For students at California State University, East Bay there are few things that can cause more stress than the Writing Standards Test (WST). Passing the WST is mandatory for students to graduate–or, at least, it was.
In a statement released by CSUEB in an email to students, the WST is no longer mandatory for students graduating in Spring 2020, Fall 2020, or Spring 2021. Any student graduating after these dates will, unfortunately, have to take the controversial test.
The controversy surrounding the WST stems from students, many of which question the need for the test to be taken in the first place.
“As a COMM major, I understand why I might need to pass [the WST], but one of my suitemates is a math major. It doesn’t really make sense to me that a math major should need to prove they can write at the same level as an English or COMM major,” a student who wished to remain anonymous said.
This opinion is a popular one, as many students feel the test should either be limited to students in the College of Letters, Arts, and Social Sciences (CLASS), or done away with altogether.
As we’re currently seeing, eliminating the test would be easy. It would save students a lot of stress and, in some cases, money. The other big complaint is that the WST is $25-$50 per attempt. If you fail it, you have to either pay to take it again or take one of the replacement classes. To add insult to injury, the test is out of eight points and, to pass, you need to score a perfect eight.
Countless students have voiced their opinions after scoring a seven on the exam.
“I think its really dumb that you need a perfect score to pass. I don’t even understand how that makes more sense than a pass/fail,” the same student said.
Numerous emails were sent to CSUEB on the topic, none were returned.