With studies about summer loss due to lack of learning over the summer, you'd think they are completely undermining themselves with the prep. Because now instead of June to August, you may get March to August with no actual instruction. Guaranteeing loss for the large majority of kids not to mention loss of actual instruction time.
In my son's school they've so emphasized third grade testing as high stakes that kids are anxious. My son's worried he'll have to go to summer school (but he'd love to fill his summer with academic camps?) They are asking parents to walk kids in for the first day of testing; I'm guessing this is to increase the level of stress on the off chance that stress causes children to spontaneously master material they haven't yet mastered in time for testing.
