The future quality of life for the citizens of West Virginia is directly linked to the performance of our students, and student performance is linked to a high quality learning environment, which includes first class facilities and top notch educators. All our students need the knowledge and skills to be prepared for a wide-range of high-quality post-secondary opportunities including higher education and the workplace.

The West Virginia Board of Education and State Superintendent of Schools work to establish policies and procedures to assure West Virginia’s Public Education goals are met and to ensure the general supervision, oversight and monitoring of a thorough, efficient and effective system of free public schools.

Under ESSA (Every Student Succeeds Act) a law that replaced the “No Child Left Behind” and was signed into law in 2015, every state is required to measure performance in reading, math, and science. ESSA is now the federal K-12 education law of the United States. The law requires every state to develop a “State Report Card” that is accessible online and provides parents important information on test performance in reading, math, and science. The report cards must also provide data on graduation rates, suspensions, absenteeism, teacher qualifications, and many other areas.

Testing is a part of learning and lets students “show what they know” and what they can do. Test results show student strengths and test results show student weaknesses. Testing is a skill students will need and use often as an adult. All students are required to take tests, they can’t avoid them. All tests, including state assessments, provide information about student learning that helps teachers and instruct students better and help them succeed.

The purpose of a test is for the student to show what he/she has learned, they provide important indicators of academic progress.Tests help educators determine student grade level placement, design specialized instruction, set learning goals, and monitor progress. Test results help teachers (and parents) address student learning needs during early years in which students did not meet standards in certain areas. Tests are also important in helping build success leading into high school and beyond. Make no mistake, tests are one of the most important parts of education. They provide the evidence that students are learning effectively and mastering the state learning standards, which helps define the future of students. Without test results it would be all guess work.

How students perform on State required tests usually is determined by what they have learned and accomplished through academic progress provided by skilled and educated certified teachers in the core subjects. Without those teachers, test performance will always be substandard. Tests are essential because they provide insight into participants progress, it’s almost impossible to understand student knowledge levels without them.

Results of those tests are shown in state rankings and clearly reflect how well each school in each district in the state is performing. The blame for low test scores and low rankings can be thrown in many directions, however the importance of testing can not be denied. According to the latest test results and state rankings Wetzel County Schools are way behind in student learning. There is clear evidence that changes to Wetzel County’s Education system must be made and that includes providing students with certified teachers.