WSJ - To Increase Equity, School Districts Eliminate Honors Classes

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Why is this on MCPS forum? The right wingers are trying hard to create chaos and destroy public schools.

MCPS employees already did that with their ‘work’ during the pandemic.

God, you’re dull. Go spew this nonsense on Parler where you belong.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Why is this on MCPS forum? The right wingers are trying hard to create chaos and destroy public schools.

No way. It's the crazy left wing that has destroyed public education in this county in the name of #Equity. That and Covid where our local leaders threw kids under the bus and kept schools closed for way longer than necessary.

totally. i have voted democratic but making our schools unusable is pushing me in a different direction. If they are going to do this, at least let me have my tax $ back so i can enroll in private.

Not a chance. Democrats are staunchly against school choice. They would prefer to waste enormous amounts of taxpayer money, unencumbered by accountability.

+1. Have left Dems because of their fealty to teachers. Public schools should be replaced with vouchers for families. End the monopoly on mediocrity.

Pro Tip: When pretending to be a “Democrat who’s seen the light” on anonymous message board, avoid easy tells like “Dems.”

Try harder.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Why is this on MCPS forum? The right wingers are trying hard to create chaos and destroy public schools.

pretty sure the public schools are doing that just fine on their own

but this is a pet cause of the right-wing turfers and they are out in force here lately

And here he is... "But you are probably the frequent poster that accuses every post critical of MCPS of being "right-wing," so we can dismiss your analysis in return."

I post replies calling these Right Wing nonsense replies Right Wing (which they are) and I’m not the quoted PP. Feel free to ask Jeff.

BZZT! You’re wrong again.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Article from WSJ today. Too bad for the schools doing this, it's much better to have all honors so all can have inflated grades.


https://www.wsj.com/articles/to-increase-equity-school-districts-eliminate-honors-classes-d5985dee

Doesn't Fox News own the WSJ?

Yep. More Faux News propaganda

So, there is nothing real here, eh? What is your gold-plated news source, where you trust everything they say?

I think you are incredibly naive and close-minded to dismiss news sources because they don't confirm your bias. But you are probably the frequent poster that accuses every post critical of MCPS of being "right-wing," so we can dismiss your analysis in return.

The news source is the Wall Street Journal which runs leftist on news articles (which this is.)

Newsmax regular?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Article from WSJ today. Too bad for the schools doing this, it's much better to have all honors so all can have inflated grades.


https://www.wsj.com/articles/to-increase-equity-school-districts-eliminate-honors-classes-d5985dee

American education is getting systematically dismantled. If you care, fight.

At least that's what Fox News and its associated properties would have us believe.

I'm also skeptical because the quality of education available to my children at MCPS is vastly better than the education available at MCPS 30 years ago when I graduated from a W. Sure, the county's demographics are different today. Still, there are amazing opportunities for anyone interested.

+1000

What opportunities does my kid have if she wants to be prepared for IB English in 11th and is a strong writer? There is only one English course offered in 9th and 10th at her school unless you are an ELL student. Why can't there be more options like there are for math?

You need to supplement.

Inequity, defined.

Exactly. Congrats, culture warriors!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Why is this on MCPS forum? The right wingers are trying hard to create chaos and destroy public schools.

No way. It's the crazy left wing that has destroyed public education in this county in the name of #Equity. That and Covid where our local leaders threw kids under the bus and kept schools closed for way longer than necessary.

totally. i have voted democratic but making our schools unusable is pushing me in a different direction. If they are going to do this, at least let me have my tax $ back so i can enroll in private.

Not a chance. Democrats are staunchly against school choice. They would prefer to waste enormous amounts of taxpayer money, unencumbered by accountability.

+1. Have left Dems because of their fealty to teachers. Public schools should be replaced with vouchers for families. End the monopoly on mediocrity.

Pro Tip: When pretending to be a “Democrat who’s seen the light” on anonymous message board, avoid easy tells like “Dems.”

Try harder.

DP. I’m sorry, you’re living in a fantasy world. Covid school closures and mask policies made MANY formerly unquestioning Democracts question a LOT. I personally will never vote Republican at the national level, but my belief in Democrats has been almost fully eroded. This means that I won’t donate, won’t canvas, may vote R in local elections (depending on candidate). Covid essentially turned me from a Democrat to an Independent. This is especially true on K-12 education. Covid school closures opened my eyes to the fact that the inmates are running the asylum and do really stupid sh*t. Getting rid of accelerated classes in the name of “equity” is exactly one of those things that I can now see as just unmitigatedly wrong and bad.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Why is this on MCPS forum? The right wingers are trying hard to create chaos and destroy public schools.

