School wide, teachers have reshaped their curriculum in order to fit the state’s newest standards. The biggest change being the use of performance tasks in all subjects.

The main objective of these written tasks is to teach students how to not only learn new skills, but to be able to apply them to other topics.

In the case of English, for example, essays are assigned and students are expected to be able to identify the author’s claims, main ideas, and supporting evidence, regardless of the type of literature or article being used.

While a written assignment in an English class is not hard to understand, these new methods also cover subjects like art and math.

Many students find themselves forgetting what they learned the previous year as they move on from Algebra to Geometry and to Calculus, but the teachers are hoping this system will change that. Students will soon be able to process and “perform” their skills rather than just reciting them and brain dumping soon after the test.

“This will help kids retain the skills they have learned as they move on and let them add onto their knowledge,” explained ERWC teacher Jennifer Swanson.

Juniors are aware, thanks to the annual SBAC testing, that the exam requires the methods specifically used in these performance tasks. One must be able to use previous knowledge and apply it to the specific situation at hand.

Even though the underclass teachers have instructions to prepare their students for the SBAC, seniors are also being taught these skills simply because they will always be valuable.

“The skills you learn will be valuable beyond high school, whether you go to college or not,” said Swanson, “There will be many times when you read a document and will have to understand what it is exactly saying.”