During first block on February 10th, all Kempsville High School juniors sat for the CWRA, or the College Work and Readiness Assessment, to determine their abilities to think critically and communicate their reasoning through their writing, as well as show case their problem solving skills. This nationally given test is gaining popularity with public schools every year as it lets the student show what they have really learned rather than what they have memorized.

The test is comprised of two sections. The first is the writing portion where the student either supports or refutes a certain topic and gives support from supplied documents. This second section is groups of multiple choice questions. Both of the sections are timed, giving more time for the writing portion which is scored 1-6 on components such as writing effectiveness, problem solving, analytic reasoning, and writing mechanics while the multiple choice is scored just as any other test. These scores are added to the student transcripts that are sent off the colleges before admittance. A question racking many juniors’ brains is whether this test is a deciding factor for colleges. Why hasn’t it been talked about more in classrooms? It isn’t the difference between a yes or a no, but it shows colleges what the student is capable of.

The CWRA is just becoming popular in public schools with Kempsville being one of the first public schools around the area to administer it. It is more widely used in private schools as well freshman year in most colleges. With it being such a new assessment for high schools not much it known about it. What is known is that the test isn’t something that can be studied for. Students are meant to use their build-up of knowledge from previous years.

The College Work and Readiness Assessment is here to stay and is showing to have an impressive backing from our school’s own School Improvement Specialist, John Cosimano to many teachers, including English teacher Celia Golden. She believes that the CWRA is an accurate assessment of a student’s capabilities and approves of the way the student is asked to show their knowledge.