Prep for HGC and MS magnet tests

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My kid isn’t “gifted” but is a high performer so I’m prepping her so that she doesn’t have to go to our zoned low performing school that focuses way too much on low performing students. I just want my kid to have a decent and challenging curriculum. Magnet admission for us isn’t about giftedness. It’s about escaping our crappy middle school.

I would then caution you to not let down your guard. Magnet MS, ES and all GT education in MCPS have deteriorated significantly because of MCPS attempts to water down curriculum throughout as well as pushing out excellent teachers. At this point, if you do not supplement outside the school and depend on your kid to learn everything from the magnet program (even if it is better than your crappy school) then you will face another kind of achievement gap. My suggestion would be to look online for curriculum.

The opposite seems to be true. In fact, since the advent of universal screening the applicant pool is 5X larger and the most qualified cohort in the county history is now selected. Sure, the uber-preppers whose parents used to game system have a harder time gaining admission, but that's because their kids just aren't that smart.

Agree the new system is doing a better job identifying student potential. The cohort rules were a stroke of genius. This made the system much fairer. So many parents with the most have gamed the system for decades. Their kids attend schools that are so much better that people pay hundreds of thousands more to ensure their children attend them. This confers a huge advantage to those who aren't fortunate to attend one of these elite schools. The cohort rules help identify student potential rather than rewarding students who have had every possible advantage. The county is finally making smart moves to better serve its residents.

Yes, MCPS asked the magnet teachers to adjust their teaching and expectation when the first cohort-admitted classes entered Eastern and TPMS. To me, it seems that MCPS admitted a lot of less smart kids since the new policy. Students with potential? After three years, the students admitted by lower standard will be math star or fantastic writer!

I teach in one of those programs. Must have missed that memo! Can you share your copy?

I acknowledge some adjustments made. However, they were mainly made to accommodate a much greater percentage of white students with IEPs and 504 plans.

I doubt you really teach in one of these programs. Here is what MCPS has acknowledged, at least w.r.t. to TPMS, regarding the "diversity in ability" of admitted students and the necessity to provide appropriate scaffolding:

https://montgomeryschoolsmd.org/uploadedFiles/curriculum/specialprograms/middle/Grade%205%20Parent%20FAQ's%20.pdf

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My kid isn’t “gifted” but is a high performer so I’m prepping her so that she doesn’t have to go to our zoned low performing school that focuses way too much on low performing students. I just want my kid to have a decent and challenging curriculum. Magnet admission for us isn’t about giftedness. It’s about escaping our crappy middle school.

I would then caution you to not let down your guard. Magnet MS, ES and all GT education in MCPS have deteriorated significantly because of MCPS attempts to water down curriculum throughout as well as pushing out excellent teachers. At this point, if you do not supplement outside the school and depend on your kid to learn everything from the magnet program (even if it is better than your crappy school) then you will face another kind of achievement gap. My suggestion would be to look online for curriculum.

The opposite seems to be true. In fact, since the advent of universal screening the applicant pool is 5X larger and the most qualified cohort in the county history is now selected. Sure, the uber-preppers whose parents used to game system have a harder time gaining admission, but that's because their kids just aren't that smart.

Agree the new system is doing a better job identifying student potential. The cohort rules were a stroke of genius. This made the system much fairer. So many parents with the most have gamed the system for decades. Their kids attend schools that are so much better that people pay hundreds of thousands more to ensure their children attend them. This confers a huge advantage to those who aren't fortunate to attend one of these elite schools. The cohort rules help identify student potential rather than rewarding students who have had every possible advantage. The county is finally making smart moves to better serve its residents.

Yes, MCPS asked the magnet teachers to adjust their teaching and expectation when the first cohort-admitted classes entered Eastern and TPMS. To me, it seems that MCPS admitted a lot of less smart kids since the new policy. Students with potential? After three years, the students admitted by lower standard will be math star or fantastic writer!

I teach in one of those programs. Must have missed that memo! Can you share your copy?

I acknowledge some adjustments made. However, they were mainly made to accommodate a much greater percentage of white students with IEPs and 504 plans.

I doubt you really teach in one of these programs. Here is what MCPS has acknowledged, at least w.r.t. to TPMS, regarding the "diversity in ability" of admitted students and the necessity to provide appropriate scaffolding:

https://montgomeryschoolsmd.org/uploadedFiles/curriculum/specialprograms/middle/Grade%205%20Parent%20FAQ's%20.pdf

I don’t care about your doubts about my employment. I do care that you are lying about what teachers were asked to do. You said teachers were asked to adjust their expectations. The parent letter you posted said expectations have not changed. Where is your proof that teachers were asked to lower expectations?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My kid isn’t “gifted” but is a high performer so I’m prepping her so that she doesn’t have to go to our zoned low performing school that focuses way too much on low performing students. I just want my kid to have a decent and challenging curriculum. Magnet admission for us isn’t about giftedness. It’s about escaping our crappy middle school.

I would then caution you to not let down your guard. Magnet MS, ES and all GT education in MCPS have deteriorated significantly because of MCPS attempts to water down curriculum throughout as well as pushing out excellent teachers. At this point, if you do not supplement outside the school and depend on your kid to learn everything from the magnet program (even if it is better than your crappy school) then you will face another kind of achievement gap. My suggestion would be to look online for curriculum.

The opposite seems to be true. In fact, since the advent of universal screening the applicant pool is 5X larger and the most qualified cohort in the county history is now selected. Sure, the uber-preppers whose parents used to game system have a harder time gaining admission, but that's because their kids just aren't that smart.

