So Warchol uses two class periods to simulate the exam, giving students past MCAS essay questions. Essays that give a lot of detail do well. Now, after a month of after-school tutoring, she believes she can pass. Torres and 30 other Amherst Regional High School sophomores have been staying after school four days a week since March 12 for free tutoring in English and math by six teachers. The program is funded by a grant from the state, which awarded them to many qualifying communities.
Torres is still worried about the writing portion of the English exam.
Writing and the flow in English is sometimes difficult. English teacher Janet Saulsberry has stressed organization for the essay Wednesday. She reminded students about mechanics like underlining the title of a book and putting a poem title in quotation marks. Slovin said teachers concentrate on weaknesses in math and English, identified by analyzing previous Amherst scores. Last year, nearly 70 percent passed the English test and about 60 percent, math.