{"id":5569,"date":"2015-04-21T21:01:57","date_gmt":"2015-04-22T04:01:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/stapletonion.com\/?p=5569"},"modified":"2015-04-21T21:01:57","modified_gmt":"2015-04-22T04:01:57","slug":"schools-practice-unusual-methods-to-increase-test-scores","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/stapletonion.com\/?p=5569","title":{"rendered":"Schools Practice Unusual Methods to Increase Test Scores"},"content":{"rendered":"

\t\t\t\t\"Test-Prep\"<\/a>In March, area schools administered the CMAS (Colorado Measures of Academic Success) tests. The testing can be stressful for teachers, administrators, and even parents. But in the end, the pressure is all on those who take the tests, the students. \u201cMy heart goes out to them,\u201d says Westerly Creek Principal Nancy Ortner. \u201cIt\u2019s a lot of pressure to have the perceived success of your teacher, principal, and school on your back. I don\u2019t remember if we took standardized tests when we were kids or not, but it seems like there is more riding on them these days.\u201d\n\nStapleton parents agree that the testing period is a pretty difficult time. \u201cMy son is a rock,\u201d says parent Amy Doyle. \u201cI haven\u2019t noticed him being stressed out, or pressured or anything. But we definitely remind him of how important this is. If he does poorly, it reflects badly on us, and if the school does poorly, it looks like we put him in a bad school. I really hope everything went well. If not, we may have to evaluate changing schools.\u201d Other parents feel the same way. \u201cLuckily, my kids are handling it great,\u201d says Luke Hall. \u201cThey know what is riding on this, and they are taking it in stride. My wife and I have been a mess, however. Now, the waiting, as they say, is the hardest part.\u201d Indeed, the wait will be a while as results will not be in until next fall.\nPrior to the tests, schools tried a variety of things to prepare the students. Many area schools claimed that there was some basic prep work for the tests, making sure everything could be set up appropriately, but there was little actual prep work. \u201cWe hardly even talk about it,\u201d said McAuliffe Principal Dan Nielson. \u201cIt was maybe one of those things we mentioned after what was on the school lunch. Kind of a, \u2018by the way, we have a big standardized test in a week.\u2019 We prepare the kids every day for doing well, so why would we change our entire structure for a two hour test?\u201d Nonetheless, schools wanted to make sure students were ready to go mentally, so experimented with several prep methods.\nSome schools tried meditation, others rigorous exercise or yoga. \u201cWe are trying to figure out what should be used to keep kids focused and alert on test days,\u201d said Bill Roberts Principal Jessica Hanson. \u201cWe also want to keep them stress free.\u201d There were even reports of hypnotherapy, kids playing Angry Birds for two hours, and even one report of kids being encouraged to smoke cigarettes to ease tension. \u201cThe scores mean a lot to a lot of people,\u201d says Denver Discovery Principal Bob Connor. \u201cOf course, they don\u2019t mean a lot to the students at this point, but they certainly mean something to the schools and the parents.\u201d School administrators hope to learn what pre-test routines worked the best so they can begin consistently employing them throughout the school year.]]>\t\t<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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