MCAP counting for 20% of final grade

[Anonymous]

Anyone know more about this or have thoughts to share?

[Anonymous]

There was a recent thread discussing MCAP performance by school and the fact that it'll be 20% of final grades: https://www.dcurbanmom.com/jforum/posts/list/1158631.page#25867740

[Anonymous]

In one of the MCPS communications during this past week, they announced a zoom meeting to discuss this for 9th grade families. If I could figure out which one, I would post a link.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:In one of the MCPS communications during this past week, they announced a zoom meeting to discuss this for 9th grade families. If I could figure out which one, I would post a link.

I finally found it: https://www2.montgomeryschoolsmd.org/news/quick-notes/2023-10/october-4-20232/calling-all-grade-9-parents-grading-policy-qa-set-for-oct.-24/

[Anonymous]

I really think this is a terrible idea by the state and that MCPS was in denial for a while and now they are just scrambling to catch up to how this will work.
It's really unfair to the current 9th graders.

[Anonymous]

Don't these test usually take almost a year to get results. How are they going to incorporate in the grade with that timeline?

[Anonymous]

There goes everyone's 4.0s

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Don't these test usually take almost a year to get results. How are they going to incorporate in the grade with that timeline?

That's a good question!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Don't these test usually take almost a year to get results. How are they going to incorporate in the grade with that timeline?

That's a good question!

They said within a couple of weeks

[Anonymous]

They snuck this one in! I had no clue.

https://www.marylandpublicschools.org/about/Pages/DAAIT/Assessment/EOCs/index.aspx

About the Tests
On July 25, 2023, the Maryland State Board of Education passed (COMAR) 13A.03.02 Graduation Requirements for Public High Schools in Maryland and 13A.03.04 Test Administration and Data Reporting Policies and Procedures. Starting in school year 2023-2024, for first time ninth graders, the American Government and the Life Science Maryland Integrated Science Assessment (LS MISA) End of Course Exams will count for 20% of students’ final grades in the respective American Government and life science course.

Here is the FAQ
https://www.marylandpublicschools.org/about/Documents/DAAIT/Assessment/MCAP/SY2023-2024-EOC-FAQs.pdf

[Anonymous]

Is that just for 9th grade students taking biology and government during this school year?

[Anonymous]

In theory, I'm not opposed to something like this. Other countries have more high-stakes, broadly administered assessments of curriculum mastery than we do. A-levels, Bac, Abitur, gaokao, Suneung, etc. I think it keeps standards from being watered down as much as they have here. But those exams are very rigorously developed and tightly monitored and from what I can tell, MCAP is yet more poorly conceived, poorly written garbage. It's not the theory of this, it's the execution.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Is that just for 9th grade students taking biology and government during this school year?

Yes, 9th graders whether they take them this school year or any year in the future.

[Anonymous]

It's not just 9th graders. It's for any high school student in those classes starting with this year's 9th grade class.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:In theory, I'm not opposed to something like this. Other countries have more high-stakes, broadly administered assessments of curriculum mastery than we do. A-levels, Bac, Abitur, gaokao, Suneung, etc. I think it keeps standards from being watered down as much as they have here. But those exams are very rigorously developed and tightly monitored and from what I can tell, MCAP is yet more poorly conceived, poorly written garbage. It's not the theory of this, it's the execution.

I took the Bac. As you noted, the questions are agonized over, the rubrics are waterproof, and it's been implemented for so many decades that they run a very tight ship.

MCAP is a joke. I'm not sure this is going to serve MCPS students well.