Many tests are approaching as the end of the year draws near, and one of these is the ASPIRE test, which freshman and sophomore students will be taking on April 13 and 14 at Hillcrest High School.

“The assessment evaluates knowledge and skills that students should have by the end of grades 9 and 10 in English, reading, mathematics, and science,” explains the ASPIRE resource website.

Students taking the ASPIRE test will be assigned rooms according to their last name and grade. The procedure will be similar to the ACT. This means no phones, no watches, and no backpacks anywhere near the students for the entirety of these sessions, though students will need their usual Chromebooks to take the test. The schedule is similar, though taken in two days and broken up instead of in one day. 

Wednesday, April 13, will begin at 7:30 with student check-ins and the English section as a 75-minute test. Afterward, a ten-minute break will be taken in which snacks will be provided. This break is followed by math, a 45-minute test. The schedule will then start again, starting with first period, then lunch, then the rest of the periods in a block, like the opposite of a B-day lunch schedule. Classes will only be 45-minutes long, and there will be no APP.

Thursday, April 14, is similar to Wednesday. However, it starts with a 75-minute reading portion and a 60-minute science portion. After that, classes are a bit shorter, around 40-minutes.

The ASPIRE test fits into a category of standardized testing with SAGE and RISE testing. 

“Testing has always been integral to education. Assessments inform instructions by helping teachers know if educational goals are being met.” reports the Canyons School District website. 

ASPIRE testing is for 9-10 graders, while RISE is only meant for students in grades 3-8. Each test is meant to show where students are concerning the nation and the state and directly affects the school’s funding, even if it doesn’t affect the student’s grade. 

ASPIRE testing and standardized testing prove as a stressful.

“I feel like testing is going to be stressful no matter what,” states Gabrielle Howard, Hillcrest freshman, “no matter how prepared you are, you’re still going to be stressed, and you don’t even know what exactly is going to be on the test. It makes you think less of yourself… if I get a bad score, then I kind of feel like, ‘Oh, I’m stupid,’ and then it ends up a false idea that I’m below average. I put a lot of pressure on myself. And then I find out I’m fine, and it’s like, ‘What was that all for? I could’ve given myself a heart attack.’”

The ASPIRE testing, no matter the stress or the anticipation, is crafted to try and help students get ready for the ACT in a way. 

“Utah Aspire Plus is a hybrid assessment for 9th and 10th-grade students created through collaboration with Utah educators,” recognizes the ASPIRE resource website, “the Utah State Board of Education, and Pearson using ACT Aspire and Utah assessment questions.”

It also proves as a useful data analysis tool to help certain schools and fund them, but no matter the opinion, the tests still arrive on Wednesday and Thursday at Hillcrest High School.