Now that students and teachers have made it through the 5-hour English Language Arts test that combined the reading and writing portions of the EOC, they see issues with the exam.

“I think it was a waste of time and not really productive because we really didn’t do anything,” junior Laci Watson said. “While the other students were testing we just watched a movie and teachers just gave us puzzles like crosswords or word searches. It was over all useless and not a well-thought out idea.”

Others thought that it was a nice, fun time to just hang with some friends.

“Yeah, I liked the fact that we stayed in a room where we could just relax and talk with some of our friends while we could do our homework if we wanted to,” junior Emily Craig said.

Pre-AP Algebra II teacher Cheryl Neal would have preferred a different schedule for the non-testing students.

“It was fine how they arranged it, but I think we should have done something differently for the ones who were not testing,” Neal said.

While the juniors and seniors had a different set of rules to follow during their seven-hour study hall, some students who were testing found the test and arrangements to be less than helpful.

“It wasn’t a good idea of it being five hours for both parts instead of it being a two-day testing process where both sections were split with four hours per section,” sophomore Teresa Vu said. “That was such a huge jump from eight hours total to just five hours in one day.”

Some students felt stressed and wished for extra time. Vu said it was harder to concentrate and actually think through her test. Instead she felt students were rushing to finish.

“All I could think was ‘I have to finish, finish, finish’ once I realized five hours were not enough,” Vu said. “I felt that we should’ve had more time to prepare for the STAAR because the new set time was a huge difference.”

More time to cover needed material was not available due to the STAAR being taken in early April instead of later in the school year.

“I understand why we have to take the STAAR this early because of all the essays,” Neal said. “But with it not being the end of the course sometimes other kids won’t have every part attained by the time the STAAR starts.”

Apart from the test-taking experience, students that tested were upset about the lunch rules.

“Lunch should be sort of a breather for those who have been sitting down for three hours,” Vu said. “I mean, you have been working your mind since eight in the morning so you want a little time to relax and open up before starting to test again.”

But the five-hour test didn’t allow for a breather.

EOC tests continue later this year, but none will be five hours.

The Alg. 1 test is May 6. The Biology test is May 7.

Juniors will be taking their U.S. History EOC test on May 8th.

“I do feel a little nervous for the EOC,” Craig said. “But I feel that I have absorbed everything that I could, which hopefully will be enough.”