Florida elementary school gives kids Mountain Dew before standardized test... [View all]

[NYC_SKP]

Florida elementary school gives kids Mountain Dew before standardized test

An elementary school in Melbourne, Fla., is explaining to parents the reason behind feeding students there trail mix and a caffeinated soft drink prior to the children taking their annual comprehensive assessment tests.

According to a National Public Radio story, some parents questioned officials at Dr. W.J. Creel Elementary School after they found out that teachers made the soft drink Mountain Dew available to the students before they took part in the Florida Comprehensive Assessments Test (FCAT).

According to the story, Principal Kathryn Edward had read of a study that said keeping children's energy levels stable would allow them to perform better on standardized tests. Based on the study, children were given trail mix and and 3 tablespoons of Mountain Dew before taking the test.

The school says the practice has gone on for a decade, but this is the first time anyone has complained about it. No child was forced to drink the soft drink, they said.

http://blog.al.com/wire/2014/04/florida_elementary_school_give.html

The school has some of the highest test scores in the county, according to the story.

Original NPR story with transcript here: http://www.npr.org/2014/04/23/306102502/florida-school-offered-kids-caffeine-on-test-day?utm_campaign=storyshare&utm_source=share&utm_medium=twitter