I am a freshman at Von Steuben High School. We soon will be rushed into the taking of the CASE exams, which are achievement tests standardized by the Chicago Public Schools. There is a different CASE exam for each of the four core classes that a student is taking. Up until this year they were used to evaluate how well the kids are being taught, and to figure out where a student stands academically.
This year the CPS has decided to make the teachers count the CASE exams for at least 10 percent of a student’s final semester grade. I know for a fact that many schools in the city have not all reached the same place in what they are supposed to be learning, and much of this is the fault of the teachers for not following the curriculum. No student’s grade should be hurt because a teacher was kind enough to make sure a student understood something, therefore not being able to cover as much as they were supposed to. It’s fine to keep giving us the test; just don’t grade us on it.
