Standardized tests are getting tougher, and it’s getting increasingly harder to motivate students to put forth the time and effort needed to prepare for success on those exams. Teachers at Jennings High School in St. Louis, Mo. have taken to a new approach to get kids on board: by filming a rap video to Ace Hood’s “Hustle Hard.” About a dozen teachers came together to film the video with teachers singing, “hustle, hustle, hustle, hard. Study, study, study, hard.” And when the video made its debut at an assembly earlier this month, the high school’s 900 students cheered so loudly it was like they “were at a concert or something,” teacher Tom Spivey told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. By filming the music video, teachers sought to show students that the state-mandated tests are serious business. The end-of-course exams are part of the Missouri Assessment Program, which debuted in 2008 and uses test scores to measure how well students are mastering required courses and how effectively educators are teaching those subjects.

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