The Wakelet Blog

The student of today, the leader of tomorrow. Empowering future-ready learners through digital portfolios.

Written by Wakelet | Sep 20, 2024 11:23:03 AM
Leveraging digital portfolios to bridge the standardized test gap.
 
At 15 years old, Katrina is on the cusp of adulthood. As she finds her place in the world, faces new challenges, and navigates the social pressures of her school, the prospect of dealing with final year exams is overwhelming.
 

Katrina has never performed very well in standardized tests. Her family are originally from Mexico, and she’s only been in the country for 4 years. Despite this, she’s learned English as a second language and can communicate well with her school mates.

As she stares at the questions on the pages of the exam, her heart beats uncontrollably. As much as she knows the subject, she just can’t find the right words to express herself. She knows she’ll likely fail this one.

In the past, a student like Katrina would be seen as a failing student – one who would be unlikely to graduate, let alone get a place at a decent college. But it’s 2024 – and 80% of US colleges no longer require SAT scores in their applications. 

Katrina has room to breathe.

As she stares at that exam paper, she remembers the time she hit that game winning shot in the Basketball finals. She recalls the thrill of joining the debate team, and the feeling of telling her parents she came 2nd in the state competition. A smile appears as the delicate notes of her latest violin composition play in her head. 

It’s 2024, and Katrina feels confident.

She feels confident because she knows that everything she accomplished in her last 4 years is safely stored in her Wakelet account. Video clips of her victories, testimonials from her coaches and teachers, PDFs of every certificate she’s been awarded. A living, breathing record of her achievements - all shareable through one single link to any college she’s applying to.

Katrina will try her best on this exam. And although she’ll barely scrape a passing mark, she’s still positive that her portfolio on Wakelet will bridge the gap, and help her land a place at her college of choice. It will.

As an educator, you all know thousands of students like Katrina. You also know that exams are only one way of measuring the true skill and talent of your students. You know this, and now there’s finally something you can do about it.

It’s 2024, and the students who’d usually get left behind now have more of a chance to build their futures than ever before.

It’s 2024, and Katrina is more than a test score.

To discover how Wakelet is helping millions of students across the US showcase their abilities in ways that go beyond traditional tests and exams, book a call with Ryan McGinnis, one of our expert District Specialists. As an ex school principal, he knows just how important it is to give every student the chance to prove themselves.

Make 2024 the year your district leaves no student behind…