Course selections for the 2024-2025 school year are right around the corner, and a new development may complicate the process for many Cardinal Gibbons students. Although it may be a shock to many, there will be no waivers into higher classes this year. Rather, students will be required to take a placement test for the specific course they are trying to enter.
In the past, students were easily able to be placed into classes above their skill level, simply by getting their parents and a teacher to agree with their reasoning and sign the waiver. Now, with this requirement, it will make it significantly harder for some students to move up class levels.
The reasoning behind this change is actually to benefit the students, according to Mr. Lumsden, the Director of Studies at Cardinal Gibbons.
Lumsden said that the modification was made in order “to make sure that every student in the building had access to class that they were ready for and that they can find success in.” Data shows that students who waived into higher classes often struggled to keep up with their rigorous pace.
This year, three different points of data will be used to interpret the appropriate level of classes for every student at Cardinal Gibbons. Courses will be set based on students’ grades in the previous class and their PSAT scores for that section. As there are no social studies or science sections of the PSAT, English scores will determine social studies course placements while math scores will determine science course placements.
If students do not meet these requirements but still wish to be placed in the higher class, placement tests will be offered as a third area of data to determine the best course selection for that individual.
These placement tests will be made available for any students who wish to obtain a spot in a more advanced class but have not met the prerequisites to be enrolled. Tests have been made for almost all of the classes at Gibbons and were designed by the teachers and department heads of each subject.
Students should not worry about needing to know the material covered in the class they are trying to enter into. Rather, these placement tests cover the basic skills and knowledge necessary to succeed on day one of the class. Teachers collaborated to create these exams and the department chairs and academic teams further reviewed them to ensure that they were fair evaluations of the knowledge needed for the class.
To ensure that all students have an opportunity to take these classes, several different times and dates have been selected for these tests to take place. All tests will take place during the two-week class selection period from Feb. 1 to Feb. 14. Below are the five different slots available for testing.
- Feb. 5: 2:45-3:30 p.m.
- Feb. 5: 3:45-4:30 p.m.
- Feb. 8: 7:30-8:15 p.m.
- Feb. 12: 2:45-3:30 p.m.
- Feb. 12: 3:45-4:30 p.m.
Overall, this modification to the course selection process will provide a significant change. For students who struggle with standardized testing, multiple placement tests may be necessary to enroll in these higher classes.
However, this change will help support teachers and students by placing students in the correct classes for their skill level. If students are truly ready for harder classes, these exams will test their skills in a reasonable manner. While it may not be a revision that students will enjoy, it will help them in the long run to prosper and succeed in the classes they enroll in.
