19 Leslie Knope GIFs that Every Teacher can Relate to During Testing Season

Teachers everywhere are familiar with the emotional rollercoaster that comes with state testing.  To cover the wide variety of emotions you may encounter, such as the pressure of getting students ready and the sense of accomplishment of getting things done, we have 19 GIFs from television’s queen of perseverance Leslie Knope from Parks and Recreation to help get you through this testing season.

When you head into testing season with a super positive attitude:

But then you review the practice test data, and the results are much lower than you had hoped for:

And you want to give up, but you know your students need you:

So, you stay motivated any way you can:

And give in to all of your junk food cravings without apology:

And when the student who never does any work asks you for after-school tutoring the day before the test:

You do it because, even though you’re exhausted, you want all of your students to be successful:

Then you remember that you are amazing:

And you know that you’ve done your very best:

When the testing coordinator has everything set up perfectly on test day:

And your worst-behaved student suddenly becomes your best-behaved student:

You take a chance and give your students gum because it’s supposed to keep them awake and engaged, but then half the class starts blowing and popping bubbles:

And then a student tries to turn in the test 10 minutes after you hand it out:

And you have to spend the entire day actively monitoring your students, and you are about to die from boredom:

But, before you do, the last test is turned in, and you go find your teacher BFF so that you can celebrate:

When the last day of testing is over, and you can finally rest:

And a few weeks later, you get the results, and your students did better than you ever expected:

And your principal asks you how your scores increased so much over last year’s:

And, really, you’re just proud of your students and glad that their hard work has paid off:

Credit: NBC Universal

We hope that this post provided you with a nice break and a little chuckle. Thank you for all you do during testing season and throughout the school year! For resources to get you through testing season, check out The Educator’s Ultimate Guide to Preparing for High-Stakes Testing.