Since September 1, 2001, all eleventh grade students, attending a public school in the state of New Jersey, are required to pass the High School Proficiency Assessment (HSPA) in order to graduate high school, according to Nj.gov. After 12 years of test-taking, the question of whether or not this test is truly necessary remains. Some people believe this test is a good way to test the students’ knowledge accumulated throughout high school. On the other hand, others believe that passing one test should not be required to graduate. Although this test is meant to test the knowledge gained by students throughout their high school careers, I believe that it is unfair to judge a student’s intelligence based on just one test.

According to Nj.gov, “The HSPA is a state test given to students in the eleventh grade to measure whether they have gained the knowledge and skills identified in the Core Curriculum Content Standards.” However, does this one test truly demonstrate all of the knowledge a student has gained while in high school? Is it fair to judge a student’s intelligence, learned over a three year time span, off of just one test? I do not think it is.

It is possible for someone to be a very diligent and dedicated student, but to not have good test-taking skills. For students like that, the HSPA is an unfair way to test their knowledge. Although this test is called the High School Proficiency Assessment, the fact that some students are not proficient test-takers should be considered.

Aside from the fact that some students are simply poor test takers, the HSPA is also an inadequate measure of the Core Curriculum Content Standards. While these standards consist of language arts, mathematics, science, visual and performing arts, health and physical education, technology, world languages, social studies, and 21st-century life careers, according to an article by Neil Brown on Nj.com, more than half of them are not evaluated on the HSPA. Brown asks: “Is there some reason most of these required subjects are absent from the HSPA? Is it not important that our youth demonstrate proficiency in these areas, too? If not, why have the standards at all?” In other words, not only is this test an unfair way to assess students, but is also defective in evaluating attainment of the it is supposed to test.

Of course some people believe that the HSPA is a good way of assessing students. For example, when asked if she believed whether the HSPA is a fair test, head of guidance at HHS, Jennifer Basilone, answered, “I do think that it is fair that you need to pass the HSPA in order to graduate. I believe there needs to be a way to assess the skills associated with a high school diploma. Class grades can often be subjective, so a standardized assessment evens the playing field. This is not to say that there are not flaws in the testing, but it is appropriate if it is used in conjunction with other assessment tools.”

Hawthorne High School Junior, Jessica Terrizzi, disagrees, saying, “I do not believe the HSPA is necessary because if students do well in high school then it is not fair to prove that they have the proper knowledge from a state test.”

While the HSPA continues to be the most important test in a student’s high school career, it is still very controversial. To some it may seem an efficient way to test the knowledge of a student, but to others, like me, this test seems extremely unfair. Ultimately, one question remains: Is it fair to judge a student’s intelligence based on the results of one test? The answer: No.