To help motivate ninth and tenth graders to perform well on their EOC exams, there was a new incentive established for students this spring.

In regular level courses, if a student passes the EOC exam with a score of three or higher, the student is exempt from taking the final exam and will receive the fourth quarter grade as the final exam grade. In honors level courses, students need to earn at least a four to be exempted from the final exam. Students may still choose to take the final exam to boost their overall semester grade.

Associate Principal for Curriculum and Instruction Michael Coury was fully supportive of this incentive. He said, “We were trying to benefit the students (as well [as the school]) because you guys do get tested a lot, and I want to try to reduce that as much as I can.”

Coury expected the incentive to have a positive impact on the EOC results. He said, “I already think that students try their hardest and don’t blow these things off, so I knew students worked hard, and I am trying to reward this hard work. Because of this, I think that students will work harder to get better scores.”

Geometry teacher Dria Kerman prepared her classes for the EOC by having students complete assignments using a site called Albert. She said, “[Albert] allows students to recap what they have been learning over the year and really retrieve back topics from a while ago.”

In addition, Coury has spoken with teachers who agree with the incentive. He said, “Every teacher I’ve talked to has seemed on board with it. They saw how hard students were working and how hard they were preparing in class, and it seems that every time I pop into a class, students are working hard to prepare for these tests.”

Kerman believed the EOC would focus heavily on one specific topic. She said in late April, “I know that there will definitely be a lot of probability because from what I remember from last year’s test, there were a lot of questions on probability. But other than that, I don’t really know how much of a specific topic there will be. But I will do my best to try to prepare my students for what is to come.”

Sophomore Andrew Hearn admits he was heavily motivated by the incentive to perform better on his EOC exams. He said, “I’ve always been on the honors and AP track, and the EOC’s were always particularly easy for me, but with the incentive I took it a little more seriously.”

Throughout the process, Kerman had students come in for help. She said, “Honestly all the time. I already have kids come into my room during their study halls for units we learn during the year. I think that they know they can trust me and because of that, I always have a crowd to help.”

Kerman helped her students with assignments that eventually helped them come testing time. She said, “I just think that regaining previous knowledge will really help them on a test like this one. I make sure they are getting these assignments done because I know how much it will benefit them in the long run.”

According to Hearn, the incentive was a lot less stressful for him. He said, “Without having finals and just having my grade be transferred makes it a lot less stressful because now all I have to really worry about is AP exams coming up in a week or so, and after that it’ll make these last few weeks a lot easier for me rather than stressing about all eight of my classes.”

Hearn is approaching the EOC this year differently. He said, “I approached my studying a lot quicker because usually I don’t study a lot for these EOCs, and I still score well. But because of this incentive, I have shown a lot more care towards my studying and preparation.”

EOC exam results were received earlier in May. Sophomores who haven’t seen their results can check with their teachers or counselors.