Many years have come and gone for the graduating classes, but the memories stay forever. But as those graduating classes have come and gone, there have been some changes to the school. But has all of the effects been beneficial?

So how have our electives and tests changed throughout the years? Ann Scott, Arvada High School class of 1976 said when she was in high school, “we had very basic electives. We didn’t have as elaborate chooses that you kids do now.”

Kristan Harwick, Arvada West High School class of 1998, has been teaching at Ralston Valley High School for seventeen years. She said that “We had a lot of different electives, more than we have here, there were AP classes but we didn’t have as much pressure to take them.”  

But what about testing? Gabe Scott, a current senior at Ralston Valley, said that, “tests today need to be more inclusive as to the different classes each student takes”.

But during the 1970s Ann said “we had very simple tests. There was no such thing as standardized tests, it didn’t exist.” But in the late 1990’s, Harwick said that, “we did have standardized tests, but they weren’t nearly as it is now,” meaning that not only do we as students have more tests, but our tests are also more complex.

The teacher said that she believes, “some tests are good, to get a collection of data. But we do too much testing nowadays”

Gabe said, “I believe there is a bit more stress and pressure than there should be, however stress and pressure are normal in school situations”

As a teacher that gets to observe students on a daily basis, Harwick said that, “I do feel like teens today have more stress, expectations are higher because of college and social media and that “ I think the change in explanations and money in college, has been putting a lot of pressure on kids.”

What Ann Scott had to say was “the world is a lot more complicated now. It’s a lot more advanced than when I was in school. None of us has had to worry so much during school about having so much competition like you guys or worry about finance”

So what are some of the biggest changes there has been in schools?

Harwick said “one of the biggest changes is security. I graduated before Columbine, and Columbine changed the way we do security.”

Ann Scott said a big change was, “schools have to have lockdowns. Back then we weren’t frightened of the possibilities,” and from going from 1976 to present “We used to have to write everything out, and now you guys have more technology to use for school.”

Harwick also said how “the biggest change is cellphones. People are addicted to phones. Well kids are addicted to social media and that is a big distraction in class”