Trivia night takes edge off testing fears at Harriet Gifford

Test-takers, come on down.

For the second year in a row, Harriet Gifford Elementary school in Elgin will host "Are You Smarter Than an ISAT Student?" a spinoff of Fox TV's "Are You Smarter Than a Fifth-Grader?"

The event, held at 6:30 p.m. Feb. 26, aims to give Gifford parents an idea of the kinds of questions their children will be exposed to on the upcoming Illinois Standards Achievement Test, which begins March 3.

It also attempts to get students excited - not stressed - for the test, Principal Joe Corcoran said.

Teams of parents and teams of students will face off and answer mock questions that students in third through eighth grades will see on the ISAT, a mandatory grade-school test based on Illinois State Learning Standards.

Questions will be broadcast on a video projector in the school's gym, Corcoran said.

Last year, about 160 people attended the event. Corcoran hopes to beat that number this year.

Scores on the ISAT determine whether an elementary or middle school makes Adequate Yearly Progress.

Under the federal No Child Left Behind law, a school will be considered failing in 2009 if fewer than 70 percent of students from any targeted group pass standardized tests in reading and math.

The groups include students with special learning needs, English learners, black and Hispanic students, and students from low-income families.

Last year, Harriet Gifford failed to make Adequate Yearly Progress because of the reading scores of its Limited English Proficient students.

The school has implemented several targeted intervention programs - including before- and after-school tutoring and small group instruction to try to raise those scores, Corcoran said.

"We're trying different things," he said. "A lot of it is building confidence. With (this trivia night), I want to take the edge off. It is what it is. We've done all this work, now we just have to let the chips fall and see where we land."