrating change this year is not having the two hour delay that students who were not taking part in the MCAS exam would be able to take advantage of by sleeping in or catching up on homework. This change was required to meet legal requirements.

   “I understand that state regulations made a later start impossible and accept that, despite my desire to sleep in,” said junior Sawyer Jacobson.

   The change in location and elimination of the delay may not be universally popular, but they are most likely permanent unless test scores indicate there were problems not realized during the testing.

    “I think it’s highly likely we’re going to continue with doing the test in the gym in coming years, unless the testing comes back and we realize that the connectivity was really bad,” said Whitten.