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New Twist regarding “Hammering Out A Test” by News Channel 8's Jodi Latina

New Twist regarding “Hammering Out A Test”
by News Channel 8's Jodi Latina

The SAT's are right around the corner, but there's a very different kind of test being hammered out in Wallingford, Connecticut. Students from the state's vocational technical schools have been spending the week brushing up their skills for a national assessment.

The kids who are taking this test are learning a specific trade. This week it's carpentry. In the coming weeks electrical, culinary arts and fashion technology will be tested. In the end they'll learn what skills they've mastered, and which ones need work.

The saws are buzzing for the NOCTI test. Senior Kevin Riley from Ellis Tech in Danielson thinks he's doing okay.

"Pretty good. I didn't mess anything up."

Riley is one of 178 carpentry students from around the state who are taking this test. The National Occupational Competency Testing Institute writes it.

Riley didn't like the essay, but at 18 he's already built more than one hundred homes with his Dad. Riley likes the hands-on work.

"I think a person who goes to a tech school is more likely to get out and do what he or she feels like doing."

The test includes seven tasks, like framing a window. The students are timed and graded by experts in the field.

"If I do well on this test I will get a job," says Jordan Bishop from Grasso Tech in Groton.
Jordan, 18, is right. These carpentry students are in high demand.

According to the state Labor Department construction jobs accounted for 800-new jobs last year, half of the state's job growth.

All but one of the 17 vo-tech schools in the state actually have a waiting list for students to get in.
"They are ready to be able to do something to enter an apprenticeship at the end of high school it's a big advantage and a plus," says testing coordinator Bob Lombardi.

And the sense of accomplishment can't be measured.

After the students are graded they go back to their schools and improve on the skills that need most work. But the students also get an idea of where they rank locally and nationally in their field, and many will be recruited out of high school into well paying jobs.

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For more information:
Connecticut Technical High School System
http://www.cttech.org