Spring is here and that means, like the weather, the Missouri State Assessments will be heating up in public schools across Missouri this April and May. Each spring, the Richmond R-XVI students and staff, as well as other neighboring school districts, get a chance to prove their learning prowess by participating in the Missouri Assessment Program (MAP) tests in grades three through eight and End of Course (EOC) exams for grades nine through 12. These tests allow our students to showcase their knowledge and abilities in the academic courses they have been enrolled in since early fall. Often, a proverbial “groan” is let out by many when the phrase “annual state assessments” is uttered by school building administrators. I too wince a little when I think of another annual cycle of test schedules, test submissions, make-up exams and test results and corresponding data to sort through once again. However, state assessments are here to stay and I have come to embrace the fact that these…