MCPS language immersion placement decisions?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Is it worth applying in higher grades? Is there a chance of passing a test?

It will be VERY hard.

How hard? Like reading and writing and speaking on grade level? Or harder?

My kids went through RCF many years ago so this is old information but the only kids who were allowed in at higher levels were fully bilingual kids who jump right in with the work. They had lived overseas and had international parents so were fully bilingual. I don't think, however, that it is *harder* than grade level because they weren't all at the top of the class. They were, however, able to keep up without additional in-class help in the foreign language. I think if my kids are anywhere close to grade level, I would give it a try, especially if there is support at home in both languages.

Thanks, PP, I appreciate this. This feels like an achievable goal since she's fully bilingual now, though not dominant, and we support at home. Do you (or anyone else for that matter) know how the non-dominant kids coming out of the bilingual schools like Oakland Terrace or Rolling Terrace fare? Especially if they have language supplementation at home?

[Anonymous]

Re poster above, my child got into immersion in second grade. We’re not a bilingual family, but my child had been in immersion preschool and we kept up instruction even after she started public school in English. She could already comfortably read, write, and speak in Spanish, but none of those at the same level as in English. I think they just want to make sure the child is within the range of others in the class.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Is it worth applying in higher grades? Is there a chance of passing a test?

It will be VERY hard.

How hard? Like reading and writing and speaking on grade level? Or harder?

I had a friend who lived in Paris for about 5 years and the kids went to school there in French. When they got back to the states in elementary school they assumed they’d pass the test to start at SCES but they didn’t. They were able to test into the partial French immersion in Fairfax county and moved there instead.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Is it worth applying in higher grades? Is there a chance of passing a test?

It will be VERY hard.

How hard? Like reading and writing and speaking on grade level? Or harder?

My kids went through RCF many years ago so this is old information but the only kids who were allowed in at higher levels were fully bilingual kids who jump right in with the work. They had lived overseas and had international parents so were fully bilingual. I don't think, however, that it is *harder* than grade level because they weren't all at the top of the class. They were, however, able to keep up without additional in-class help in the foreign language. I think if my kids are anywhere close to grade level, I would give it a try, especially if there is support at home in both languages.

So who is this program for then?

[Anonymous]

You have to test before you are accepted and you loose waitlist spot for other languages/schools just because you accepted testing.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Is it worth applying in higher grades? Is there a chance of passing a test?

It will be VERY hard.

How hard? Like reading and writing and speaking on grade level? Or harder?

My kids went through RCF many years ago so this is old information but the only kids who were allowed in at higher levels were fully bilingual kids who jump right in with the work. They had lived overseas and had international parents so were fully bilingual. I don't think, however, that it is *harder* than grade level because they weren't all at the top of the class. They were, however, able to keep up without additional in-class help in the foreign language. I think if my kids are anywhere close to grade level, I would give it a try, especially if there is support at home in both languages.

So who is this program for then?

This is speaking of older grades, as kids move or leave the program. New students have to demonstrate some ability in the target language to join in 2nd-5th grade, when the other students have at least two years' experience. For K and 1 and its steaight lottery, no language experience needed.

[Anonymous]

They expect full fluency in the language, starting in the 2nd grade. Test is rigorous.

[Anonymous]

Anyone still getting in off the waitlist? What numbers are you?

[Anonymous]

Does anyone know what the required standards are for passing the test for the older grades? Does the child just need to be at grade level in the target language?


Bump

[Anonymous]

Does anyone know about the test requirements into two way immersion at a 2nd grade level?