Smart kid bombed PARCC test

[Anonymous]

What would you make of a smart 8th grader who typically does well on MAP (80 or 90 percentiles) but got 2s on the PARCC exam?

He said the math was weird because the advanced math group is a year ahead of the exam they took, so maybe he forgot some things. But that seems like forgetting a lot. If anything, shouldn't it have been pretty easy? I asked if he just made up answers but he says he really tried.

What would you do as a parent to better assess if your child has serious gaps in knowledge or needs better test taking strategies? Does this test matter for anything?

[Anonymous]

PARCC doesn’t matter at all for students and families. It’s true that OSSE doesn’t allow students to take the test that matches the class they’re in. If your kid is doing well on MAP and in class, there’s nothing you need to do.

[Anonymous]

I’d be concerned that the kid might not retaining foundational math skills. Maybe they just had an off day, but worth further investigation.

Most high schools seem to give the PSAT8/9 in the fall of 9th grade, so even if you do nothing now that will give you another chance to gauge your kid against an outside standard. (And the scores come back in under a month, not like the PARCC.) If that reveals gaps, there are a lot of materials/tutors/prep classes built to improve performance on the SAT.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:PARCC doesn’t matter at all for students and families. It’s true that OSSE doesn’t allow students to take the test that matches the class they’re in. If your kid is doing well on MAP and in class, there’s nothing you need to do.

This isn’t true, at least not as this kind of blanket statement. Every math PARCC/CAPE exam my kid has ever taken matched the course he was in, even when he was accelerated ahead of grade level.

[Anonymous]

I would ask the school for the more detailed score breakdown, and I would ask if there was any distractions or if the test proctor observed your son daydreaming or something.

At this age, the kids know it doesn't really matter, so it's hard for them to motivate.

[Anonymous]

How old are they? It is totally possible that no matter how bright, they are missing fundamental math skills. And I wouldn’t count on there being any coordination between the skills tested on the MAP, the current class, and the PARCC/CAPE.

I have yet to see and actual CAPE report but the PARCC reports were actually really helpful and detailed to show areas of weaknesses and strengths, so that will give you more info beyond the 2.

Given how much schools “teach to the test” I would in fact be worried about the 2. One year my kid got a 3, but by looking at the detailed report, I could tell exactly why. There are sub scores so I could see that while he was OK on the fundamentals, the weakness was showing his work on word problems.

Last thing … DCPS has devolved into some pretty terrible math instruction practices. Many parents are figuring out in middle school that their kids have some pretty extreme gaps so you wouldn’t be alone. We are doing Mathnasium which is expensive but seems to have a good approach and has seen a ton of similar kids.

[Anonymous]

Anyone else beginning to wonder whether Mathnasium posts here as a marketing strategy?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Anyone else beginning to wonder whether Mathnasium posts here as a marketing strategy?

I am the PP who posted about Mathnasium and no, I am not marketing them. You can believe what you want about DCPS’s math instruction though.

[Anonymous]

Give your kid a Khan Academy "course challenge" to gauge their skills.

[Anonymous]

How did they do on ELA?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Give your kid a Khan Academy "course challenge" to gauge their skills.

I’m the Mathnasium mom - I also like Khan Academy although I need more hand holding at the moment.

[Anonymous]

One test result is an anomaly. I wouldn’t worry too much about it for reasons others have posted (it could be that the kid just hasn’t covered the material in a long time). I think other parents suggesting the kid take a khan academy test or some other quick evaluation is a good sanity check, especially if you’re worried about waiting too long until the next formal evaluation

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I’d be concerned that the kid might not retaining foundational math skills. Maybe they just had an off day, but worth further investigation.

Most high schools seem to give the PSAT8/9 in the fall of 9th grade, so even if you do nothing now that will give you another chance to gauge your kid against an outside standard. (And the scores come back in under a month, not like the PARCC.) If that reveals gaps, there are a lot of materials/tutors/prep classes built to improve performance on the SAT.

Op here. Thanks, I'm also worried about retention and some pretty big gaps from the covid years. I don't think they get the PSAT till 10th, though.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Give your kid a Khan Academy "course challenge" to gauge their skills.

Op again, thanks, I'll look into that.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:How old are they? It is totally possible that no matter how bright, they are missing fundamental math skills. And I wouldn’t count on there being any coordination between the skills tested on the MAP, the current class, and the PARCC/CAPE.

I have yet to see and actual CAPE report but the PARCC reports were actually really helpful and detailed to show areas of weaknesses and strengths, so that will give you more info beyond the 2.

Given how much schools “teach to the test” I would in fact be worried about the 2. One year my kid got a 3, but by looking at the detailed report, I could tell exactly why. There are sub scores so I could see that while he was OK on the fundamentals, the weakness was showing his work on word problems.

Last thing … DCPS has devolved into some pretty terrible math instruction practices. Many parents are figuring out in middle school that their kids have some pretty extreme gaps so you wouldn’t be alone. We are doing Mathnasium which is expensive but seems to have a good approach and has seen a ton of similar kids.

You got a note detailed report than what came in the mail? I didn't have it in front of me but the report I saw broke down the subject areas under math in 4 main categories and my child was at 2 on all of them.