I am going to go on a limb and guess that the administration wants to make sure the kids are well fed and in best condition for afternoon testing. Our school certainly lays the "good parenting" recommendations (enough sleep! healthy nutritious food! no stress!!!) with a heavy hand around this time of the year.
Although I wouldn't be surprised if MoN was right about the slides
As for the impact of results, after getting a handout from DS-then-8 teacher last year in second grade (first year of NCLB testing) about getting the kids' stress level down and a list of things to tell them about the test (starting with, no, you won't get retained if you "flunk") I was curious and asked him what he thought would happen if he did badly on the test. He informed me with horror that he would have to go back to 2nd grade the following year.
Knowing our school/teachers/admins *that* one is purely a playground legend, probably fed by some slightly misguided parents (slightly misguided because at the lower level of academic achievement individual test results *will* have a strong impact on a child's future in school).
