Seventh-grader Jocilyn Tusten constructs a Stellar's jay nest in a science class Monday at Sandstone Middle School in Hermiston.

Hermiston School District has a lot of budding scientists in its classrooms, if state test scores are any indication.

For years, the district’s middle school students have consistently beaten the state average on science tests by wide margins, and a similar trend has begun at the high school. Last year 79 percent of Hermiston eighth graders met or exceeded the science benchmark, compared to 63 percent statewide. Eighty-eight percent of Hermiston 11th graders showed proficiency compared with the state average of 63 percent.

Lisa McElroy, who has 15 years in education and five years teaching science at Sandstone Middle School, said the key to high test scores is to stop focusing so much on teaching to the test and instead make sure students are engaged in the subject.

“We make an effort to teach in a variety of ways, whether it’s music, or art. We have so much fun you can’t help but learn,” she said.

On Monday her classroom was covered in freshly gathered mud, sticks and grass as students built bird nests using only the materials and techniques of the birds they chose to study.

“No knots, you guys, and no glue,” McElroy reminded them.

Halle Thomas, a seventh grader, worked on lining a hollow in a cardboard “tree” with grass and other fibers to create a Mountain Chickadee nest. She said she feels like she “got smarter” from researching her chosen bird for the nest project, which is one of the reasons she likes McElroy’s class.

“I like that we don’t have to sit in a desk always,” she said. “We get to get up and walk around and be active. I don’t learn very well in a desk.”

She said she didn’t always do well in science at other schools, but since she moved to the Hermiston School District this year her grades in the subject have improved.

Aeric Allbee, an eighth grader, echoed the idea that hands-on projects helped him learn. He was crossing long sticks together to create a life-sized replica of a blue heron’s nest, but he said the project he enjoyed most so far was one that involved heating glass and bending it.

“Science is my favorite subject,” he said.

In addition to hands-on labs, McElroy and the other science teachers also use silly YouTube videos, catchy songs, games, art and other methods to help the material sink in. The goal is to cater to a variety of learning styles, from restless “talented and gifted” students to those with learning disabilities or language barriers causing them to lag behind in their reading skills.

“For a long time, education has said that if you can’t read, you can’t learn, but we’ve shown that’s just not true,” McElroy said.

On Monday morning in Kent Barnes’ classroom, students in an engineering class were using Popsicle sticks and other craft items for an assignment to make skyscrapers with working elevators that can lift an army action figure at least 12 inches. The science state test has included a growing number of engineering questions in recent years.

Barnes, who has taught at Sandstone for 10 years, said each of the teachers has their own style of instruction, and his tends to be especially light-hearted.

“I always have funny pictures on my tests, just to get the kids to relax, because some kids are not test takers,” he said.

One of his favorite methods was creating timed competitions that helped the students have fun while also motivating them to make sure they learned the material so they could win.

“Get them to care, and once you get a kid to care they will do amazing things for you,” he said. “It doesn’t matter what level they’re at, they will succeed.”

Kimo Gabriel, who has taught science for Hermiston School District for 27 years, said the teachers always share state testing results with their students, right down to comparing them with other schools and breaking down scores by subgroup.

“I say, ‘Hispanic boys and girls passed at 91 percent this year,’ and you can see the pride on their faces,” he said.

Gabriel said the district has fostered a culture where doing well on science state tests is an expectation instead of merely a goal.

“It’s like a winning sports program,” he said. “It’s like Pendleton football — for years, if you played Pendleton football, you were expected to win. It was a tradition. It’s the same here.”

If students are struggling to pass, he said, he blames himself instead of the student and looks at what he can do to better his instruction.

All three Sandstone science teachers said they share fun project ideas, helpful YouTube videos and other strategies freely with any teacher who asks. If one person’s students returned weaker test scores on a certain unit, they ask the others what they did to get the information across.

“There’s a mutual respect,” Barnes said.

The district’s middle school science teachers at both schools all follow the same two-year calendar of instruction for seventh and eighth graders, who learn in blended classrooms.

“Even though our styles are different, they’re getting the same thing,” Gabriel said.

McElroy said they have “the best paraprofessionals in the state” assisting the students in special programs, and administrators that are always willing to greenlight a trip to the hardware store for more supplies.

They also have help from teachers of other subjects willing to create crossover projects. As students begin studying the periodic table, for example, they will write reports in their language arts classes about the element they chose to research in science, while in social studies they will study the regions where their element is mined.

Science is the last subject in the state to switch from the OAKS test to the Smarter Balanced assessment, but the teachers said the OAKS test has become increasingly interactive to mirror Smarter Balanced.

When the switch comes, Gabriel said, the relationships the teachers have built with the students and their efforts to make learning fun will come through.

“It’s a human occupation,” he said. “The most important thing is relationships, and knowing how to teach 12- to 13-year-old kids.”

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Contact Jade McDowell at jmcdowell@eastoregonian.com or 541-564-4536.