No Common Assessments

At the beginning of the 2007-2008 school year, it was rumored that the BCA
Administration would enforce teachers to administer exams, which are
commonly implemented in local public high schools. By January, teachers
announced that there would be a week in March for Common Assessments,
otherwise referred to as mid-terms.

This plan originated from the newly enacted legislation, the NJQSAC, which
mandates that every public high school in New Jersey have Common
Assessments starting in 2009. Taking advantage of this future looking
legislation, the administration took the liberty to administer a stressful
assessment only to produce statistical analysis of the students’ academic
performance.

The administration claims that the purpose for these Common Assessments is
to evaluate the students/teachers on their learning/teaching.

Nevertheless, both the students and teachers have found numerous flaws with
the Common Assessments:
• In a school that prides itself on being so uncommonly advanced
academically and otherwise, a "common" or standardized evaluation of the
students does not work.
• The Common Assessments have and will interfere with teachers' schedule
(such as curriculum planning) and the students' learning process (both in class
and at home).

These unnecessary Common Assessments have complicated the lives of both
the students and staff.