Is MCPS that much different than DCPS?

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01/20/2023 11:22

Subject: Is MCPS that much different than DCPS?

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Anonymous

I have a child in 7th grade in DCPS and considering moving to MCPS. But, I'm wondering if it's worth making the move. In other words, I've noticed in DCPS low standards / expectations, and I'm wondering if public schools in the greater DC area in general are about equally watered down bc of demographic, political, policy forces that have swept across US public education over the past 30 years. ... therefore the only real difference between schools is the socio-economic / demographic make-up of each school, which is driven basically by the housing stock / prices.

Below are my observations of my 7th grader's experience in DCPS's flagship "best" middle school. I'm wondering if I'm going to face the same thing in MCPS: little/no HW, lots of work moving online and less on paper, lack of clear grading bc of equity, etc. So in the end, any school won't provide structure, motivation/incentives (clear grading), expectations to study, and I as the parent will have to be the one to provide the expectation, assist with organization, and intervene with tutoring if needed. If that's the case, I'm thinking I may as well stay in DCPS.

My 7th grade son went to an elementary school that feeds into his current middle school. For 6th grade he went to a small private school. Then 7th grade, he went to the DCPS flagship "best" middle school. Half way through his 7th grade, these are my observations:

Overall,
-- there is very little homework, so hard to tell how much learning is going on. And much of it is online, so as a parent, it's even harder to tell.

-- The student portal -- Canvass -- is odd. For example, for ELA my son types in his work (eg, a short essay) into Canvas, hits submit, and then can't ever see it again. I asked the ELA teacher about it, and he acknowledged it. He said it is one of the downfalls of Canvas. He offered to send me a photo of his screen, where as a teacher he can see the essay on his side.

-- Grading is odd. Some teachers seem to use it as a form of compliance. For example, the "Do Now" exercise, as I understand it, is one where its on the board when you enter the classroom, so once a student is settled in, s/he gets started on it, and has about 5 - 10 mins to do it. I understand it's work to practice skills / review concepts learned the previous day(s), eg, a new math skill. But, some teachers still grade the Do Now and it becomes part of your overall grade. So even if you didn't quite understand the skill / concept the day before when it was taught, and you practice it the next day through the Do Now, you still get graded. I don't understand this, I don't understand what exactly is being graded or tested. It seems more about compliance.

Specifics:
-- Fabulous science teacher. Decent amount of HW and labs; they are returned marked up. For the first time ever, my son comes home and shares something interesting he learned in school, willingly without me prompting.

-- ELA: nice teacher. My sons is reading, writing, and learning. I haven't checked his work, so not sure level of rigor, etc. But I don't see vocabulary nor grammar exercises. I think its more reading, response, discuss the author and the story type of work.

-- Social Studies: same as ELA; he's learning, but I can't tell what / how much and with what level of rigor, bc so much is online, or in classroom, and little HW. I rarely see him preparing anything.

-- Spanish: I can't tell what, how much he's learning. In 6th grade at his private school, there was a textbook, workbook for homework, quizzes and tests. He created flashcards to study for the tests and memorize words. Now, I don't understand what's happening, bc there's no textbook, workbook, no flashcards, no memorization exercises. There's a little bit of HW, and it's all through Canvas. I've been told there's optional optional HW in Canvas which provides the "memorization practices." But I don't understand why it's optional? Maybe because students won't do the HW, and so if he mandates it, most of them will get low grades?

-- Math: there's no HW. I don't understand how there's no HW in pre-algebra. I was told there's HW in the online software (I Ready) that's based on beginning of year assessment. But IReady HW doesn't follow along with class lessons, to then practice at home. It's just exercises based on where he placed at the beginning of the year. My son was getting low grades on assignments, but work was not being returned marked up, so we couldn't see what he was not understanding. I emailed, and then a second time CCing the Vice Principal and Principal, got a response, and now the teacher is returning his work marked up.

He has all As and Bs. I've heard that there are real issues with public school just passing students along, and "grading to pass." But will moving to MCPS from DCPS provide more structure, expectations, HW, real learning, and clear grading policy so grades actually acts as an incentive? Thank you.