MEMPHIS, Tenn. — There is a new class period at Whitehaven High School this fall, with a focus on preparing for big tests coming up.
Many students are using a new eighth period to learn skills necessary for the ACT and new TNReady Assessment.
“The first thing I look at is the title to see if the title grasps my attention,” said 11th grader Brianna Nolen.
Whitehaven High School students get their own copy of the USA Today newspaper.
They mark it all over the place annotating, or breaking down, articles to better understand them.
“Getting ready for the actual testing that will begin in February and also in May,” explained Principal Vincent Hunter on why they are doing it.
The school added the eighth period after Labor Day this year. Students have eighth period on Tuesdays and Thursdays.
TNReady is a brand new, state-mandated exam. It is meant to better test cognitive skills and understanding. It ventures past the multiple-choice-only style of testing.
Some of those eighth period classes are geared specifically towards skills needed to ace those tests.
“To give us a better understanding of complex texts, because eighth period is to help us get ready for the ACT and the TNReady,” Nolen said.
“You get on the ACT and TNReady, they don’t have texts that appeals to you, so, reading the newspaper kind of gets you adept to texts that really wouldn’t appeal to you any other way,” said 11th grader Cassietta Jones.
Students get credit for their eighth period classes.
Hunter said he knows the TNReady exam is new and might seem scary.
“Trust us, and we’re giving our best effort to prepare. TNReady is new not just for the people in Memphis. It’s all across the state of Tennessee,” Hunter said.
“The only part that we have to worry about is showing up and actually remembering the stuff that they teach us,” Jones said.
Still, Hunter said the eighth period classes are not exclusively for big tests.
Some students, who might be falling behind, can use the period for extra help or to re-take classes.
Advanced students can opt to work on other types of coursework, like preparing for AP exams.
