Gateway mall offers testing venue for high school students

Gateway mall offers testing venue for high school students

(Kristin Murphy/Deseret News)


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SALT LAKE CITY — Amid the ruckus of traffic, music and passers-by along the streets at The Gateway, there's a place where even a whisper can be heard from across the room.

On the façade of that space, once occupied by a Gap store and later an art gallery, a hand-colored sign expresses a heartfelt message from students and administrators at Salt Lake City's downtown high school: "Thank you Gateway!"

On Friday, West High School students finished occupying the former shopping center to take Advanced Placement and International Baccalaureate exams. In the past 17 days, 432 students from the school have taken 1,862 tests, sometimes with as many as 200 students testing at the same time, according to exam coordinator Shannon Wilson.

Having almost one-fourth of the school's student body enrolled in voluntary tests to earn college credit makes for proud teachers, but it creates a need for space that not even the school gym can satisfy, especially when computer labs and libraries are reserved for SAGE, the state-mandated year-end exam.

"You have to find space, and you have to find it for a significant length of time, and it has to be where there's no interruptions. And in a normal school day at West High, that's an impossibility," said Principal Parley Jacobs.

That means every school year begins with the same question for Wilson: Where will we test our students this year?

"We've just kind of scrounged for any location we can find," Wilson said.


They've really enjoyed that we don't have bells ringing, we don't have announcements going off, we don't have any disruptions here. It's been pretty good for them.

–Shannon Wilson, test coordinator


In recent years, the students have gone to the LDS Business College to take their tests, or taken buses to go to the Salt Lake City School District's Career and Technical Education building at Salt Lake Community College. Sometimes, an LDS meetinghouse has become a testing center.

Gateway mall

This year, The Gateway offered the school its vacant facility for free, providing 13,000 square feet of quiet space to administer the multiple test sections. Students and teachers still had to haul desks and chairs to the new space, but for them, it's about as close to ideal as it gets.

The Gateway was built as part of an urban development project leading up to the 2002 Olympic Winter Games but has seen some vacancies since the opening of City Creek Center just a few blocks away.

Bryan Hill, general manager of The Gateway, declined to say how long the facility used by West High has been vacant, but he said the mall will consider loaning space to the school in the future if vacancies are available.

Most students enjoyed the walk between campus and The Gateway.

"It's kind of interesting. We've had pretty much different venues every single year," said Phillip Kuznetsov, a senior. "For me, this is probably one of the better testing locations we've had."

"It's really convenient to walk here and walk back to school," said Connor Johnson, a junior. "You can just walk from your classes instead of driving somewhere far away."

Administrators have been grateful for logistical ease and fewer distractions.

"We've had buses going all over the place and parents helping. Here, we've been able to do it all in one spot, and Gateway has made it an easy process for us," Jacobs said. "It helps the kids do better. They're not frazzled by having to travel. It's more calm. So I think it's just been a real plus."

"I think they've really enjoyed that we don't have bells ringing, we don't have announcements going off, we don't have any disruptions here," Wilson said. "It's been pretty good for them."

While the majority of high schools on the Wasatch Front administer Advanced Placement tests, a few have to do so off campus. With the exception of Davis High School, which occasionally administers tests at local churches, all high schools in the Davis, Canyons and Jordan school districts stay on campus for year-end testing, according to district representatives.

Students from West High School take the International Baccalaureate test for math at The Gateway in Salt Lake City on Thursday, May 21, 2015. Photo: Kristin Murphy/Deseret News
Students from West High School take the International Baccalaureate test for math at The Gateway in Salt Lake City on Thursday, May 21, 2015. Photo: Kristin Murphy/Deseret News

West High is the only school in the Salt Lake City School District that has to find off-campus facilities to administer testing, according to spokesman Jason Olsen.

Too much testing?

While West High is one a small number of schools that resort to testing off campus, there are elements of its situation that aren't unique. And the dilemma prompts a question many educators and policymakers have asked themselves already: Are we short on space, or are students overtested?

This is the second year Utah students have taken SAGE, the Utah Core-aligned assessment measuring proficiency in math, science and English for students in third through 11th grades. Because the test is computer-based, some schools began administering the exam as early as February to accommodate all students, though Jacobs said district leaders have helped provide additional computers for West High.

Education leaders say as SAGE continues, it will provide teachers with insight to guide teaching practices and data to compare student performance statewide.

Advanced placement and International Baccalaureate tests are not mandatory. But more students are taking advantage of the early opportunity of earning college credit through the exams.

Other students at West High also take special tests for career and technical training, Jacobs said.

"There's a lot of testing taking place in our building," he said.

In the same year that lawmakers handed down a requirement for students to pass a civics test before high school graduation, which will begin next year, the Legislature also passed a resolution to look at ways to reduce student testing.

As a junior, Grace Metos is taking SAGE for the second and final time this year. But already, she said, students are well aware the test isn't tied to their grades or advancement.

"I don't like the SAGE test," Metos said. "I think I don't value it very much, so I don't try as hard because it doesn't benefit me."

Not all students feel they are overtested. Mitchell Imamura, a senior at West High, said testing can be a learning opportunity that pays off later.

"I think as a high school student, if you are willing to do a little bit extra, it's really beneficial," Imamura said. "I think if you're willing to take the tests, it's not too much."

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