By Janine DavisRecord Staff WriterTo a student, each of the recent snow days may appear like a gift from the heavens.But with student achievement under intense scrutiny, and schools being held accountable for performance through state tests scores, every classroom day lost is worrisome to school officials.Each of the roughly 170 instructional days in local school-year calendars is tightly planned and orchestrated to produce knowledge in math, reading, writing, science and other skills students will need to become productive and self-supporting adults in a very challenging employment world. And in the short-term, these classroom days are expected to yield a rising level of proficiency on the Missouri Assessment Program (MAP) test used to determine district success and accreditation.“We’re as frustrated as anyone; we want to have our students and teachers back in class,” said Warren County R-III District Superintendent Dr. Jim Chandler on Monday, which was another snow day due to bitter cold temperatures and still-dicey rural roads. “We have 3,200 students and 500 employees whose safety we take very seriously, so we need to consider that first.”Chandler and school leaders in Wright City acknowledge that snow and weather days missed – 14 for R-III and 12 for R-II – take a bite out of their instructional agenda and continuity of student lessons, but stress that they are working to make the best of the situation and gain back as many lost classroom hours as possible in makeup days.R-III and R-II have scheduled makeup days to conform to state guidelines that require school districts in Missouri to make up their first six canceled days and every other day starting at day seven until a maximum total of 10 make-up days is reached. Based on the state statute, the last day school could be in session is May 30.Possible Delay in MAP Test ScheduleNow districts wait to see if the state will provide any relief in pushing back MAP testing in April to help students catch up on material before the test.On its website, the Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) describes the MAP test as “a series of assessments for English Language Arts, Mathematics and Science at grades three through eight; and English language Arts, mathematics, science and social studies in high school. These assessments are designed to see if students in Missouri are meeting the Show-Me Standards.”Wright City R-II District Superintendent Dr. Chris Gaines said that school districts had appealed to DESE for more time to make up material prior to the test, and that districts were waiting to hear if the state would response in their favor.At press time, schools were waiting to hear if the state would announce a delay in the testing schedule.“We’re hopeful that the state will extend the (testing) window,” said Gaines, who noted some districts to the south had missed even more instructional days than R-II and R-III.“Schools in the lead-belt really got hit hard,” said Gaines.Chandler agrees that a delay in the test schedule would be in order.“This is how we’re all being judged, so we hope to get in more days before the test,” he said.Chandler said he knows that many are choosing to do what they can to continue course work through the snow days, and that a lot of teachers and students have been in communication about assignments via email. He said his own 8th grader had been working on a Communications Arts paper during time out of the classroom.One R-III teacher said her Kindergarten students had become to think missing school so much is routine. “This (school winter) is all they know,” she said.‘No Fun for Anyone’Gaines said the on- and off-again factor has played havoc with many aspects of school operations, and has been particularly challenging for Food Services managers who have to continually rebuild menus to manage perishables.“This is no fun for anybody, and most of the kids are ready to come back,” Gaines noted.On Monday, Gaines said he had been out driving the roads, and was optimistic classes could resume again soon.The next day – Tuesday – his sense of optimism proved spot-on. Warming temperatures, sunshine and clearing roads put classrooms back in action.Fewer days to prep for testing concern district officials