Agree the new system is doing a better job identifying student potential. The cohort rules were a stroke of genius. This made the system much fairer. So many parents with the most have gamed the system for decades. Their kids attend schools that are so much better that people pay hundreds of thousands more to ensure their children attend them. This confers a huge advantage to those who aren't fortunate to attend one of these elite schools. The cohort rules help identify student potential rather than rewarding students who have had every possible advantage. The county is finally making smart moves to better serve its residents.

Yes, MCPS asked the magnet teachers to adjust their teaching and expectation when the first cohort-admitted classes entered Eastern and TPMS. To me, it seems that MCPS admitted a lot of less smart kids since the new policy. Students with potential? After three years, the students admitted by lower standard will be math star or fantastic writer!

I teach in one of those programs. Must have missed that memo! Can you share your copy?

I acknowledge some adjustments made. However, they were mainly made to accommodate a much greater percentage of white students with IEPs and 504 plans.

I doubt you really teach in one of these programs. Here is what MCPS has acknowledged, at least w.r.t. to TPMS, regarding the "diversity in ability" of admitted students and the necessity to provide appropriate scaffolding:

https://montgomeryschoolsmd.org/uploadedFiles/curriculum/specialprograms/middle/Grade%205%20Parent%20FAQ's%20.pdf

I don’t care about your doubts about my employment. I do care that you are lying about what teachers were asked to do. You said teachers were asked to adjust their expectations. The parent letter you posted said expectations have not changed. Where is your proof that teachers were asked to lower expectations?

DP:

You sound pretty Trumpian. According to the MCPS document linked, MCPS says "we are seeing a greater diversity in ability" and "What has changed is instruction and what the teachers need to do. Our teachers are expected to provide supports and scaffolding to help all magnet students attain the level of mastery of students working at a high level in mathematics." So, if anyone was lying about what the teachers were asked to do, it was not the PP.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My kid isn’t “gifted” but is a high performer so I’m prepping her so that she doesn’t have to go to our zoned low performing school that focuses way too much on low performing students. I just want my kid to have a decent and challenging curriculum. Magnet admission for us isn’t about giftedness. It’s about escaping our crappy middle school.

I would then caution you to not let down your guard. Magnet MS, ES and all GT education in MCPS have deteriorated significantly because of MCPS attempts to water down curriculum throughout as well as pushing out excellent teachers. At this point, if you do not supplement outside the school and depend on your kid to learn everything from the magnet program (even if it is better than your crappy school) then you will face another kind of achievement gap. My suggestion would be to look online for curriculum.

The opposite seems to be true. In fact, since the advent of universal screening the applicant pool is 5X larger and the most qualified cohort in the county history is now selected. Sure, the uber-preppers whose parents used to game system have a harder time gaining admission, but that's because their kids just aren't that smart.

Agree the new system is doing a better job identifying student potential. The cohort rules were a stroke of genius. This made the system much fairer. So many parents with the most have gamed the system for decades. Their kids attend schools that are so much better that people pay hundreds of thousands more to ensure their children attend them. This confers a huge advantage to those who aren't fortunate to attend one of these elite schools. The cohort rules help identify student potential rather than rewarding students who have had every possible advantage. The county is finally making smart moves to better serve its residents.

Yes, MCPS asked the magnet teachers to adjust their teaching and expectation when the first cohort-admitted classes entered Eastern and TPMS. To me, it seems that MCPS admitted a lot of less smart kids since the new policy. Students with potential? After three years, the students admitted by lower standard will be math star or fantastic writer!

I teach in one of those programs. Must have missed that memo! Can you share your copy?

I acknowledge some adjustments made. However, they were mainly made to accommodate a much greater percentage of white students with IEPs and 504 plans.

I doubt you really teach in one of these programs. Here is what MCPS has acknowledged, at least w.r.t. to TPMS, regarding the "diversity in ability" of admitted students and the necessity to provide appropriate scaffolding:

https://montgomeryschoolsmd.org/uploadedFiles/curriculum/specialprograms/middle/Grade%205%20Parent%20FAQ's%20.pdf

I don’t care about your doubts about my employment. I do care that you are lying about what teachers were asked to do. You said teachers were asked to adjust their expectations. The parent letter you posted said expectations have not changed. Where is your proof that teachers were asked to lower expectations?

DP:

You sound pretty Trumpian. According to the MCPS document linked, MCPS says "we are seeing a greater diversity in ability" and "What has changed is instruction and what the teachers need to do. Our teachers are expected to provide supports and scaffolding to help all magnet students attain the level of mastery of students working at a high level in mathematics." So, if anyone was lying about what the teachers were asked to do, it was not the PP.

9. Has the program itself changed as a result of the new screening process for the Science, math, computer science program? We still have many top math students in our new sixth grade class, and we are seeing a greater diversity in ability. This is an important opportunity for highly-able students to be able to step up into a more rigorous curriculum. What has changed is not the rigor of the program or our expectations of students. What has changed is instruction and what the teachers need to do. Our teachers are expected to provide supports and scaffolding to help all magnet students attain the level of mastery of students working at a high level in mathematics.

[Anonymous]

NP, parent of a child with a 504 who just finished in a CES. The phrases “support and scaffolding” sound an awful lot like code words for dealing with special needs, which would support what the poster who claims to be a magnet teacher is saying. Don’t forget, MCPS didn’t just change the admission process to increase URM participation. They were also trying to increase participation of students with 504s and IEPs.