No way. It's the crazy left wing that has destroyed public education in this county in the name of #Equity. That and Covid where our local leaders threw kids under the bus and kept schools closed for way longer than necessary.

totally. i have voted democratic but making our schools unusable is pushing me in a different direction. If they are going to do this, at least let me have my tax $ back so i can enroll in private.

Not a chance. Democrats are staunchly against school choice. They would prefer to waste enormous amounts of taxpayer money, unencumbered by accountability.

+1. Have left Dems because of their fealty to teachers. Public schools should be replaced with vouchers for families. End the monopoly on mediocrity.

Pro Tip: When pretending to be a “Democrat who’s seen the light” on anonymous message board, avoid easy tells like “Dems.”

Try harder.

I'm not the PP but I've been active on this thread trying to bring fact-based discussion by linking the class registration for local high schools, demonstrating that this phenomenon is actually happening in MPCS. I'm also a registered Democrat who has voted straight ticket in every election since Clinton's second term. I've worked on Democratic campaigns, and on multiple progressive ballot initiatives (mostly around LGBTQ+ issues).

One of the worst traits of some of my fellow progressives is a circular firing squad refusal to even engage with the idea that some progressive ideas might not be working. In this specific case, Honors for All is not working. It's harming teachers and students by forcing wildly heterogenous classrooms right at the age when they should be moving toward differentiated instruction.

Getting rid of gatekeeping for Honors and AP class is good. Let's keep that. Anyone who wants to take Honors and AP can. But bring back on-level coursework, so that kids from all backgrounds can choose the class that is right for them and their own goals.

I'm not saying I'm going to vote (R) over this. I'm as committed to progressive ideas as I ever was, but I will pull my own personal kids out of public school if MCPS doesn't stop lurching from idea to idea without any discussion, transparency, or engagement with parents and educators. This is going to be one of those times where my political ideals (high quality public education is the foundation of a stable democracy) is coming into conflict with my personal goals of making sure my kids leave high school well-prepared for whatever comes next. That might make me a hypocrite, but I'm old enough to know that sometimes that happens in politics.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Why is this on MCPS forum? The right wingers are trying hard to create chaos and destroy public schools.

No way. It's the crazy left wing that has destroyed public education in this county in the name of #Equity. That and Covid where our local leaders threw kids under the bus and kept schools closed for way longer than necessary.

totally. i have voted democratic but making our schools unusable is pushing me in a different direction. If they are going to do this, at least let me have my tax $ back so i can enroll in private.

Not a chance. Democrats are staunchly against school choice. They would prefer to waste enormous amounts of taxpayer money, unencumbered by accountability.

+1. Have left Dems because of their fealty to teachers. Public schools should be replaced with vouchers for families. End the monopoly on mediocrity.

Pro Tip: When pretending to be a “Democrat who’s seen the light” on anonymous message board, avoid easy tells like “Dems.”

Try harder.

I'm not the PP but I've been active on this thread trying to bring fact-based discussion by linking the class registration for local high schools, demonstrating that this phenomenon is actually happening in MPCS. I'm also a registered Democrat who has voted straight ticket in every election since Clinton's second term. I've worked on Democratic campaigns, and on multiple progressive ballot initiatives (mostly around LGBTQ+ issues).

One of the worst traits of some of my fellow progressives is a circular firing squad refusal to even engage with the idea that some progressive ideas might not be working. In this specific case, Honors for All is not working. It's harming teachers and students by forcing wildly heterogenous classrooms right at the age when they should be moving toward differentiated instruction.

Getting rid of gatekeeping for Honors and AP class is good. Let's keep that. Anyone who wants to take Honors and AP can. But bring back on-level coursework, so that kids from all backgrounds can choose the class that is right for them and their own goals.

I'm not saying I'm going to vote (R) over this. I'm as committed to progressive ideas as I ever was, but I will pull my own personal kids out of public school if MCPS doesn't stop lurching from idea to idea without any discussion, transparency, or engagement with parents and educators. This is going to be one of those times where my political ideals (high quality public education is the foundation of a stable democracy) is coming into conflict with my personal goals of making sure my kids leave high school well-prepared for whatever comes next. That might make me a hypocrite, but I'm old enough to know that sometimes that happens in politics.

