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C O R O N A
Amid the COVID-19 school shutdown, highlights looks into how the student body is being impacted BY LISBETH ARRIETA AND GREGOIRE WINSTON, STAFF WRITERS
HEN PICTURING THE end of the school year, students often imagine celebrations of their accomplishments, not an international quarantine period amid a pandemic that puts the lives of billions at risk. With nearly four million confirmed cases of COVID-19— commonly known as the coronavirus— in the United States, this pandemic has affected nearly every aspect of daily life. Many institutions, such as the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), have advised the public to take precautionary measures by
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staying at home, practicing social distancing and maintaining good hygiene. For this reason, all schools in Miami-Dade County Public Schools (MDCPS) have been closed since March 16 and will continue to remain closed through the end of the school year. The student body, faculty and staff are forced to explore unfamiliar grounds as the pandemic has made daily life anything but ordinary. To determine the impact COVID-19 has on the school’s community, highlights shares the narratives of those most impacted by the pandemic.
IMPACT ON testing state-wide testing
At a press conference on March 17, Governor Ron DeSantis announced the cancellation of both End-of-Course (EOC) exams and Florida Standardized Assessments (FSA) for this academic year. Instead of these state-administered tests, the Florida Department of Education will evaluate final course grades. Students will receive the grade
they have earned based on coursework. “I was supposed to take the biology, reading and writing FSAs and the Geometry EOC. Honestly, I’m terrified. Since they decided to cancel the tests I’m scared that they are going to postpone it until next year,” freshman Katherine Martinez said.
international baccalaureate testing
On March 23, the International Baccalaureate (IB) Organization announced that the May 2020 examinations will no longer be held, devastating hundreds of juniors and seniors within the school’s program. The new scoring system will be calculated using the relationship between coursework, predicted grades and subject grades according to IB International. “I have complete faith that our teachers did everything they could to make sure students have every opportunity to correct and polish their [Internal Assessments] before their final submissions,” IB
coordinator Diana Van Wyk said. With no examinations being held, some students worry about how they will be able to afford college. For students committed to in-state universities, earning their IB diploma means they qualify for the highest level of the Bright Futures scholarship towards their education. Without any remaining control on their test scores, students are left with uncertainty. “I was depending on paying for my college education with the Bright Futures scholarship. Now, I am worried about how I will be able to pay for college,” senior Ketty Dones said.
ADVANCED PLACEMENT testing
For the first time in history, Advanced Placement (AP) testing will be held as open-note exams and administered online. The exams, scheduled to begin on May 11, thus test new academic skills that leave many students anxious about their scores. With just one free-response segment for each exam, there is little room to mess up. “I already stressed myself out through the year about how scary the test will be and now it doesn’t seem as daunting,” freshman Allan Kaplan said. “I have mixed feelings about the changes. Despite the fact that it’s much shorter. I dislike that the entirety
of the grade is in one document-based question. I would’ve preferred an LEQ or multiple choice questions.” Due to current circumstances, the College Board has been providing students with free, real-time AP review sessions, hosted by AP teachers across the nation. The purpose of these sessions are to help students to cover the remaining topics of their respective AP classes. “I personally like [the videos]...they pretty much go by the curriculum so it’s not far from what I learned when we’re in class,” sophomore Karla Martinez said. “I learn a lot from the 40-minute videos and the information is covered well.”
