The first reason for taking the testing seriously is that various California Standards Tests (CST) make up the STAR testing system. The CST tests are a reasonably accurate measure of how much the students have learned in the core curriculum in a particular year. Educators often use the term Standards Based Curriculum; and at San Marin High School, all core curriculum classes follow a standards based curriculum that has been adopted by the state of California and the Novato Unified School District.  Each CST covers the most important set of standards that all teachers in the core curriculum should teach each year. Therefore, the test results reflect just how well a student has learned the curriculum; the school and district look at how well the curriculum has been taught by studying the CST results each year. One important assumption in looking at all this data is that students have taken all the CST tests seriously by demonstrating their best effort on each and every test.  Every year when grades are compared to test results, there are students who receive decent grades but do poorly on the CST in one or more classes. There are different potential explanations for this situation; one important one often given is the student did not take the CST test seriously.

In a standards based educational system, we no longer grade on a curve, instead  if a student is performing at an advanced level, they receive an A; if they are proficient, they receive a B; if they are basic, they receive a C; if they are below basic, a D; and far below basic a F. In a perfect world, the CST score would match up with the grade in the class. We believe if students took the test more seriously, we would have better and more accurate results.

A second reason to take the test seriously is colleges are paying closer attention to the results of the CST. Arizona universities are using CST data to help them in the admissions process. I believe this is a trend that will continue as it is a way to help determine if the grades a high school assigns are accurate. For example, if a student receives an A in Chemistry, but only receives a 3 on the CST in Chemistry, that grade has been brought into question by the CST result. When grades match CST scores, we are able to write stronger letters of recommendation and our program is viewed as more comprehensive and rigorous.

A third reason to take the test seriously is helping individual students determine if they are going to need remedial course work in college. In the 11^th grade, students complete a writing sample and they have some extra questions on their math and English test to help determine who is ready for college. If students give the test their best effort and they still do not do well, the students should take the ERWC English course and the Statistics math class in the 12^th grade. If students then do well in the ERWC course, they do not have to take the remedial English course if they attend the CSU system. These 11^th grade CST tests make up the Early Assessment Program (EAP) for the CSU. The percent of students who demonstrate college readiness is an important metric in determining the success of a high school program; we want 11^th grades to take this test seriously so we can accurately assess our total program.

A fourth reason to take the test seriously is that the results are used to place students in honors and AP courses. If students are advanced on the CST, it is highly likely that the students will do well in honors and AP classes. If students don't score advanced, then we need additional data and a student may need to waive into the course. While I believe a student should be able to waive into a high level class if they wish, having CST proof that they are ready for high level work is in the student's best interest.