tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2158157279489866895.post3217435061536392750..comments2024-03-13T06:04:34.407-04:00Comments on The 21st Century Principal: Test Pep Rallies: Good Practice or Waste of Time?John Robinson Ed.Dhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14155145743617621924noreply@blogger.comBlogger10125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2158157279489866895.post-86577705007869091162016-03-23T13:39:57.233-04:002016-03-23T13:39:57.233-04:00I agree to an extent. Yes, there needs to be more...I agree to an extent. Yes, there needs to be more research to demonstrate the effectiveness of having a Test Prep Rally. However, sports rallies have been in existence for many years. Do we ask ourselves whether teams do better because of them? I think not. We do it to feel good. everything we do in schools can't be measured. There are variables in human maturation that can't be measured.<br />Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16070546290700785368noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2158157279489866895.post-47486237194360341532013-09-29T23:18:36.457-04:002013-09-29T23:18:36.457-04:00Jon, I was just wondering the same question: What ...Jon, I was just wondering the same question: What is the effect of pep rallies? I was trying to find related studies that measured the impact of pep rallies on high school football games. Not a direct correlation, but something to consider. For me, I don't conduct assemblies. At most, we do an item analysis of where students did well and where they didn't. This is passed on to the teachers to help them determine redundancies and gaps in their curriculum. The only thing we strive for is 100% participation, because that is all we have control over.<br /><br />I appreciated your commentary at the end of this post, especially the first one about where your focus lies. I think it is disingenuous to create enthusiasm over something that no one in the building is really that excited to take part in. Students are perceptive, and they can smell a skunk even when it is disguised as something else. This practice can erode trust and relationships between teachers and students (If you do well on this test, I will give you rewards). As a principal, I can understand the pressures schools feel. But not at the expense of harming a true culture of learning. Matt Renwickhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05203023579327993235noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2158157279489866895.post-47381008533240408522013-04-10T13:24:58.114-04:002013-04-10T13:24:58.114-04:00We do it so that our students can have a little fu...We do it so that our students can have a little fun before they have to take the test. There's no way around taking the test, so rather them leave the day before it starts worrying about it, they leave having a fun experience associated with the test (even though we know that reality will hit them the next day.)Miss Gibbhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01441263003068045024noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2158157279489866895.post-15672641279047312402013-03-27T09:36:24.832-04:002013-03-27T09:36:24.832-04:00My kids recently told me about the test pep rallie...My kids recently told me about the test pep rallies at school. I had no idea about them until this year. My two grade school children were less than thrilled about their latest rally and actually seemed insulted by it. Watching their teachers dance on stage to "Rock the Test" seemed more like a punishment than getting them psyched to take a test. Before the test, one of my children even indicated that their teacher gave them mints (to help quell any hunger or something like that). A day before the actual state testing my son's class took formatives (practice tests). The teacher announced the class's test average and encouraged them to try to do even better. Then then the took the formative again. This teacher also said he'd let the class shave his head if they got a certain class average. <br /><br />How all this test prepping fanaticism may affect children depends on the child. I have one child that thinks that all this talk of tests over a month before they actually happen is of no consequence and doesn't seem to be affected by it. I have another child who is by nature an over-achiever. All the talk about tests, the rallies, and the incentives, the practice tests... all this raises his anxiety. It's really frustrating as a parent to explain that these tests don't matter at all to his grade, so he doesn't need to stress over it, but that he should still do his best.<br /><br />I feel like administrators and teachers are transferring the stress of state testing to the students... as if it is their fault if they don't perform well. If they get prize for performing well on the test, children my naturally think there is a punishment if they do not do well. <br /><br />This is a broken system. Humdrum Herohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11700645536999105447noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2158157279489866895.post-28856603462729936922011-04-24T20:05:51.020-04:002011-04-24T20:05:51.020-04:00Why send the message that something is only worth ...Why send the message that something is only worth doing if there are bells and whistles and rewards? This practice contradicts over fifty years of research on motivation!Hunter Brimihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13853509115012479776noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2158157279489866895.post-48511274482184452042011-04-22T21:15:26.452-04:002011-04-22T21:15:26.452-04:00We do something different at my High School. We ha...We do something different at my High School. We have an event called "Wake your Brain" where we provide kids open access to the weight room, badminton, walking the track, Wi sports, fresh fruit and juice in the morning before the test. We know that getting your body moving before a test, as well as making sure you have had some sort of decent breakfast is much more likely to be helpful than a pep rally. <br /><br />Enjoyed your post - I formerly taught science in NC, now teaching in IL.Dawn Johnsonnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2158157279489866895.post-10589692401399518882011-04-17T11:04:30.754-04:002011-04-17T11:04:30.754-04:00We tried something different at our middle school ...We tried something different at our middle school this year. Instead of cheers and skits, I simply spoke to the students, told them they had already put in the hard work preparing for the test, we knew they were going to do well on it and to just do their best. If our scores go down, we will probably have to bring back the cheerleaders next year.Randyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05760019501046060231noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2158157279489866895.post-42505109519946109952011-04-17T08:32:25.359-04:002011-04-17T08:32:25.359-04:00I believe they send the wrong message about the im...I believe they send the wrong message about the importance of the tests. If you read "The Myths of Standardized Testing" you will understand why these tests are such a poor way to evaluate students and teachers. See my summary of this essential book at http://bit.ly/hu6wnS. In my view they are worse than a waste of time. You should have pep rallies featuring student performance (in groups) and student projects. Also, stop the sports pep rallies. They are a waste of time and school sports are bad for your health.Douglas W. Green, EdDhttp://drdouggreen.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2158157279489866895.post-53304639223967090112011-04-16T23:54:02.300-04:002011-04-16T23:54:02.300-04:00Agreed, but it makes me why wonder why we don'...Agreed, but it makes me why wonder why we don't scrutinize sports pep rallies this much. There isn't much research that supports them either.Jasminenoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2158157279489866895.post-14793729647921624612011-04-16T23:21:31.053-04:002011-04-16T23:21:31.053-04:00Thanks for the critical, meaning fair handed, look...Thanks for the critical, meaning fair handed, look into a common practice.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08472168704536483985noreply@blogger.com