DIXFIELD – Three years ago, several Dirigo Middle School eighth-graders grumbled in protest about having to take educational assessment tests.

“You could sense they didn’t want to be there,” said 17-year-old Trevis Knapp about his eighth-grade year. “People were moaning and groaning to the point where you could tell they wanted to be home.”

Knapp, now a junior at Dirigo High School, reflected Tuesday on past attitudes that students carried with them into the testing sessions.

As a result, the high school established a downward trend, falling below state average scores in several test topics.

Curriculum changes and timing adjustments solved part of the problem, said Principal Dan Hart. But most of it was attitudes.

Today, on the first of four days of MEA testing, those student attitudes about the tests have reversed, thanks to considerable motivational work and curriculum changes by staff, School Board members and students.

Knapp and classmates Jonathan Schisler, Meredith Skibitsky and Kristin Stevens said Tuesday that many juniors were looking forward to today’s round of three 45-minute math assessment sessions.

“I feel that we will improve our MEA scores and make Dirigo as a whole, look better, because it’s not fair for our teachers to come in and teach us, and then have us just scribble something on the test,” Knapp said.

Skibitsky played a role in the motivational turnaround, joining an MEA Committee comprised of students and staff.

They were tasked with instilling pride in students, pride in their school and community, and improving the MEA appeal.

“Students will be taking the tests more seriously than they have in the past,” Skibitsky said. “I think the ones who plan on doing something with their future know how important it is.”

Now, not only do the students realize that the test scores show up in their transcripts, but there are perks and prizes for which to strive.

“The bribes send kind of a mixed message to us, but I don’t think that people are offended by it. I think it was a good idea,” Knapp said.

Skibitsky said the new reward system was driven by desires to quickly reverse the failing trend.

“The privileges they want to give us got people thinking about doing better than before,” Schisler said.

Motivational perks include five 1-hour lunch privileges for juniors who improve by two percent or more, their eighth-grade MEA scores in every test area – math, English, reading and writing, and science and technology.

Lunch hour varies from 20 to 30 minutes, “so getting one hour will be a treat,” Skibitsky added.

“It would be nice if we can leave campus and go to McDonald’s in Rumford if we want to for lunch, so it’s kind of cool,” Knapp said.

Other perks include pizza parties and ice cream socials for class groups with the highest and/or most improved scores.

But, because test scores aren’t released until early September, students earning the incentives won’t realize them until their senior year.

That, however, didn’t seem to matter to Skibitsky, Knapp, Schisler or Stevens.

Hart defended the bribes, saying, “I would rather err on the incentives side of things, because the assessments, at times, aren’t the most fun things to do.”

tkarkos@sunjournal.com

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