Wytopp. Nothing has the possibility to cause panic amid the swarms of sophomores and freshmen than the mention of this acronym. Like the end of the quarter, it comes out of nowhere. According to the district calendar, the window for this year’s spring Wytopp is from April 13 to May 7, 2021. Since it is up to schools to set the actual date, students should contact the main office for more information. 

According to Wyoassesment.org, Wytopp stands for “Wyoming Test of Proficiency and Progress”. Several years ago, Wytopp replaced the NWEA Growth assessments as the standardized testing for K-10. Though taking this test may seem like a chore, there is a reason for it. According to Wyoassesment.org, results from the Spring Interim are used by the district to evaluate school performance, and by teachers to evaluate student’s performance on specific topics.

This means that it is important to do well on Wytopp, to show what students know. According to the Wyoming Department of Education, in the 2018-2019 school year, only 58.15% of NCHS Freshmen were proficient or advanced on the ELA test. 41.78% of NCHS Freshmen with below average ELA Wytopp scores. Also, only 85% of NCHS Freshmen participated in the ELA Spring Interim for Wytopp. Likewise, only 42.03%  of NCHS Freshmen scored proficient or advanced on the 2018-2019 Spring Interim for math. The remaining 57.97% scored below average. 

For Sophomores, the results are different.  63.46% of NCHS Sophomores were proficient or advanced on the 2018-2019 ELA Spring Interim, leaving 36.54% of NCHS Sophomores with below average ELA Wytopp scores. All scores are based on the randomly selected scores of 419 students. Due to the closure of schools due to Covid-19 during the 2019-2020 school year, the 2019-2020 Spring Interim was cancelled. 

As students prepare to take the Spring Interim for Wytopp, it is important to relax. Also, it is important to go to bed early. A study done at MIT has shown that students who go to bed after 2 am perform worse on tests, no matter how much sleep they get. However, they had to go to bed early in the weeks leading up to the test to improve their scores, not just the night before. Therefore, if students want to possibly increase their Wytopp scores, they should go to bed before 2 am for the next few weeks and try their hardest.