WORD WRIGHT: Poly has a new academic challenge.
By Tyler Demshki, Staff Writer
Here at Poly, we have a semi-prestigious competition called the CML (Califronia Math League) that we usually rank pretty highly in. In the event, students from Poly take difficult math tests to see how they rank against those of other schools. We now have a literary equivalent: the Word Wright Challenge.
In this event, students take a difficult literature test, at which point their scores are compared to those of both other schools and the students within their own school. This test was introduced just this year by Kimberly Yeyna, AP Language teacher. Yeyna heard about this test from some other teachers afterhours of an AP grading conference in Kentucky, and was eager to bring it to Poly. The test is a big deal on the east coast, where AP teachers often compare their schools’ figures.
The tests were graded in two categories: the gold division for grades 11 and 12, and the blue division for grades 9 and 10. Of those grades, nearly all of the eleventh, twelfth and ninth grade classes participated. Most of the tenth grade class, however, met with some confliction concerning prep for the CAHSEE and other tests, chose not to participate. The top three winners of each grade were Yancy Calhoun (12), Ricki Davila (12), Isabel De La Garza (12), Misha Perinova (11), Rylee Epperson (11), Sachira Arachni (11), Dalia Avila (10), Sarina Briseno (10), Michael Atwell(10), Jasmine Allen (9), Alustriel Barland (9) and Den Bolken (9). The number of participants for each class was 535 students in the twelfth grade, 642 students in the eleventh grade, 298 students in the tenth grade and 494 students in the ninth grade.
Overall, the Word Wright Challenge had a successful first year. Though not school-wide, there were still students who managed to rise up to the challenge. Hopefully, this year will be looked back on as the herald of a new activity at Poly that students can use to distinguish themselves.