CIRC lesson_praise (GS)

You t ake a l o t o f t e s t s i n s choo l . Usua l l y, t he y a r e i n your r egu l a r c l a s s e s, bu t some t imes a l l t he s tuden t s in one g r ade , o r s tuden t s f rom se ve r a l c l a s s e s , t ake a t e s t . I know t e s t s a r en’t f un . Bu t a s I ’m su r e you ’ve been to ld mos t o f you r l i f e , t he y a r en’t mean t to be fun , they a r e mean t to make su r e you a r e l e a r n ing. In some p l a ce s ( such a s the s t a t e o f New York ) , t o g r adua t e f rom h i gh s choo l w i th a spec i a l k ind o f d ip loma , s t uden t s t ake t e s t s c a l l ed e x i t exams. In the s t a t e o f New York the se t e s t s a r e c a l l ed Reg en t s Exams ; h i gh s choo l s tuden t s t ake t e s t s a t t he end o f the y ea r ba sed on the i n f o r ma t ion they have l e a r ned (o r wer e supposed to have l e a r ned ! ) . New York ha s had i t s Reg en t s Exams s ince 1878 . Many Ne w York h i gh s choo l s tuden t s t ake the se exams in s eve r a l d i f f e r en t a r e a s ( e . g. , Ma th , B io log y, Eng l i sh , Fore i gn Langua g e ) th roughou t the i r h i gh s choo l c a r ee r.