By: Skyler Messer
Independence High School – Charlotte, N.C.
Students at Independence High School are beginning to take their EOC’s and NCFE tests online and this is only the start. Our world is turning into a world of technology and a place where everyone needs to be savvy in basic technology. Things such as smartphones, appliances, and computers. This change is happening rapidly in many companies and schools all around us.
Independence High School has been toying with the idea of online testing for about a year now. This means doing test such as finals, exams, and EOC’s on the computers in the future. Many of the high schools in Mecklenburg County are already ahead of the curve by practicing online testing with their students.
Most of the students at Independence have been assuming that we will make the switch, and that happens to be true. That may be unfortunate to some because they have yet to become savvy in technology or they would rather continue the pencil and paper method, but the Independence staff persists that this is a prosperous way to go. English II classes were the first to take an online test and they were very successful.
“This is absolutely where testing and classrooms are headed. The virtual classroom is an exciting prospect for the future,” said Mr. Rutkowski, English II teacher at Independence. He is excited to see where this takes our student body, but he is also nervous about the student body not learning the technology. “I am surprised how unfamiliar so many students are with computers! I’m nervous for those kids. The whole computer and internet hung is not going away. You have to know how to use those things.”
Now that the student body knows which direction they are going, they need to take charge and get prepared, it’s coming quickly. Students should expect online testing to evolve in most of their classes over the next few years.
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