TESTING CENTER
The Testing center administers all standardized tests required by the state and assists with Advanced Placement and school exams. As test dates become available they will be posted here and on our website calendar. When the majority of the school is testing, we run an adjusted bell schedule and seniors who do not need to test may have different arrival times. Please check the weekly news and calendar for information and updates.
TESTS ADMINSTERED
TAKS: Texas Assessment of Knowledge and Skills; required by the State of Texas for 9th, 10th and 11th (Exit Level). The Exit Level is required for graduation from high school.
Stanford 10: Norm-referenced tests which measure student achievement by comparing a student’s performance with a “norming group” of similar students; required by HISD for 9th, 10 & 11th grades
PSAT/NMSQT: The Preliminary Scholastic Aptitude/National Merit Qualifying test is a standardized test that provides firsthand practice for the SAT Reasoning Test™. It also gives students a chance to enter National Merit Scholarship Corporation (NMSC) scholarship programs. We administer the exam to juniors (fee applies) and sophomores take a practice PSAT (paid for by a grant).
TELPAS: Under the NCLB, TEA has developed as assessment designed to assess the progress that limited English proficient (LEP) students make in learning the English language.
Laying the Foundation End of Course (EOC) Exams: Exams provide a resource for professional educators so that they may evaluate their students and their Pre-AP program
Advanced Placement Exams: refer to AP page link
Semester Final Exams: Exams at the end of the semester over the entire curriculum. The exams are 25% of the semester average.
PREPARING FOR TEST DAYS
To do your best on test days, you should always get a good night sleep and eat a good breakfast. The cell phone policy is strictly enforced during all types of tests and students are required to turn in their cell phones to the test administrator before testing begins. The phones are returned before the students are dismissed from their testing locations.
TESTING DATES
| October 4, 2008 | SAT @ Westside; register by September 9 |
| October 15, 2008 | PSAT @ Westside (10th and 11th grades); 9th takes practice TAKS Reading |
| October 21, 2008 | TAKS: Exit Level ELA (retest) |
October 22, 2008 |
TAKS: Exit Level Math (retest) |
October 23, 2008 |
TAKS: Exit Level Science (retest) |
October 24, 2008 |
TAKS: Exit Level Social Studies (retest) |
| October 25, 2008 | ACT @ WHS; register by September 19 |
| Oct 27-29, 2008 | Credit by Exams given by district; applications due October 3 |
| December 6, 2008 | SAT @ Westside; register by November 5 |
Dec. 16-19, 2008 |
Important Notice regarding FINAL EXAMS Fall Semester – see below |
| Jan. 20-23, 2009 | Stanford 10 (9th, 10th, and 11th grades) |
| February 7, 2009 | ACT @ Westside; register by January 6 |
March 3, 2009 |
TAKS: Grade 9 Reading, Grade 10 ELA, Exit Level ELA (and retest) |
March 4, 2009 |
TAKS: Exit Level Math (retest) |
March 5, 2009 |
TAKS: Exit Level Science (retest), make-up Grade 10 ELA |
March 6, 2009 |
TAKS: Exit Level Social Studies (retest) |
| April 4, 2009 | ACT @ Westside; register by February 27 |
| April 27, 2009 | LAT 10th grade Math |
April 28, 2009 |
TAKS: Grade 10 Math, Exit Level ELA (retest) |
April 29, 2009 |
TAKS: Exit Level Math (and retest) |
April 30, 2009 |
TAKS: grade 9 Math, Grade 10 Science, Exit Level Science (and retest) |
May 1, 2009 |
TAKS: Grade 10 Social Studies, Exit Level Social Studies (and retest) |
| May 2, 2009 | SAT @ Westside; register by March 31 |
May 4-8, 2009 |
AP Exams see calendar |
May 11-15, 2009 |
AP Exams see calendar |
May 21-28, 2009 |
FINAL EXAMS: Spring Semester |
July 14, 2009 |
TAKS: Exit Level ELA (retest) |
July 15, 2009 |
TAKS: Exit Level Math (retest) |
July 16, 2009 |
TAKS: Exit Level Science (retest) |
July 17, 2009 |
TAKS: Exit Level Social Studies (retest) |
SAT AND ACT
Westside does not administer these college entrance exams, though we are a testing site for some (but not all). Students must register for these exams themselves at www.collegeboard.com for the SAT or at www.actstudent.org for the ACT. Please visit these websites for more information or check our College Center webpage.
For your convenience, we have listed the 2008-2009 test dates below but please refer to the applicable website for registration deadlines, fees, testing centers, etc.
SAT |
ACT |
October 4, 2008* |
September 13, 2008 |
November 1, 2008 |
October 25, 2008* |
December 6, 2008* |
December 13, 2008 |
January 24, 2009 |
February 7, 2009* |
March 14, 2009* (reasoning only) |
April 4, 2009* |
May 2, 2009* |
June 13, 2009 |
June 6, 2009 |
|
* denotes WHS as an available test center
For more information or to ask any questions, please contact
Beth Bogan
ebogan@houstonisd.org
281-920-8011
Announcement regarding Fall Semester Final Exams:
Due to Hurricane Ike, Westside High School lost 7 instructional days. Given the amount of material covered in a semester course, the SDMC developed and passed a proposal to regain 4 of the instructional days by dropping Fall Semester Final Exams and changing those days to regular school days.
We will run a regular (non-block) schedule Monday, December 15 through Friday, December 19. School will begin at 7:55 am and end at 3:15 pm daily with all 7 periods meeting for 50 minutes each day. (No late start on Thursday.)
While there will be no 2-hour final exams, teachers may issue a six-week exam during the regular class period on the day they would have normally issued their final as indicated below. That grade will be limited to a major grade for the 3rd six weeks. Whereas final exams typically constitute 25% of the semester grade, the column for the final exam on the report card will be filled in by the average from the first three six-week grading periods.
Monday, December 15: English Language Arts and Electives
Tuesday, December 16: Social Studies and World Languages
Wednesday, December 17: Science and Career & Technology
Thursday, December 18: Math, Health and P.E.
Friday, December 19: Regular Instructional Day
This plan will enable teachers to focus their efforts on instruction to ensure the course material has been covered and students can concentrate on learning without the pressure of a cumulative semester exam.