A Concentrated Approach to Exams

"We were told to cross off the kids who would never pass," one staffer said. "We were told to cross off the kids who, if we handed them the test tomorrow, they would pass. And then the kids who were left over, those were the kids we were supposed to focus on."

The next week, teachers regularly began pulling selected students from social studies, science, gym, art and other elective classes to work in small groups to prepare for the test. They used test-prep workbooks and sample material from the state education department's Web site.

The principal and some employees disagree on how often students were removed from classes for test-preparation. Foose said that many teachers delivered extra instruction in the classroom.

Employees say that Foose and one of her administrators added to the urgency by telling students and parents that those who failed the assessments might be held back. The principal said the comments came from an assistant principal and were more about students' long-term academic prospects.

Foose and her supporters say the remedial lessons ultimately did much good.

"Trust me -- you want students to be able to pass a basic comprehension test," Deborah Longo, leader of the eighth-grade instructional team, said in an e-mail.

Others, inside and outside the school, said they thought the exercise crossed a line.

"They're not teaching the material," Cullison said. "They're teaching them how to take a test, which is a huge disservice to these kids."