SOLs unusually low scores in reading this year?

[Anonymous]

The Reading SOL is a new SOL this year, I thought the aim was to make it more difficult. DS scored dropped 40 points from a 550 to a 511 as a 7th grader. This has happened before, I am not worried about it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:6th grader gen Ed. Reading score dropped. Never been this low. Benchmark is a joke.

My kids score went up. Highest it has ever been.

[Anonymous]

Weirdly, both of my kids had huge increases. AAP students.

They did say their teachers really didn't teach this sort of content. Language arts was really brushed aside -- I hate this about AAP. It's crazy superficial.

I have a third kid in Gen Ed who scored really well. Pass advance. They felt that Benchmark was actually super helpful. And their writing has improved dramatically this year -- she's written more than I have ever seen.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote: FCPS keeps removing things from their suggested curriculum. Benchmark doesn’t teach to the SOL. So yeah, unless you have a teacher who knows all of this and can counter it, then students scores would be lower. This should not be a surprise to anyone who follows the decision making practices of the school board, superintendent, and central office.

Oh look it's the anti-Benchmark lady again. Multiple teachers and parents have posted on the many different threads about this that either the tests were harder or the cut off for pass advanced was higher, but this is not tied to Benchmark. There's no way that your AAP child's score could decrease by 30% just because of the reading curriculum in the school. If that's really the case, then your child isn't advanced and doesn't belong in AAP. This is like the baseline standards of learning.

[Anonymous]

Our kid who failed the math SOLs in elementary is now an excellent math student as an incoming HS senior. Seriously, it is kid's best subject. Our other kid who didn't do well on the reading SOLs is now getting As on term papers at a very competitive university. and reads 15 books a semester. Maybe you should wish for your kids to do badly on the SOL. Some kids are on slow burn early and take off later.

[Anonymous]

4th grade AAP student got 600. He said it was easier than the Benchmark tests. So it sounds like benchmark did prepare him.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My 4th grader scored a 550 this year. She didn't even hit 500 last year. I'm a HS teacher and my 11th graders are all passing. Which is unusual at my school

I have a high school kid who took it this year and got their first pass advanced on English, I think ever. It was a high pass advanced, over 550. They also got over a 700 on the May SAT in Verbal, which is unheard of.

My kid was SO behind in writing and language arts from covid, like so many others. Those transition years where my other kids switched from writing and analyzing texts like kids to writing and analyzing texts like young adults were all a complete bust, due to the wasted years of covid school and the aftermath.

From my observation, the teachers at the high schools (and probably MS snd elementary) have been busting a$$ the past couple of years to try to catch up the behind students and backfill the numerous holes left from covid school. I know my kid's high school teachers, especially the English and Math teachers, have been making a superhuman effort with kids like mine, who were so woefully behind from missing those 2 critical years of writing instruction, 3 if you include the feral tiktok year back to school. I feel like the hard work of the teachers to right the ship is finally starting to yield fruit, at least with my kid, and the improvement is showing in the test scores.

[Anonymous]

In her email about continuing the early releases, but on Wednesday Reid said:

For example, in grades K-3, we saw an 11 percentage point increase in students meeting reading benchmarks from fall to winter. In grades 3-6, multi-year trend data shows improved reading performance, with more students meeting or approaching grade-level expectations than in previous years. This progress is significant—and a clear indicator that this approach is working.

So...something's working.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:In her email about continuing the early releases, but on Wednesday Reid said:

For example, in grades K-3, we saw an 11 percentage point increase in students meeting reading benchmarks from fall to winter. In grades 3-6, multi-year trend data shows improved reading performance, with more students meeting or approaching grade-level expectations than in previous years. This progress is significant—and a clear indicator that this approach is working.

So...something's working.

My kid showed a lot of growth from fall to winter iready, which I believe Reid must be talking about, but it didn't translate into anything special on the reading SOL. And it was ridiculous for her to even mention that, as clearly the half days have nothing to do with it either.

[Anonymous]

My kid went down, way down in the winter and did well on her SOL. The i-ready has NEVER coordinated with SOL performance for my kids, fwiw.

[Anonymous]

My kids both got pass advanced this year. One has never taken an SOL before, the other got pass proficient last year. Sorrynotsorry your kid just didn't do well on the test, it has nothing to do with Benchmark.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote: FCPS keeps removing things from their suggested curriculum. Benchmark doesn’t teach to the SOL. So yeah, unless you have a teacher who knows all of this and can counter it, then students scores would be lower. This should not be a surprise to anyone who follows the decision making practices of the school board, superintendent, and central office.

I'm sorry, you WANT schools to teach to the SOL? You would rather your child get pass advanced on a standardized test that doesn't matter at all in elementary school than learn how to actually read, comprehend what they are writing, think critically about it, and write about it? This is fascinating. Tell me more about you, weirdo!!!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My kids both got pass advanced this year. One has never taken an SOL before, the other got pass proficient last year. Sorrynotsorry your kid just didn't do well on the test, it has nothing to do with Benchmark.

Advice from a mom of teens and young adults

Even with the best parents and the best children, you will need to eat a lot of crow over the years as you help transform your kids from children into independent young adults.

It is best not to be too judgmental when your kids are younger and just starting out in school.

17 +/- years of school until you get them out of college and into functional adulthood is a very long time and there will be lots of bumps in the road along the way. It is best not to be too smug right out of the starting gate.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My kids both got pass advanced this year. One has never taken an SOL before, the other got pass proficient last year. Sorrynotsorry your kid just didn't do well on the test, it has nothing to do with Benchmark.

Advice from a mom of teens and young adults

Even with the best parents and the best children, you will need to eat a lot of crow over the years as you help transform your kids from children into independent young adults.

It is best not to be too judgmental when your kids are younger and just starting out in school.

17 +/- years of school until you get them out of college and into functional adulthood is a very long time and there will be lots of bumps in the road along the way. It is best not to be too smug right out of the starting gate.

It's also helpful to read the thread you are responding to instead of lecturing people on something that has nothing to do with their post.

I'm not judging anyone except for the lady who thinks that Benchmark directly caused her child to have lower SOL scores.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My kids both got pass advanced this year. One has never taken an SOL before, the other got pass proficient last year. Sorrynotsorry your kid just didn't do well on the test, it has nothing to do with Benchmark.

Advice from a mom of teens and young adults

Even with the best parents and the best children, you will need to eat a lot of crow over the years as you help transform your kids from children into independent young adults.

It is best not to be too judgmental when your kids are younger and just starting out in school.

17 +/- years of school until you get them out of college and into functional adulthood is a very long time and there will be lots of bumps in the road along the way. It is best not to be too smug right out of the starting gate.

It's also helpful to read the thread you are responding to instead of lecturing people on something that has nothing to do with their post.

I'm not judging anyone except for the lady who thinks that Benchmark directly caused her child to have lower SOL scores.

No need to be a kunt about it. DP.