I agree with this but go further - track more actively. My kid’s Title 1 MS (DCPS) is about 60% at-risk (90% black). I would take all the kids who get 4s and 5s on PARCC (that’s the highest end scores) and put them into advanced classes. 3s (who are likeky mostly Black) get offered the choice to enroll in the advanced class with intensive support. For math, the 3s get a “double dose” (extra math class).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Why is this on MCPS forum? The right wingers are trying hard to create chaos and destroy public schools.

No way. It's the crazy left wing that has destroyed public education in this county in the name of #Equity. That and Covid where our local leaders threw kids under the bus and kept schools closed for way longer than necessary.

totally. i have voted democratic but making our schools unusable is pushing me in a different direction. If they are going to do this, at least let me have my tax $ back so i can enroll in private.

Not a chance. Democrats are staunchly against school choice. They would prefer to waste enormous amounts of taxpayer money, unencumbered by accountability.

+1. Have left Dems because of their fealty to teachers. Public schools should be replaced with vouchers for families. End the monopoly on mediocrity.

Pro Tip: When pretending to be a “Democrat who’s seen the light” on anonymous message board, avoid easy tells like “Dems.”

Try harder.

The turfers don't hire the brightest bunch but at least they're true believes.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Why is this on MCPS forum? The right wingers are trying hard to create chaos and destroy public schools.

No way. It's the crazy left wing that has destroyed public education in this county in the name of #Equity. That and Covid where our local leaders threw kids under the bus and kept schools closed for way longer than necessary.

totally. i have voted democratic but making our schools unusable is pushing me in a different direction. If they are going to do this, at least let me have my tax $ back so i can enroll in private.

Not a chance. Democrats are staunchly against school choice. They would prefer to waste enormous amounts of taxpayer money, unencumbered by accountability.

+1. Have left Dems because of their fealty to teachers. Public schools should be replaced with vouchers for families. End the monopoly on mediocrity.

Pro Tip: When pretending to be a “Democrat who’s seen the light” on anonymous message board, avoid easy tells like “Dems.”

Try harder.

I'm not the PP but I've been active on this thread trying to bring fact-based discussion by linking the class registration for local high schools, demonstrating that this phenomenon is actually happening in MPCS. I'm also a registered Democrat who has voted straight ticket in every election since Clinton's second term. I've worked on Democratic campaigns, and on multiple progressive ballot initiatives (mostly around LGBTQ+ issues).

One of the worst traits of some of my fellow progressives is a circular firing squad refusal to even engage with the idea that some progressive ideas might not be working. In this specific case, Honors for All is not working. It's harming teachers and students by forcing wildly heterogenous classrooms right at the age when they should be moving toward differentiated instruction.

Getting rid of gatekeeping for Honors and AP class is good. Let's keep that. Anyone who wants to take Honors and AP can. But bring back on-level coursework, so that kids from all backgrounds can choose the class that is right for them and their own goals.

I'm not saying I'm going to vote (R) over this. I'm as committed to progressive ideas as I ever was, but I will pull my own personal kids out of public school if MCPS doesn't stop lurching from idea to idea without any discussion, transparency, or engagement with parents and educators. This is going to be one of those times where my political ideals (high quality public education is the foundation of a stable democracy) is coming into conflict with my personal goals of making sure my kids leave high school well-prepared for whatever comes next. That might make me a hypocrite, but I'm old enough to know that sometimes that happens in politics.

It's not really clear that MCPS has bought into this policy outlined in the article. There are 1-2 instances where they seem to be exploring it but I wouldn't get too worked up over it. Yes, I agree. They should engage with the community for these decisions. Eliminating honors by creating honors for all is horribly unpopular, but I agree everyone should have access to these classes. The whole gatekeeping thing is nonsense.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Why is this on MCPS forum? The right wingers are trying hard to create chaos and destroy public schools.

No way. It's the crazy left wing that has destroyed public education in this county in the name of #Equity. That and Covid where our local leaders threw kids under the bus and kept schools closed for way longer than necessary.

totally. i have voted democratic but making our schools unusable is pushing me in a different direction. If they are going to do this, at least let me have my tax $ back so i can enroll in private.

Not a chance. Democrats are staunchly against school choice. They would prefer to waste enormous amounts of taxpayer money, unencumbered by accountability.

