Across the nation, educators are trying a variety of methods -- including beach days, barbecues, flute music, and fun hats -- to ease student test anxiety as schools face increased pressure to improve their scores under the federal No Child Left Behind Act.
''We need to somehow take the stress off the kids, and somehow make those days as normal as possible," said Brent Swartzmiller, principal of Wayne Trail Elementary School in suburban Toledo, Ohio.
At Swartzmiller's school, one teacher leads her students through mental and physical exercises before Ohio's state tests, which are administered in March. Joseph Pisacano, a fifth-grade teacher in the Philadelphia suburb of Warminster, decided to use tai chi as a stress-relief activity two years ago after he saw how it relaxed a group of 100 students during an Asian culture celebration at his school.
For about 15 minutes at the beginning of each test day, Pisacano leads his students through a set of meditative movements while flute music plays in the background.
''What I've noticed is that students have a positive reaction to the test," Pisacano said.
''Everybody applies themselves. I don't have a lot of heads down on the desk and 'Ugh!' -- which is pretty typical for fifth grade when you have something as monotonous as six days of testing."
Other schools target students' stomachs.
At Memorial High School in Madison, Wis., teacher prepare a buffet-style breakfast for sophomores on the mornings of their state tests, which take place in the fall.
For several years, the K-8 Arcadia Neighborhood Learning Center in Phoenix has kicked off its four-day state testing period with a barbecue.
This year, the school had the students make ''thinking caps" to wear on the day of the event, said Principal Carolyn Repp, who donned a student-designed paper hat festooned with curly ribbons for the occasion last week.
''It's a celebration for them, to know how smart they are and how capable they are," she said.
Gregory J. Cizek, an education professor at the University of North Carolina's Chapel Hill campus, said relaxation techniques can help take the edge off students' test anxiety.
But he cautioned that other activities could worsen it by drawing extra attention to the test.
''It's almost better, when you introduce the test, to say, 'There's the test, do your best, and I'll be happy to answer any questions,' " Cizek said.
Robin Young, the Taylor Elementary School teacher who allowed her students a beach day, sees the offbeat test-day clothing themes as a harmless way to blow off steam.
