SO MANY students have no idea what school city really is. As of last week I had no idea what it was myself, and I assumed it was a test. I bet many of the students thought it was a test as well, but that’s not true.

It however is not a test and it is just a testing database. In no way is it a test, but it is used for the tests. Instead of it being under many different tests it is just one system to where all the tests are kept so it is easier for the teachers and schools to see it.

Students are all familiar with the Sage tests, but have strong feelings about them. Yet the school still has those and for those students that do not like testing and or their parents don’t want them to take it. However, students can still opt out of the test, and no that does not mean they have to take the school city, because it is not a test.

Dr. Dunn has told me that it is just so much easier for the school to see the progress of the students. “It just gives the feedback on who is learning, and it’s an information platform for the teachers to see the progress of students,” Dr. Dunn (principal) said.

That must be reassuring for most of the students, and the other half of the student body had no idea school city meant anything.

I, however, did ask a student what she thought school city even meant and this is what she had to say.

“I thought it was a test until I was told it wasn’t, and that actually is awesome to know. Being a senior and having so much to deal with already, those end of the year tests are so dumb and pointless, I just want my senior year to be chill,” McKayla Skaurud (12) said. Skaurud doesn’t like these tests and that makes me wonder what others had to say about the testing in general.

Lancers are questioning if school city will increase testing performance. For every student that thinks like Skaurud, there are more. For example, Cousins doesn’t mind the tests, but still feels strongly for them. “I really just think it is what it is, and I do not mind it because I can’t control it. It is just a part of school and I roll with it. I believe that the test is too complex for its own good. I do not think that it tests the students all that great, and nobody takes it seriously, it’s a joke to most students,” Caden Cousins (12) said.

He goes with the flow and accepts the fact of the tests at the end of each year, but is not a fan of them either, but the teachers have a different say. Teachers also have a say with the tests that are given.  All this data goes back to the teachers, and it helps them see where they need to explain more or what students are having some trouble. So overall it is for the teacher’s sake.