School Officials Await WESTEST 2 Replacement

The WESTEST 2 no longer will be administered to West Virginia school students beginning this school year, but the West Virginia Department of Education has yet to announced what standardized testing assessment will replace it.

According to Ohio County School officials, the announcement of the new format is to be announced in early March, while the tests are scheduled to go before students shortly after in mid-April.

During a special meeting of the Board of Education on Thursday, Superintendent Dianna Vargo said the district's teachers are teaching content standards in line with West Virginia's new core standards, and it is assumed the new test will assess those standards.

Photo by Joselyn King Ohio County Schools administrators and staff are among those attending a special meeting of the Ohio County Board of Education convened Thursday night to discuss WESTEST 2 scores.

Educators across the state typically begin preparing students for standardized testing when school starts in the fall, though this year there were no standards available to which they could refer.

They do know it will be a computerized test, and technology coordinators are concerned because new testing and software will have to be installed in their school district's computers.

Educators also know their schools will receive a letter grade of "A" through "E" based on their overall performance on the new test.

Gone will be the more arbitrary designations rating the schools a "success," "focus" or "transition" school not easily understood by the general public - or even those in education.

Members of the Ohio County Board of Education admitted last month their own confusion regarding the word designations when the 2014 WESTEST 2 scores bumped down three of the schools in the district.

Thursday's meeting was intended to help board members understand the drop.

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School Officials Await WESTEST 2 Replacement