CSAP has own kind of March madness

State-mandated tests put educators on funding spot

David Montero, Rocky Mountain News

Published March 5, 2007 at midnight

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Within 30 minutes - after the school band had finished playing - Principal Michael Gaither was in full preacher mode.

"MLK Junior, give it up for the band," he bellowed. "They're here for something very important - to take the CSAP. Everybody say, See-sap."

"See-sap," came the response from about half the room.

"See-sap," Gaither called out louder, egging on the ninth-graders with his arms flying upward and sweat beading on his forehead.

"See-sap," they yelled back.

"I guess when you get to ninth grade, your voice gets louder," Gaither said.

It was not yet 8 a.m. on Friday and Gaither still had two more rallies to emcee.

The cafetorium ("Yeah, I'd never heard that word before I came here, either," Gaither said) was decorated with streamers and balloons. The cheerleaders from Martin Luther King Jr. Early College Middle School in northeast Denver were getting ready backstage to pump up the enthusiasm. And there were signs and posters promoting CSAP - the Colorado Student Assessment Program.

Much at stake

Gaither knows how important that testing is.

School districts statewide can start testing today, and many schools have been trying a variety of techniques to get students to show up for the tests and to excel at them. That's because higher CSAP scores for a school could mean attracting more students, which, in turn, could mean more funding.

Denver Public Schools thinks the testing is so important that it enlisted the help of two dozen high school students to promote CSAP enthusiasm throughout the district.

Beginning late last year, those students made posters promoting CSAP and went around their schools' classrooms to talk to fellow students "on their level," said Nicole Tembrock of the DPS Office of Character and School Culture.

"We discovered that students don't have a real connection to the importance of the CSAP," Tembrock said. "But they got real interested in how the scores are linked to the reputation of the school and funding for the school."

School funding is based on student attendance, and with districts such as DPS losing students to neighboring districts or private schools, participation in CSAP and raising test scores has become critical.

Each year, the Colorado Department of Education releases academic ratings for more than 1,700 public schools throughout the state. The ratings - unsatisfactory, low, average, high and excellent - are computed mostly from CSAP scores.

Last year, for instance, Martin Luther King Jr. Early College Middle School was rated low, but showed modest improvement from 2005. Gaither was exhorting his students last week to shoot for 10 percent improvement this time around. He even sang for the students - warbling to the tune of My Girl the coolness of taking the CSAP.

"I guess you'd say/what could make me feel this way? CSAP," he sang while throwing his head back. "I'm talkin' about . . . CSAP."

"CSAP," the kids sang back.

Motivational tools

Other schools have tried motivating tools, too.

Arvada High School Principal Eric Everding said the school gave away several iPods last year, but after his school saw declining test scores, he opted for a different approach this year.

No prizes.

"We just felt the prizes weren't effective," he said. "So this time we had each kid meet with counselors in small groups to review their test scores to give them a sense of how close they were to proficient. And then tell them what they needed to do to improve."

But not everyone is eschewing prizes.

Wheat Ridge High School is having a raffle for those who take the test and improve their scores. And some of their prizes include iPods.

Other schools employ creativity.

North Star Elementary School in Thornton has the kids do The CSAP Rap. Each year, they make up lyrics to the song and perform it before taking the tests.

"It's a lot of fun for the students," Principal Barb Stallings said, adding that her students aren't starting the tests until next week, and the lyrics to the 2007 version of The CSAP Rap haven't been written yet.

In Aurora Public Schools, Superintendent John Barry conducted rallies throughout the district earlier this year and provided personal messages of motivation about the CSAP on podcasts.

But in the end, district and school officials know it comes down to students like Anthony Smith, a ninth-grader at MLK.

He said he did well on math and reading last year, but was only partially proficient in writing. He said the antics of his principal were funny and that the Friday morning rally was "all right," but he wants to do better for himself.

"It's a challenge," he said. "That's it."

School testing

The window for CSAP testing begins today for grades 3 through 10. The testing window ends March 23. Here are the tests students are taking:

• Reading, grades 4-10

• Writing, grades 3-10

• Mathematics, grades 3-10

• Science, grades 5, 8 and 10

monterod@RockyMountainNews.com or 303-954-5236

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