OGTs... They're Kind Of A Waste Of Time

Hey everyone,

For anyone who doesn't know OGT stands for the Ohio Graduation Test. There are five of these tests all Sophomores in the state of Ohio must take and pass- Reading, Math, Writing, Science and Social Studies (the OGTs for this week are in that order). Students take the OGTs for the first time in March of their Sophomore year. If they do not pass the OGTs in March, they are given the opportunity to try again in the fall of their Junior Year. If they do not pass them in the fall, they can take them yet again with the Sophomores in March. If they still fail them (at this point it's just plain pathetic), they can try again in the fall of their Senior Year. If they fail them yet again they can take them in March with the Sophomores. If they fail them yet again, A) They've reached beyond pathetic status and B) You can't graduate and C) You probably won't be getting a job anytime soon.

The OGTs have a reputation for being extremely easy. And so far, I must agree. Much of the math and reading was stuff we should have known in middle school...maybe even intermediate. If you find that offensive, too bad. And besides, the ACT (American College Testing) and SAT (Scholastic Aptitude Tests) are far more difficult than the meager OGTs. But on the plus side, we get shortened periods and reading time (once we're done with the tests). It's great because I got the third book in the Hunger Games Trilogy (Mockingjay), yesterday morning, and was able to finish it before I went to bed. Today I have the book Max by James Patterson, and I'm loving getting to spend more time to read it.

Another bonus is that my math class (first period) celebrated Pi Day today (even though it was actually yesterday). We celebrated it so that we wouldn't have to do any more math today after the Math OGT (thanks Mrs. Highman :-)

Ciao!