Students in grades 3 - 5 at Lincoln Elementary are in the middle of state testing. Mrs. Gatzemeyer said, ”Students have been taking the test for as long as I can remember.” The reason the students take this test is to see how much the students are growing in knowledge every year. The Department of Education helps make up the test. Some of us are wondering how it felt taking the state test on paper with all the circles? Or did you get to take it electronically?
We had the chance to see how a few students felt about testing. Lucy, a third grader in Ms. Anderson’s class said,“I think the hardest part of testing is writing. I stay motivated by thinking of what prizes I [could] get.” Alex, a fourth grader in Mrs. Sahli’s class let us know that, “being frustrated and your head hurts like a [big] headache,” is the hardest part of testing for him. He also told us that teachers [and students] help him stay motivated by giving him notes. Tillie, a fifth grader in Mrs. Mayer’s class explained, “I think the hardest part of state testing is, a lot of people get stressed out and it’s hard to focus when you are stressed. What I do to keep [myself] motivated is - take a break or say positive things in my head.”
Lincoln does some amazing things to help make testing less stressful. Mrs.Gatzemeyer had an idea for doing dress up days so our whole school looks like a team. She got the idea while reading a book. Most of the students and staff had fun participating in the dress up days. Mrs.Gatzemeyer also gave all of the students painted rocks with motivational messages so they could stay motivated. Mrs. Wensmann bakes banana brain bread and apple awesome bread for a testing treat. “Mrs. Wensmann is amazing and loves to do her part in the test,” said Mrs. Gatzemeyer. This is what makes our school different from other schools during state testing.