+1. Have left Dems because of their fealty to teachers. Public schools should be replaced with vouchers for families. End the monopoly on mediocrity.

Pro Tip: When pretending to be a “Democrat who’s seen the light” on anonymous message board, avoid easy tells like “Dems.”

Try harder.

I'm not the PP but I've been active on this thread trying to bring fact-based discussion by linking the class registration for local high schools, demonstrating that this phenomenon is actually happening in MPCS. I'm also a registered Democrat who has voted straight ticket in every election since Clinton's second term. I've worked on Democratic campaigns, and on multiple progressive ballot initiatives (mostly around LGBTQ+ issues).

One of the worst traits of some of my fellow progressives is a circular firing squad refusal to even engage with the idea that some progressive ideas might not be working. In this specific case, Honors for All is not working. It's harming teachers and students by forcing wildly heterogenous classrooms right at the age when they should be moving toward differentiated instruction.

Getting rid of gatekeeping for Honors and AP class is good. Let's keep that. Anyone who wants to take Honors and AP can. But bring back on-level coursework, so that kids from all backgrounds can choose the class that is right for them and their own goals.

I'm not saying I'm going to vote (R) over this. I'm as committed to progressive ideas as I ever was, but I will pull my own personal kids out of public school if MCPS doesn't stop lurching from idea to idea without any discussion, transparency, or engagement with parents and educators. This is going to be one of those times where my political ideals (high quality public education is the foundation of a stable democracy) is coming into conflict with my personal goals of making sure my kids leave high school well-prepared for whatever comes next. That might make me a hypocrite, but I'm old enough to know that sometimes that happens in politics.

It's not really clear that MCPS has bought into this policy outlined in the article. There are 1-2 instances where they seem to be exploring it but I wouldn't get too worked up over it. Yes, I agree. They should engage with the community for these decisions. Eliminating honors by creating honors for all is horribly unpopular, but I agree everyone should have access to these classes. The whole gatekeeping thing is nonsense.

DP.. Some of the HS already have taken away regular classes, and only have "Honors" available.

Agree about removing gatekeeping for tracking. I had to beg to be let in to an AP class because there was no room. Teacher finally relented, and I got straight As.

[Anonymous]

Y’all must love Ron DeSantis, then. He’s planning to do away with AP courses in Florida schools.

https://www.tampabay.com/news/education/2023/02/18/4-things-know-about-ron-desantis-idea-slash-ap-courses-florida/

I guess that’s HIS idea of equity?

The reason you should care about DeSantis is every Republican governor and legislature in the country is copying him.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Y’all must love Ron DeSantis, then. He’s planning to do away with AP courses in Florida schools.

https://www.tampabay.com/news/education/2023/02/18/4-things-know-about-ron-desantis-idea-slash-ap-courses-florida/

I guess that’s HIS idea of equity?

The reason you should care about DeSantis is every Republican governor and legislature in the country is copying him.

He wants IB instead of AP.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Article from WSJ today. Too bad for the schools doing this, it's much better to have all honors so all can have inflated grades.


https://www.wsj.com/articles/to-increase-equity-school-districts-eliminate-honors-classes-d5985dee

American education is getting systematically dismantled. If you care, fight.

At least that's what Fox News and its associated properties would have us believe.

I'm also skeptical because the quality of education available to my children at MCPS is vastly better than the education available at MCPS 30 years ago when I graduated from a W. Sure, the county's demographics are different today. Still, there are amazing opportunities for anyone interested.

+1000

What opportunities does my kid have if she wants to be prepared for IB English in 11th and is a strong writer? There is only one English course offered in 9th and 10th at her school unless you are an ELL student. Why can't there be more options like there are for math?

What gets me is that your daughter will be prepared for IB English because you will ensure is. The kid with a FT working single mom will not be prepared because her only option is “honors for all.” But if she had been placed in reals honors classes in MS she could have been prepared. I honestly cannot wrap my head around what these “progressives” theories are for how disadvantaged kids can achieve academic excellence. They are making it harder.

100% this. Teacher here. MCPS is driving all the HS teachers crazy with their soft bigotry of low expectations.
We are not helping low income kids get prepared for the real world by reducing rigor, 50% grades for no work turned in, no attendance policies, honors for all, no discipline, etc. Most teachers are beyond frustrated but we have no voice in MCPS

[Anonymous]

MCPS = Making Children Pretty Stupid