FERRIDAY &045;&045; By 4 p.m. at Ferriday Lower Elementary Thursday, the halls were still lined with backpacks and coats hanging on their hooks, but the school was still and quiet.

An extended school day program started this week and teachers at all Ferriday schools said the first week went &uot;very well.&uot;

&uot;It’s better than we even attested (it to be),&uot; said Juanita Green, an eighth grade language arts teacher at Ferriday Junior High School. Manipulatives, games, practice tests and computers are just some of the tools the schools are using to prepare Ferriday students for testing in March.

The extended school day was passed by the school board in December, an effort to improve the test scores of all of the Ferriday schools, three of which are in school improvement. The extended day is Tuesday through Thursday of each week from 3:15 to 4:45 p.m until testing in March. And the teachers were most excited about the one-on-one interaction the students seemed to respond well to. &uot;The small grouping has helped tremendously,&uot; Green said. &uot;You can relax in a smaller group.&uot;

At each school, the students are broken into smaller groups than they are in a normal classroom setting so they can get more attention for areas they need help. Fourth grade Ferriday Upper Elementary teacher Sharon Davis said she likes interacting with different students than she sees all day. Teachers are using test-taking skills and practice tests to teach students how to take tests. Fourth graders and eighth graders must take the LEAP test in March. Tenth and 11th grade students take the Graduation Exit Exam. All other grades from first to ninth grade, take the IOWA test.

The Ferriday Upper Elementary students said they were having fun listening to books on tape, playing on the computer and playing a reading comprehension and vocabulary game on Sony Playstations.

Kindergarten teacher and first grade tutor Felice Fortenberry said she has been adjusting many activities to test format &uot;so they get used to looking at how it will be presented.&uot;

&uot;Everyone is saying they are having so much fun,&uot; Davis said of the upper elementary students. She said she has heard few negative comments from students.

The teachers said they know the students understand how serious it is to perform well on these tests. &uot;The kids will be more perceptive when they take the test to make sure they do the best they can do,&uot; said Joyce Ivory, Spanish I and II and English I teacher at Ferriday High School.

And mainly, Ivory said, because the students do not want to have tutoring next year too.