For many years, the EL students have been tested through LAS LINKS. However, the LAS LINKS have changed to ACCESS test last year. With this change of test, the students’ scores have improved a lot from the LAS LINKS according to the EL teachers.

However, this year the ACCESS test is a bit different from last year. According to EL teacher Amy Peddie, this year the students will be taking the test on computer instead of paper, so the students will have to take it on their chromebook, but there are some benefits of taking it on the computer.

“The benefit of doing it on the computer is that there should be a shorter turnaround time and we should be able to get the test score easily,” Peddie said. “And according to the WIDA ACCESS Consortium, the group that organizes and gives the test, it should be more accurate as far as the speaking.”

Peddie says that the computer is going to record the student’s voice this time, and she doesn’t know if an actual person will score it or the computer will score it. However she does know that the teachers who used to grade the tests are not going to grade them this time.

That is the part that is making everybody a little nervous, Peddie says, because in the past, the EL teachers have graded the speaking and just gave the results to the WIDA ACCESS company.

One student that is a little bit worried about the test is senior Pan Noi. He says the reason he’s nervous is because students usually take the speaking test with teachers, but now they have to take it on the computer.

“I am nervous about the test this year because we are not taking it with the teachers,” Noi said. “The EL teachers understand us more in our pronounciation, and we have more time to talk. They even give us enough time to think about our answers, so this year’s test will be hard since we will have a short time to answer.”

According to Peddie, the point of the ACCESS test is to evaluate how much English the students learn over the year and how much they have improved in reading, writing, listening and speaking. Peddie says their goal is always for kids to at least go up one level if not two levels especially for our level four because that is part of our school grade.

This is the reason why it is important for the students to do well on the test according to Peddie. It plays into the school grade and how the state of Indiana evaluates SHS and Perry Township as far as whether or not they’re helping the EL students enough in order to be more fluent in English.

“Although the test this year has a little change, it is still important for the students to do well because it is important for the school as well as the students since this will determine their fluency in English,” Peddie said.