Teachers motivate students for STAAR testing with music videos

It's become an annual tradition for some schools

SAN ANTONIO – Most students probably don't look forward to taking the STAAR test each year, but at some San Antonio-area schools, the kids probably look forward to activities that lead up to the testing.

While most schools have some sort of motivational pep rally, a couple have raised the bar with motivational music videos. The idea is to take some of the stress and worry the kids may be feeling leading up to the tests.

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Related: McDonald's offering free breakfast to students, teachers before STAAR testing

At Gardendale Elementary in the Edgewood Independent School District, teachers rewrote the lyrics to Bruno Mars' song "Finesse." In the teachers' version, they're "drippin' in confidence" instead of "drippin' in finesse." The teachers are dressed in '80s apparel as they dance and sing across the campus. 

Watch the full video here:

The Seguin Independent School District's Rodriguez Elementary School has also made a tradition out of STAAR test music videos. The administration, teachers and staff are all featured on a song called, "Smarter than That." It's a parody of the Meghan Trainor song "No Excuses."

RELATED: What is the STAAR test?

Like the video they did last year, the teachers show off their best dance moves in choreographed routines and some freestyling at the end. One teacher even performs an impressive back handspring.

Watch the full video here:


About the Author

Julie Moreno has worked in local television news for more than 25 years. She came to KSAT as a news producer in 2000. After producing thousands of newscasts, she transitioned to the digital team in 2015. She writes on a wide variety of topics from breaking news to trending stories and manages KSAT’s daily digital content strategy.

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