Smart kid with declining map-r scores

[Anonymous]

Hey,
My 8th grade DS (smart kid who went to CES program) has barely improved his map reading scores since entering middle school. With all the issues with the Mcps reading English middle school classes (honors for all ) what can i do outside of school to work on improving his literacy? I started having him read higher level biographies (hes enjoying this) versus the easy sports fiction books he has been drawn to.

[Anonymous]

They don't read books, and the ones they do read aren't challenging. Same thing has been happening with my DD, now in 9th. She's an avid reader but part of the problem is that she has spent the past few years reading YA, and it doesn't have particularly rich language or vocabulary, so she's not picking up new words. I have discouraged her from reading YA and tried to find more challenging books that will also be fun. It's a frustrating situation. No wonder these kids can't read books when they get to college.

[Anonymous]

What score range are we talking about? If
scores are super high already they aren't likely to improve.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Hey,
My 8th grade DS (smart kid who went to CES program) has barely improved his map reading scores since entering middle school. With all the issues with the Mcps reading English middle school classes (honors for all ) what can i do outside of school to work on improving his literacy? I started having him read higher level biographies (hes enjoying this) versus the easy sports fiction books he has been drawn to.

+1 this is my DS. Very good at math but somehow struggling to improve MAP R score since MS. On 6th grade fall, he secured 239 which was fairly good and has been fluctuating around that score +/-4 since then.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Hey,
My 8th grade DS (smart kid who went to CES program) has barely improved his map reading scores since entering middle school. With all the issues with the Mcps reading English middle school classes (honors for all ) what can i do outside of school to work on improving his literacy? I started having him read higher level biographies (hes enjoying this) versus the easy sports fiction books he has been drawn to.

+1 this is my DS. Very good at math but somehow struggling to improve MAP R score since MS. On 6th grade fall, he secured 239 which was fairly good and has been fluctuating around that score +/-4 since then.

This is my kid too. Now in 7th.

[Anonymous]

As with most things mcps, you will have to supplement outside if kid is interested. When they get to HS and if they take an AP level history class or a reading heavy class, that's when the reading picks up.

[Anonymous]

In hs it does not matter. That’s normal.

[Anonymous]

He started at the 98th percentile in elementary and last testing was at 76th percentile. Math has stayed consistent in the 98th-99th percentile.

[Anonymous]

MAP-R is a dice roll.
My kid went from 2 years of fluctuating 80% to 95% and back MAP-R in middle school to getting 60/66 on an (untimed, like MAP) practice SAT in 9th.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:He started at the 98th percentile in elementary and last testing was at 76th percentile. Math has stayed consistent in the 98th-99th percentile.

Wow that is bad

[Anonymous]

Kids are math tracked come 4th, then 6th. After that, MAP doesn't really matter. Any kid can request to be bumped up in math, or do summer school to get more advanced. Any kid can sign up for AP and advanced classes come HS.

[Anonymous]

Op here- more concerned with him being an educated and literate person that is capable of comprehending text at a higher level and for critical thinking vs using the scores for placement.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Hey,
My 8th grade DS (smart kid who went to CES program) has barely improved his map reading scores since entering middle school. With all the issues with the Mcps reading English middle school classes (honors for all ) what can i do outside of school to work on improving his literacy? I started having him read higher level biographies (hes enjoying this) versus the easy sports fiction books he has been drawn to.

I wish MCPS parents would get together and push back on this. It’s a terrible practice that teachers beg admin to drop, but it makes scheduling easier and avoids uncomfortable conversations, so admin acts like it’s good for kids. If enough parents agitated about “all advanced” English, Taylor might let us level classes again.

—MS English teacher

[Anonymous]

Is it reading comprehension? What’s the skill that they need support in?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:They don't read books, and the ones they do read aren't challenging. Same thing has been happening with my DD, now in 9th. She's an avid reader but part of the problem is that she has spent the past few years reading YA, and it doesn't have particularly rich language or vocabulary, so she's not picking up new words. I have discouraged her from reading YA and tried to find more challenging books that will also be fun. It's a frustrating situation. No wonder these kids can't read books when they get to college.

What middle school are you at such that your kid isn’t reading books as part of English class? My kid is in 7th grade and yes they do like a chapter every 2-3 days which is kind of slow but they do seem to be dissecting it thoroughly for general comprehension, thematic analysis, and vocabulary.