~ Area educators say schools will benefit from annual MAP testing.
Even in pajamas, fifth- and sixth-graders at the Cape Girardeau Middle School appeared relaxed about taking Missouri Assessment Program tests in math and communication arts.
"It is just like another test," said 12-year-old Ami Godbey, a sixth grader at the school who participated in pajama day in advance of nearly a week of standardized tests mandated by the state.
The state this year for the first time mandated annual testing in math and communication arts for all students in grades 3 through 8. Local educators applauded the move that, for the first time, included testing fifth- and sixth-graders.
But none of that bothered sixth-grader Nigeria Hunt, 12, who said she wasn't stressed over the standardized tests either.
The middle school students took the tests over four consecutive days last month.
Like other students, Hunt wasn't concerned about spending parts of four days being tested in math and communication arts.
"I would rather get it all over with," she said, voicing support for a week of testing rather than having it drag out over two weeks.
For teachers and administrators at the Cape Girardeau Middle School, however, all the testing made for a long week.
"Everybody is glad it's over," said school counselor Julie Flippo who helped coordinate the testing.
Missouri developed the testing program to comply with the federal No Child Left Behind law.
To prepare for the tests, the middle school held a kickoff assembly that included a pep talk from the mayor and a performance by the high school cheerleaders.
A week of activities included allowing students to wear pajamas to school. Even principal Frank Ellis donned pajamas for the day.
School officials said the activity was designed to remind students to get plenty of sleep so they would be wide awake for the testing.
Pat Fanger, curriculum director for the Cape Girardeau School District, said the annual tests allows the schools to better track the academic progress of students.
Paul Sharp, principal at the Scott City Middle School, agreed. "It will give us quality data to use. We can find out what we are good in and what we are weak in from year to year," he said.
The previous testing schedule left a gap of three to four years between testing of students in math and communication arts, he said.
"Taking a test two times in four years makes it really hard to show a trend at all," said Sharp.
Jackson schools assistant superintendent Rita Fisher said annual testing will help school districts to better tailor their curriculum to meet academic needs.
In past years, schools tested students on communication arts in third, seventh and 11th grades. Students took the math MAP test in fourth, eighth and 10th grades.
Fifth- and sixth-graders weren't tested at all.
Area school officials said middle-school students took the added testing in stride.
"The kids have already experienced it," said Fanger.
MAP testing varies from school to school. The Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education requires school districts to test their students between March 27 and April 28.
The completed tests then are packed up and shipped to DESE which then has the task of scoring all those tests. Districts are notified of the results in August.
Some Cape Girardeau schools won't complete the testing until this week. Students at the Jackson junior high and middle schools won't take the math test until April 26.
Many schools give the tests over a two-week period. Students would be tested on communication arts one week, followed by math the next week.
Students take several math and communication arts tests. Most of the tests last an hour or more, Cape Central Middle School's Flippo said.
The middle school -- with more than 500 students -- decided to do the testing in a single week, partly in an effort to avoid having tired and tardy students as a result of the change back to daylight savings time.
"We had teachers and parents expressing concern about it," she said.
Teachers and administrators at the school also felt it might be less disruptive in the classroom to do the testing in a single week, Flippo said.
Students who are absent on the days of testing still have to take the exams when they return to school.
In future years, Missouri's schools will be saddled with even more MAP testing.
DESE will require schools to test students in science starting in the spring of 2008. The added test is scheduled to be given to fifth- and seventh-graders, as well as students in 10th or 11th grade.
Cape Girardeau educators are working to revise the science curriculum so students two years from now will be prepared for the new MAP test, Fanger said.
mbliss@semissourian.com
335-6611, ext. 123
Connect with the Southeast Missourian Newsroom:
For corrections to this story or other insights for the editor, click here. To submit a letter to the editor, click here. To learn about the Southeast Missourian’s AI Policy, click here.