By Sophon Her
Every year, sophomores take the CAHSEE test in hopes of passing it and being rewarded with a free trip to Six Flags Magic Mountain in Valencia, California their junior year.
Passing the CAHSEE is a high school graduation requirement and students who fail are required to retake it until they do. Either you can put your best effort into studying and aim to pass it the first time or not study and failing it and have to retake it until you pass.
The CAHSEE test structure is divided into two subjects, English and Mathematics. The ELA portion consists of a total of 72 multiple choice questions and an essay question while the Mathematics portion consists of 92 questions. The score scale for both tests ranges from 275 to 450, but in order to pass, you must score 350 or higher on both.
On October 10, 2011, several juniors were rewarded with the chance to partake in this trip due to their passing scores on the tests the previous year. “Magic Mountain was really fun, it was worth passing the CAHSEE for,” junior Monica Sepulveda said. Take it from someone who’s already took the test and passed.
If you’re nervous or worried about taking the CAHSEE, don’t be. “It was so easy. It’s basically everything you already learned,” Sepulveda said. She was motivated to pass it. “I wanted to pass because I really wanted to go to Magic Mountain.” Sepulveda said.
The CAHSEEs aren’t that hard if you know the material. “Just take it seriously; it’s not that hard if you know the material. And if you don’t know it, study really hard,” Sepulveda said. Don’t stress about whether you’re going to pass or not, just relax and try to do your best.
“It was much easier than I thought it’d be,” junior Denise Briseno said. Even though, Magic Mountain was tiring for her, she still did her best and tried her hardest for a chance to go.
Briseno isn’t the only one that thought it was easy; Tarndeep Sidhu also felt that the CAHSEE was a lot easier than he expected. “I was actually amazed at how easy it was”, Sidhu said.
Sidhu advises students taking it this year to “use common sense” while Briseno says “Do your best, and try really hard.”