Edina unblocks CoolMathGames and test scores soar

On Oct. 18, 2019, the Edina School Board made the unanimous decision to move towards unblocking the website CoolMathGames, which boasts thousands of games that, at first glance, do not appear to be related to math. However, after the 2017-2018 school year brought another historic drop in the Edina School District’s MCA scores, the board was willing to do anything to restore Edina’s ranking as the top district in standardized testing.

The website was officially unblocked from the school Wi-Fi on March 10, 2019. “At first, we were hesitant to unblock a gaming website, but the overwhelming endorsement from parents, and their promise of a 10 million dollar funding boost, persuaded us. It took us a while to scroll through the thousands of blocked websites to find CoolMathGames.com, but we eventually got it,” said a member of the administration, who wishes to remain anonymous due to fear of retaliation from angsty gamers.

In the months following the decision, students and teachers alike waited in anticipation. “I truly expected chaos. If the website was unblocked, I thought every student would be rushing to play games, and the very classroom structure would disintegrate,” an anonymous teacher said, again fearing that the gamers would revolt. 

However, for students, the decision marked a mythical sense of freedom. “I felt like a criminal, always turning my computer screen away from teachers just to play Papa’s Freezeria using my VPN. Now that I can play games without fear, they just hit different,” senior John Johnson said. 

After a year of analysis, the administration, teachers, parents, and students are all satisfied with the results. According to werankhighschools.com, Edina High School went from rank number 42 to rank number one for MCA scores in Minnesota. Similarly, EHS students saw an average ACT score increase of 6.9 points this past school year. Teachers attribute this to games such as Papa’s Hot Doggeria, Papa’s Wingeria, and Papa’s Taco Mia. 

In light of the academic benefits from CoolMathGames, the administration is considering blocking Schoology and Infinite Campus. “We think that students are getting distracted by the endless assignments and grades posted to these websites. We are planning to block them for next school year, giving students more time to further train for standardized tests with CoolMathGames,” the same anonymous member of the administration said.