April is here, and that means EOCs (End of Course exams) begin. The  tests are the week of April 15 and week of April 29.

This is the first year the freshman are seeing EOCs, after taking the final MAP in eighth grade. The format of EOCs are rather similar to how the MAP test looked. Most freshman take the EOC in Algebra I; however some freshman might take the biology EOC.

“Algebra I, Algebra II, Biology, Government, and English II take the EOC’s,” assistant principal Jon Shultz said.

The EOC’s matter.  Students who plan to do the A+ program must score proficient or advanced on the Algebra I EOC. The test results also count towards the students earning final exam  exemptions for their junior and senior year.

To prepare, sleep well, study, and eat.

“Eat breakfast,” sophomore Matthew Nguyen said.  .

“Don’t overthink,” sophomore Cade Peters said.

Teachers often give a practice EOC, providing an idea of what will be on the assessment.

“Good preparation for the EOC is to study,” sophomore Rocky Clinch said.

Schultz says that the EOC scores will not matter for colleges; the assessments are only for the district and school. If Howell performs well on the assessments, it won’t get any additional funding, but if Howell were to score poorly, the school could potentially lose funding.

Other than EOC’s the juniors will also be taking the ACT.

“The ACT is on April 24,” junior Daniel Mori said.