Switching it Up With CERT Testing
October 7, 2016
This is CERT-ainly an important test.
Alyssa Shepherd practices testing on the CERT website.
The College Equipped Readiness Tool, or CERT test, prepares high school students for the ACT, PLAN, SAT, PSAT, and other tests. This test provides students with information they need to maximize career and college opportunities.
There are three total practice tests for the students to improve their scores. All of the practice tests include the subjects of English, math, reading, and science. The online test allows students to skip questions, flag questions, and have a timer to track the amount of time remaining on the question. “The CERT Exams are exactly like the real thing,” according to certforschools.com.
The goal is for students to find what areas they are excelling, and what areas they need help. This information is also used by teachers to help the students. The teachers use the test to tailor instructions for students individually, or as a whole.
The program records the student’s performance on each given subject. Then, the program has video explanations for every question on the test. The program has also created subject lesson videos and strategy lesson videos to improve students scores for the next time you take the test. These are located in the “Study Hall” section of certforschools.com.
The “Home Room” section of the website, is a student dashboard for the user taking the test. It provides students with upcoming assignments, customized schedule and it tracks the user’s progress.
Over the previous years, Bullitt East has done the paper version of the CERT test. Now, since students have Chromebooks, they completed the test online.
Some classrooms, like Spanish teacher Brandi Molter, had troubles with the internet connection and had to wait for the internet to be fixed before the students could continue on with the rest of the test.
“After the first test, all students lost connectivity. It took about 20 minutes to get everyone connected again. Students were frustrated, and rightfully so. They also expressed concerns about taking the ACT online with a less than certain internet connection,” said Molter.
