Early Release (2:00 PM) On November 18

No child left untested.  That seems to be the model of late—ensure that our students are learning by testing them so regularly that it seems they may only have a week or two off between tests. And while many of these tests seem to have lost their focus on students, we do know that our students can benefit by preparing for and taking some of these standardized tests.  With our high expectations for all students and our expectation that all students will pursue some sort of additional education or training beyond Southwest, it seems most appropriate for our students to focus on the standardized testing that can prepare them for that future. The ACT Educational Planning and Assessment System (EPAS) provides students with timely, meaningful information that can inform their academics and future planning. A demonstrated strength of the EPAS system is the longitudinal information it can provide on students—academic and career planning as well as mastery of the College Readiness Benchmarks.  The system includes the EXPLORE, PLAN and ACT tests.  Eighth grade students take the EXPLORE test, tenth grade students take the PLAN test, and juniors take the ACT test. 

For several years, the state has paid for 8^th graders and 10^th graders to take the EXPLORE and PLAN, respectively.  With a mission of “Every child, college and career ready,” the district has recently offered an official ACT test during the school day to allow students an opportunity—at no cost to the student—to determine their college-readiness and gain experience with the test. Last year, we implemented a Preliminary ACT for our juniors—the outcome was excellent with 92% of our students testing and a flurry of positive comments from both students and staff.  It was clear that a test that not only provides helpful data but also gives students meaningful practice made sense to our students and staff.

This year, we are further expanding our program. On November 18, 2014, our 9^th, 10^th, and 11^th grade students will all take part in EPAS testing.  Ninth and 11^th grade will take preliminary tests EXPLORE and ACT tests while 10^th grade will take the state-sponsored PLAN test. Seniors will experience a modified bell schedule of their regular classes. With purposeful testing and deliberate use of results, we expect that our students will grow in experience with, understanding of, and performance on the ACT college admission test. Ultimately, higher college admissions test scores provide students with more college options upon graduation- and more scholarship money to help pay for college. 

Please look for additional information from our counseling staff as they organize the day. Emails, weekly Southwest bulletins, and updated information on the school website are their primary means of communication.  Please note, due to the school-wide testing, we plan to release students at 2 pm on that day. We are working with Metro Transit to arrange to have busses arrive earlier, and students will be expected to exit the building.

We wanted to have the information early and understand that there will NOT be regular classes on November 18^th.  We will need your cooperation and support on that date.