Cheers echoed through the halls of Randall Holden Elementary School Thursday afternoon, but not from gym class or recess.

They were for the New England Common Assessment Program, or NECAP, testing.

Principal Ken Rassler and his teaching staff hosted a pep rally designed to get their 240 students excited about NECAP testing, which begins today.

Dressed in their blue and gold best, teachers and students alike shouted words of encouragement for the third, fourth, fifth and sixth graders who will have to undergo a three-week testing process that has become the subject of a heated debate statewide.

“It can be a stressful experience,” said Rassler of the testing process, especially for young elementary school students. He explained that the pep rally is a way to motivate the students who need to take the test and encourage them to do their best.

Although they will not take part in the testing, kindergarteners, first and second graders also had words of encouragement for the older students.

This marked the second time Randall Holden hosted a NECAP pep rally.

“We were a ‘warning’ school last year [according to Rhode Island Department of Education (RIDE) school classifications], and we wanted to come up with a way to motivate the kids,” said Rassler.

And it paid off. When the results of the fall 2012 NECAP tests were revealed, Randall Holden was 92 percent proficient in Reading and 77 percent proficient in Math, the highest of all Warwick elementary schools. When the school classifications for 2012-2013 were released, Randall Holden was Warwick’s only “leading” school, moving up two categories to the second highest ranking possible.

“We had the top score for all the elementary schools in Warwick!” said Rassler to his excited group of students.

Rassler hopes that this year’s pep rally will have the same effect, encouraging his students to do their best on these tests.

“The third graders have never done this,” explained Rassler. “Fourth, fifth and sixth have experience, at least one year.”

Because of the school’s success last year, the theme of this year’s Pep Rally was “We Are The Champions.” The popular Queen song was played during the event, along with Survivor’s “Eye of The Tiger.” A group of teachers formed a cheerleading squad to lead the rally along with Rassler, and a special staff-created poster with study tips on them, which students read to the group. Rassler explained that he will also read one of the study tips or test taking strategies during the morning announcements through the testing period, and the posters will be put up in the hallways so students can see them.

To show their support, each grade learned a special cheer, which they performed during the rally. Kindergarteners encouraged everyone to go to bed and get a good night’s rest, first graders reminded students to check their work and second graders cheered about the importance of reading the question before reading the story to know what to look for.

Third graders cheered for more recess, a reward during the testing period, and fourth graders reminded everyone to check their answers at the end. Finally, fifth graders cheered about eliminating wrong choices first, while sixth graders told everyone to “read the question.”

By the end of the rally, everyone was ready for the test, even Superintendent Dr. Richard D’Agostino, who stopped by to take it all in.

“I’m excited, and I’m not even taking the test,” said D’Agostino with a laugh. He said it was great to see how Rassler and the teachers are working hard to make the students excited about NECAP, and it may just help them do better.

“There’s something there,” said D’Agostino. “The kids are excited. The teachers are excited.”

As students exited the gym at the pep rally’s conclusion, Rassler and other teachers continued to cheer and wish their students the best of luck on the tests.