Weighted scoring on Math and RLA
I just wanted to let you all know that there are sections where the score is weighted more heavily than others.
For example, I have seen a lot of posts saying “the essay in RLA is only worth 6 points.” That is not true. While you are scored on a scale from 0-2 in three different areas, the essay is 20% of your score. In essence, each “point” in the essay is really worth closer to 3.5 points.
There is similar weighted questions in math, but it’s not as commonly advertised. The “no calculator” questions are weighted more than the rest. So, if you guess/skip those first 5-7 questions, you’re actually risking more of your grade.
Can you pass without doing them? Absolutely! I teach RLA and Social Studies, and there are times when I encourage students to skip the essay and focus more on the other questions. However, you could get a much higher score overall if you put more effort into these portions of the tests.
I say this as an instructor that has been working with students for over a year.