North Changes EOC Procedures

From April 28 to April 30, Parkway North conducted its annual End of Course exams, otherwise known as EOCs. This year, in an effort to prevent the library from being inaccessible for a full week, changes were made.

“[Last year], teacher schedules were on pause for two to three weeks,” said English teacher Heather Fleming. This inconvenience was the primary factor for changing the way EOCs are scheduled.

This year, students took the EOC of their subject at the same time, whereas at first, each class took it at different times. Having this large amount of students taking the exams at once was challenging for administrators. It was uncertain if all the computers would work properly, and if teachers would have classes since the computers in the business, math, and tech areas were being used.

For Fleming, a major downside was that many teachers didn’t have access to computers during the three day period, and they had to use their plan period to proctor tests. An obvious benefit was the shortened time frame. “Three days, and we were completed,” said Fleming.

Aside from teacher and faculty who had to proctor exams or were unable to use the computers for a few days, North’s students were also affected by the EOC changes.

“I didn’t want to [take the exams],” said sophomore Kyle Liggins, who took the English 2 and Algebra EOCs.  “I missed four classes in one day,” said Liggins, who also said that his other classes watched movies because of the lack of so many students who were taking the EOCs.

Despite the slow internet connections, a lack of students in class, and altered schedules, the EOCs were fairly successful. Ensuring that the EOCs lasted for only three days instead of several weeks helped cut back on the amount of time that the library and computer lab were inaccessible.

“I think there are some snags and small changes that need to be made for next year,” said Fleming. “But overall, things went well.”

By: Monyelle Asher