AP exams don't affect GPA, and have well documented curriculum. Final exams don't exist anymore, and when they did, they were part of the class, not imposed by some uncoordinated third-party . |
So this is an end-of-course exam that they are going to take in early May, more than a month before the end of school (and the end of their current science course)? If lots of kids bomb this test, it is going to be a sh!tshow. |
I’m worried it will be a sh-t show this year and then they’ll fix the test to make it easier next year. So this year’s class will all end up with bad grades in Bio and the colleges won’t know that it wasn’t the kids’ fault.
Given past experiences with mcap, I just don’t trust those tests at all. I’m hoping I’m pleasantly surprised. |
Yep. |
Too bad for class of '27. So, 60% of Sem2 grade coming from performancnce in Q4+test? equity - giving AlL 9th students same test - mcap instead of a final exam. |
I guarantee you that giving the test 8 months into the class will get higher scores than would giving the test 3 months after the course is over, on this test of allegedly essential foundational knowledge for educated members of civilization. Smoke on your pipe and put that in. |
I expect they'll end up with a waiver this year, like they got for Algebra when it was first supposed to be required. MCPS took a whole year to get last year's MCAP sorted. |
I think what you may be missing if you don't have a current student in "Honors" Biology is that the schools are not treating this the way they would an AP class. My child's "Honors" Biology class is full of sophomores who took Life Sciences last year, so not exactly your academic superstars. Both semesters, the class has been taught by a teacher barely out of undergraduate. If MCPS high schools were taking this seriously, they would at least make sure to give these kids teachers with more than four months of teaching experience, to prepare for a test that could seriously impact their GPA. |
+1 |
According to this link that a PP posted, if your kid has solid A's in both the 3rd and 4th quarter, the worst they can get as a final grade for the semester is a B. Yes, it's still stressful and frustrating to deal with this test and its impact, but at least you know she can't get a C. https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1CyVo3XgTAE0-Ku9D5EtFqozQ1NfqfaGS9yxOb2Ia-no/edit#gid=0 |
+1 Also, don’t assume that the cut scores will correlate to percentages of total points. Standardized testing has large data sets and a statistical process to determine where the break between “grades” is. Some AP tests a 70% is a 5. |
The test is for all Bio students throughout the state. So don’t think your child’s Honors or non-Honors Bio class is going to make them an anomaly of students more unprepared. |
With this chart, does the Q4 grade include or exclude the exam grade? |
If she had an A both quarters, it will be mathematically impossible for the grade to drop down to a C for the semester. MCPS will average as 40%(letter grade) + 40%(letter grade) + 20%(letter grade EOC exam) with letters on 4.0 scale (.4)(4) + (.4)(4) + .2(0) = 1.6 + 1.6 + 0 = 3.2 B Therefore, while it is still not great, failing the EOC exam after two A quarters is still a B. It will be impossible to drop all the way to a C. |
What happens if the final semester grade ends up becoming a C and the student wants to take the class over in summer school for a better grade? Would MISA be incorporated into that as well? |