Mass Nurses: MCAS - Hell or Heaven???

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Specializes in pediatrics, school nursing.

I recall from my time in school that the MCAS (standardized testing) proctors were instructed to keep students in the exams unless they were actively sick or in danger. Does this still hold true? And around testing times, do you see an increase in visits due to stress?

MCAS starts next week in our school, and I'm wondering what to expect, given this is my first year in the schools. One class per day, Mon-Thursday for the next 2 weeks. Then a 3 week break in testing and another 2+ weeks after that...

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Specializes in kids.

My best friend in the whole world teaches is MA in SpEd and so has to do the assessment portfolios...I get a big increase in stress-related cell phone calls from her! LOLOL!!! She goes off on a rant and I just listen, make sympathetic noises and throw in a sentence or two!!!

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Specializes in School Nursing.

They go down since the whole building goes into "minimal movement in hallway" mode to limit distractions to the kiddos that are testing.

I'm in a different state, so referring to ours. ?

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This is our first year doing MCAS since we are K-3 and are a new school as of 4 years ago. Our 3rd graders have been "practicing" for the past couple of weeks and I have had LOTS of visits.

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Specializes in School Nursing, Pediatrics.

The HELL begins next week ! LOL I am in k-6.

We don't allow anyone in the hallways (unless true emergency) and we have a "silent" building (LOL) during testing time, so once lunch begins, your office will be flooded with "headaches" and fake "stomach aches". Good luck!!!

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Specializes in ICU/community health/school nursing.

May the odds be ever in your favor.

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Specializes in School nursing.

Oh, MCAS. I have grades 7-12, including the needed to pass HS MCAS in grades 9 and 10.

EVERY year I have a student that gets a concussion just before MCAS. Concussion, by the way, is the ONLY excuse where a student can be at school and not take the HS MCAS (because, shocking, taking the MCAS with a concussion isn't a great idea!). And in order for this to happen, I have to write a temp 504 plan for them. I have written ones morning of MCAS.

ELA was last week and for the first time, no concussions! But math and physics are still to come...

And I am very serious about illness and MCAS; we once had a student vomit on the exam and it still needed to be bagged to be graded...

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Specializes in pediatrics, school nursing.
On 3/29/2019 at 9:03 PM, JenTheSchoolRN said:

And I am very serious about illness and MCAS; we once had a student vomit on the exam and it still needed to be bagged to be graded...

Good lord.... TEsting just started at 10am and one of my FFs just showed up at 9:55 stating she had a migraine and stomach ache all weekend and was really uncomfortable. I asked her why she came to school (and another question, you're feeling that ill and you decided to go ahead and participate in gym???????) and she said she didn't want to miss MCAS. Ok, well you're about 5 minutes from missing MCAS, you're not going home, you already had medicine prior to the start of the school day, you're not allowed to have a warm pack during testing. Turn your butt around and head back to class.

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My teachers generally do a great job at keeping the kids in the classrooms, it helps that I'm primarily based out of my middle school.

During testing week, I probably see less kids because the teachers do such a good job. Now, when it's fitness testing week or the mile in PE...good gravy.

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