Breaking News
The School Newspaper of Placer High School

Hillmen Messenger

The School Newspaper of Placer High School

Hillmen Messenger

The School Newspaper of Placer High School

Hillmen Messenger

Low STAR scores may lead to Program Improvement

There could be possible elective cuts due to poor STAR test scores.

Placer High School has always had decent to great STAR test scores, but last year the scores fell a great deal.

“We didn’t score as high on the Star Test as we are capable of scoring. Probably for a couple of reasons,” our Vice Principle Mrs. Kim Barry commented.

Some rumors have been passed around telling that some of this year’s seniors, last year’s juniors, purposely did poorly on the STAR test. This may or may not be true, but either way our scores were not as good as they could have been.

The result of this plummet in STAR test records has put some elective teachers on edge. The plan is for this year’s sophomore class to score a 380 or higher on the CAHSEE and for every student to do their best on the STAR test, so that Placer doesn’t have to go into“Program Improvement”.

“Program Improvement” would involve getting rid of some elective classes and assigning support classes in their place. The way this would work would be if a few students do poorly on the English portion of the STAR test, then they would not be able to take the electives that they want; instead they will have to take a support class for English. If enough students do weakly on the STAR test, some elective classes will not fill the required amount of students to complete a roster and will get cut.

As for the elective teachers whose classes might get cut, most have the teaching credentials to be able to teach a different class, but for those who don’t, there is no plan quite yet. The staff hasn’t thought about that yet, and don’t really have an idea about what to do because they think and hope that Placer students will do better than last year’s stats.

For many students the absence of electives, such as Drama, Art, or Mythology, would make them less motivated to come to school.

“I would be really upset because Drama gives you so many ways to express yourself!” Stated sophomore Hannah Kile, who is very passionate about the theater.

She then added, “I look forward to it the most. I’m always excited for that class!” With that, she plans to study hard and do her best on the STAR test in order to be able to keep the privilege of having electives, along with many other Placer students.

Leave a Comment
Donate to Hillmen Messenger

Your donation will support the student journalists of Placer High School. Your contribution will allow us to purchase equipment and cover our annual website hosting costs.

Donate to Hillmen Messenger

Comments (0)

All Hillmen Messenger Picks Reader Picks Sort: Newest

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *