Is anyone happy with MCPS?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Actually it looks like the 2025 numbers are available in a spreadsheet and Pyle is in here.

Year--LEA--LEA Name--School--School Name--Assessment--Student Group--Tested Count--Proficient Count--Proficient Pct
2025--02--Anne Arundel--1023--Brooklyn Park Middle--Algebra 1 --All Students--19--18--94.7
2025--02--Anne Arundel--2413--Severn River Middle--Algebra 1 --All Students--114--100--87.7
2025--02--Anne Arundel--4283--Central Middle--Algebra 1 --All Students--169--138--81.7
2025--02--Anne Arundel--6233--Monarch Academy--Algebra 1 --All Students--24--20--83.3
2025--10--Frederick--0211--West Frederick Middle--Algebra 1 --All Students--35--29--82.9
2025--10--Frederick--0228--Carroll Creek Montessori Public Charter--Algebra 1 --All Students--13--12--92.3
2025--10--Frederick--0714--Windsor Knolls Middle--Algebra 1 --All Students--121--*-->= 95.0
2025--10--Frederick--0716--Urbana Middle--Algebra 1 --All Students--184--*-->= 95.0
2025--10--Frederick--0918--Oakdale Middle--Algebra 1 --All Students--138--123--89.1
2025--10--Frederick--1301--Frederick Classical Charter--Algebra 1 --All Students--25--20--80.0
2025--10--Frederick--2606--Walkersville Middle--Algebra 1 --All Students--*--*-->= 95.0
2025--13--Howard--0304--Mount View Middle--Algebra 1 --All Students--202--182--90.1
2025--13--Howard--0307--Folly Quarter Middle--Algebra 1 --All Students--153--137--89.5
2025--13--Howard--0405--Glenwood Middle--Algebra 1 --All Students--90--74--82.2
2025--13--Howard--0518--Harpers Choice Middle--Algebra 1 --All Students--55--45--81.8
2025--13--Howard--0521--Clarksville Middle--Algebra 1 --All Students--170--157--92.4
2025--15--Montgomery--0428--Thomas W. Pyle Middle--Algebra 1 --All Students--405--326--80.5
2025--16--Prince George's--0104--Beltsville Academy--Algebra 1 --All Students--17--16--94.1
2025--16--Prince George's--0509--Accokeek Academy--Algebra 1 --All Students--82--72--87.8
2025--17--Queen Anne's--0407--Matapeake Middle School--Algebra 1 --All Students--42--*-->= 95.0
2025--21--Washington--0201--Springfield Middle--Algebra 1 --All Students--65--56--86.2
2025--21--Washington--0401--Clear Spring Middle--Algebra 1 --All Students--22--20--90.9
2025--21--Washington--0602--Boonsboro Middle--Algebra 1 --All Students--67--59--88.1
2025--21--Washington--0704--Smithsburg Middle--Algebra 1 --All Students--55--52--94.5
2025--21--Washington--2102--Northern Middle--Algebra 1 --All Students--69--57--82.6
2025--21--Washington--2501--Western Heights Middle--Algebra 1 --All Students--23--19--82.6
2025--23--Worcester--0108--Pocomoke Middle--Algebra 1 --All Students--12--*-->= 95.0
2025--23--Worcester--0208--Snow Hill Middle--Algebra 1 --All Students--21--19--90.5
2025--23--Worcester--0308--Stephen Decatur Middle--Algebra 1 --All Students--41--*-->= 95.0
2025--30--Baltimore City--0373--Tunbridge Public Charter School--Algebra 1 --All Students--15--12--80.0

So referencing what was said in the previous thread an issue that I have with these discussions is that the attitude and mentality shouldn't be "well it's a low proficiency rate, so it's okay that my kids didn't do well" But it should be "why aren't my kids doing well and what needs to be done to help them improve"

And right, you would hope and strive for schools to have 100 percent proficiency rates but looking at the data, it seems very hard and rare to do. So it goes back to knowing the expected/realistic outcomes. I consider an 80 percent proficiency rate excellent.

Just 6 years ago the proficiency rates at these schools were several points higher. While 100% may not be possible, we can absolutely do better that 80%, GMAFB. And we are just talking about White students. Math proficiency rates for Black students are in free fall. No, it's not because they are all poor - the median income for households with Black householders is $91k. How is there not more outrage about this?

This has all been talked about before:
https://www.dcurbanmom.com/jforum/posts/list/50/1305522.page

And is nothing new and not something that everyone is happy with.

But part of the question in this thread is if MCPS is really that bad where OP should be considering private school instead. And it's as mentioned in several posts, it would depend on the local school and the situation for OP's family.

It's actually okay to point out more than once that academically MCPS is going downhill. It is not true that getting more than 80% of kids proficient in math at a wealthy school is unattainable. We were able to do this just 6 years ago.

And it's directly relevant to OP. OP should be aware that a sizeable minority of kids in MCPS, including White wealthy kids at Pyle and Whitman, are not doing well academically.

My kid is in 1st grade in MCPS and my gratitude and admiration for her teachers knows no bounds but you bet that we are being proactive about addressing academic issues that arise at home even if the teachers are not worried (or not empowered to offer appropriate supports). Too many kids are slipping through the cracks.

So the question is based on your experience is MCPS so bad where you'd consider moving or send your kids to private school?

It's something that we've considered in the past and may consider in the future.

One of the few reasons we decided to not make any changes was mainly to not uproot our kids and give them a stable environment. Even with that, a lot of posters on here are saying kids are resilient and can adapt to change if their schools get reassigned. If that's true, we should definitely consider moving or going to private.

Things haven't been perfect for us and it took a lot of effort to get our kids on the track we expect them to be on. But based on what happened so far, would we go through it again or would we have chosen to through the private school route? We likely would do the same thing again and have our kids go through the local public schools.

What about you? If you chose doing the same thing, then even though MCPS isn't the crown jewel it used to be it's still not the worst option out there, like some posters have mentioned.

It is perfectly okay to point out the issues with MCPS and people should be able to do so without being accused of being a troll. But also endlessly complaining and criticizing and still choosing to keep your kids in MCPS doesn't really help with anything or OP's question.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Actually it looks like the 2025 numbers are available in a spreadsheet and Pyle is in here.

Year--LEA--LEA Name--School--School Name--Assessment--Student Group--Tested Count--Proficient Count--Proficient Pct
2025--02--Anne Arundel--1023--Brooklyn Park Middle--Algebra 1 --All Students--19--18--94.7
2025--02--Anne Arundel--2413--Severn River Middle--Algebra 1 --All Students--114--100--87.7
2025--02--Anne Arundel--4283--Central Middle--Algebra 1 --All Students--169--138--81.7
2025--02--Anne Arundel--6233--Monarch Academy--Algebra 1 --All Students--24--20--83.3
2025--10--Frederick--0211--West Frederick Middle--Algebra 1 --All Students--35--29--82.9
2025--10--Frederick--0228--Carroll Creek Montessori Public Charter--Algebra 1 --All Students--13--12--92.3
2025--10--Frederick--0714--Windsor Knolls Middle--Algebra 1 --All Students--121--*-->= 95.0
2025--10--Frederick--0716--Urbana Middle--Algebra 1 --All Students--184--*-->= 95.0
2025--10--Frederick--0918--Oakdale Middle--Algebra 1 --All Students--138--123--89.1
2025--10--Frederick--1301--Frederick Classical Charter--Algebra 1 --All Students--25--20--80.0
2025--10--Frederick--2606--Walkersville Middle--Algebra 1 --All Students--*--*-->= 95.0
2025--13--Howard--0304--Mount View Middle--Algebra 1 --All Students--202--182--90.1
2025--13--Howard--0307--Folly Quarter Middle--Algebra 1 --All Students--153--137--89.5
2025--13--Howard--0405--Glenwood Middle--Algebra 1 --All Students--90--74--82.2
2025--13--Howard--0518--Harpers Choice Middle--Algebra 1 --All Students--55--45--81.8
2025--13--Howard--0521--Clarksville Middle--Algebra 1 --All Students--170--157--92.4
2025--15--Montgomery--0428--Thomas W. Pyle Middle--Algebra 1 --All Students--405--326--80.5
2025--16--Prince George's--0104--Beltsville Academy--Algebra 1 --All Students--17--16--94.1
2025--16--Prince George's--0509--Accokeek Academy--Algebra 1 --All Students--82--72--87.8
2025--17--Queen Anne's--0407--Matapeake Middle School--Algebra 1 --All Students--42--*-->= 95.0
2025--21--Washington--0201--Springfield Middle--Algebra 1 --All Students--65--56--86.2
2025--21--Washington--0401--Clear Spring Middle--Algebra 1 --All Students--22--20--90.9
2025--21--Washington--0602--Boonsboro Middle--Algebra 1 --All Students--67--59--88.1
2025--21--Washington--0704--Smithsburg Middle--Algebra 1 --All Students--55--52--94.5
2025--21--Washington--2102--Northern Middle--Algebra 1 --All Students--69--57--82.6
2025--21--Washington--2501--Western Heights Middle--Algebra 1 --All Students--23--19--82.6
2025--23--Worcester--0108--Pocomoke Middle--Algebra 1 --All Students--12--*-->= 95.0
2025--23--Worcester--0208--Snow Hill Middle--Algebra 1 --All Students--21--19--90.5
2025--23--Worcester--0308--Stephen Decatur Middle--Algebra 1 --All Students--41--*-->= 95.0
2025--30--Baltimore City--0373--Tunbridge Public Charter School--Algebra 1 --All Students--15--12--80.0

So referencing what was said in the previous thread an issue that I have with these discussions is that the attitude and mentality shouldn't be "well it's a low proficiency rate, so it's okay that my kids didn't do well" But it should be "why aren't my kids doing well and what needs to be done to help them improve"

And right, you would hope and strive for schools to have 100 percent proficiency rates but looking at the data, it seems very hard and rare to do. So it goes back to knowing the expected/realistic outcomes. I consider an 80 percent proficiency rate excellent.

Just 6 years ago the proficiency rates at these schools were several points higher. While 100% may not be possible, we can absolutely do better that 80%, GMAFB. And we are just talking about White students. Math proficiency rates for Black students are in free fall. No, it's not because they are all poor - the median income for households with Black householders is $91k. How is there not more outrage about this?

This has all been talked about before:
https://www.dcurbanmom.com/jforum/posts/list/50/1305522.page

And is nothing new and not something that everyone is happy with.

But part of the question in this thread is if MCPS is really that bad where OP should be considering private school instead. And it's as mentioned in several posts, it would depend on the local school and the situation for OP's family.

It's actually okay to point out more than once that academically MCPS is going downhill. It is not true that getting more than 80% of kids proficient in math at a wealthy school is unattainable. We were able to do this just 6 years ago.

And it's directly relevant to OP. OP should be aware that a sizeable minority of kids in MCPS, including White wealthy kids at Pyle and Whitman, are not doing well academically.

My kid is in 1st grade in MCPS and my gratitude and admiration for her teachers knows no bounds but you bet that we are being proactive about addressing academic issues that arise at home even if the teachers are not worried (or not empowered to offer appropriate supports). Too many kids are slipping through the cracks.

So the question is based on your experience is MCPS so bad where you'd consider moving or send your kids to private school?

It's something that we've considered in the past and may consider in the future.

One of the few reasons we decided to not make any changes was mainly to not uproot our kids and give them a stable environment. Even with that, a lot of posters on here are saying kids are resilient and can adapt to change if their schools get reassigned. If that's true, we should definitely consider moving or going to private.

Things haven't been perfect for us and it took a lot of effort to get our kids on the track we expect them to be on. But based on what happened so far, would we go through it again or would we have chosen to through the private school route? We likely would do the same thing again and have our kids go through the local public schools.

What about you? If you chose doing the same thing, then even though MCPS isn't the crown jewel it used to be it's still not the worst option out there, like some posters have mentioned.

It is perfectly okay to point out the issues with MCPS and people should be able to do so without being accused of being a troll. But also endlessly complaining and criticizing and still choosing to keep your kids in MCPS doesn't really help with anything or OP's question.

You really don't want people to talk about this, do you?

I don't know if OP finds it helpful but you keep insisting everything in MCPS is fine, and I am correcting you because you are lying. Outcomes are getting worse in all demographic groups. We are committed to public education but knowing that MCPS passing my kid from one grade to another means virtually nothing about her academic progress is helpful to know. They have excellent teachers, but rarely do teachers tell parents something is wrong. The history of grade inflation "for equity" tells you all you need to know. Yes, take it seriously when your kid is not doing well on standardized tests, regardless of what the teacher says. The current system is not working for the majority of students. Some kids are smart and succeed anyone, many more that succeed do so with a lot of support from their families. So if you are going to go this route prepare to be involved and don't let them keep you complacent.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Actually it looks like the 2025 numbers are available in a spreadsheet and Pyle is in here.

Year--LEA--LEA Name--School--School Name--Assessment--Student Group--Tested Count--Proficient Count--Proficient Pct
2025--02--Anne Arundel--1023--Brooklyn Park Middle--Algebra 1 --All Students--19--18--94.7
2025--02--Anne Arundel--2413--Severn River Middle--Algebra 1 --All Students--114--100--87.7
2025--02--Anne Arundel--4283--Central Middle--Algebra 1 --All Students--169--138--81.7
2025--02--Anne Arundel--6233--Monarch Academy--Algebra 1 --All Students--24--20--83.3
2025--10--Frederick--0211--West Frederick Middle--Algebra 1 --All Students--35--29--82.9
2025--10--Frederick--0228--Carroll Creek Montessori Public Charter--Algebra 1 --All Students--13--12--92.3
2025--10--Frederick--0714--Windsor Knolls Middle--Algebra 1 --All Students--121--*-->= 95.0
2025--10--Frederick--0716--Urbana Middle--Algebra 1 --All Students--184--*-->= 95.0
2025--10--Frederick--0918--Oakdale Middle--Algebra 1 --All Students--138--123--89.1
2025--10--Frederick--1301--Frederick Classical Charter--Algebra 1 --All Students--25--20--80.0
2025--10--Frederick--2606--Walkersville Middle--Algebra 1 --All Students--*--*-->= 95.0
2025--13--Howard--0304--Mount View Middle--Algebra 1 --All Students--202--182--90.1
2025--13--Howard--0307--Folly Quarter Middle--Algebra 1 --All Students--153--137--89.5
2025--13--Howard--0405--Glenwood Middle--Algebra 1 --All Students--90--74--82.2
2025--13--Howard--0518--Harpers Choice Middle--Algebra 1 --All Students--55--45--81.8
2025--13--Howard--0521--Clarksville Middle--Algebra 1 --All Students--170--157--92.4
2025--15--Montgomery--0428--Thomas W. Pyle Middle--Algebra 1 --All Students--405--326--80.5
2025--16--Prince George's--0104--Beltsville Academy--Algebra 1 --All Students--17--16--94.1
2025--16--Prince George's--0509--Accokeek Academy--Algebra 1 --All Students--82--72--87.8
2025--17--Queen Anne's--0407--Matapeake Middle School--Algebra 1 --All Students--42--*-->= 95.0
2025--21--Washington--0201--Springfield Middle--Algebra 1 --All Students--65--56--86.2
2025--21--Washington--0401--Clear Spring Middle--Algebra 1 --All Students--22--20--90.9
2025--21--Washington--0602--Boonsboro Middle--Algebra 1 --All Students--67--59--88.1
2025--21--Washington--0704--Smithsburg Middle--Algebra 1 --All Students--55--52--94.5
2025--21--Washington--2102--Northern Middle--Algebra 1 --All Students--69--57--82.6
2025--21--Washington--2501--Western Heights Middle--Algebra 1 --All Students--23--19--82.6
2025--23--Worcester--0108--Pocomoke Middle--Algebra 1 --All Students--12--*-->= 95.0
2025--23--Worcester--0208--Snow Hill Middle--Algebra 1 --All Students--21--19--90.5
2025--23--Worcester--0308--Stephen Decatur Middle--Algebra 1 --All Students--41--*-->= 95.0
2025--30--Baltimore City--0373--Tunbridge Public Charter School--Algebra 1 --All Students--15--12--80.0

So referencing what was said in the previous thread an issue that I have with these discussions is that the attitude and mentality shouldn't be "well it's a low proficiency rate, so it's okay that my kids didn't do well" But it should be "why aren't my kids doing well and what needs to be done to help them improve"

And right, you would hope and strive for schools to have 100 percent proficiency rates but looking at the data, it seems very hard and rare to do. So it goes back to knowing the expected/realistic outcomes. I consider an 80 percent proficiency rate excellent.

Just 6 years ago the proficiency rates at these schools were several points higher. While 100% may not be possible, we can absolutely do better that 80%, GMAFB. And we are just talking about White students. Math proficiency rates for Black students are in free fall. No, it's not because they are all poor - the median income for households with Black householders is $91k. How is there not more outrage about this?

This has all been talked about before:
https://www.dcurbanmom.com/jforum/posts/list/50/1305522.page

And is nothing new and not something that everyone is happy with.

But part of the question in this thread is if MCPS is really that bad where OP should be considering private school instead. And it's as mentioned in several posts, it would depend on the local school and the situation for OP's family.

It's actually okay to point out more than once that academically MCPS is going downhill. It is not true that getting more than 80% of kids proficient in math at a wealthy school is unattainable. We were able to do this just 6 years ago.

And it's directly relevant to OP. OP should be aware that a sizeable minority of kids in MCPS, including White wealthy kids at Pyle and Whitman, are not doing well academically.

My kid is in 1st grade in MCPS and my gratitude and admiration for her teachers knows no bounds but you bet that we are being proactive about addressing academic issues that arise at home even if the teachers are not worried (or not empowered to offer appropriate supports). Too many kids are slipping through the cracks.

One big difference we see is the lack of textbooks and teaching is very random. Students aren’t getting the curriculum they need. For AP Calc, instead of using the given textbook, we got a packet teacher or someone purchased online with just problem sets, no explanations.

[Anonymous]

I am happy and know many parents who are happy.

[Anonymous]

VERY happy with our MCPS ES so far (4 years in). 2 boys in a W cluster school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I would be interested in hearing from the large number of people that came from DC to MCPS. This is mostly because we have comparison points whereas others may not. I can say that even the best schools in DC (and many of them are charters) offer far less than MCPS.

OP here. I would be interested to hear from former DCPS parents whose kids switched to MCPS, too, for comparison.

I read the DCPS forum sometimes and it does feel like those parents (in WOTP and CH schools) are happier overall than MCPS parents, aside from MCPS parents in “W” school pyramids.

OP, did you post in the DC forum as well? I think I see a very similar question. I would keep in mind that there are a lot more MCPS families and therefore, likely more complaints!

I'm a previous PP with a child in upper ES that's a focus school. We switched to MCPS from DC (charter school though) but did so for other factors as well, not just schools. I am happy that my child may have access to more options/pathways in MCPS (CES, magnet programs) that were not available in DC, but I also recognize that these programs are not guaranteed to exist when my child gets to high school. We were hoping to eventually use the DCC but now that's going away. I personally wouldn't take into much consideration what parents of much older children are saying here since so much can change between now and then, but I do think MCPS overall has more resources.

My child is several years older than yours, and I remember the stress of trying to decide what to do for kindergarten and reading through these forums. Now, we take it the school experience year by year and try to anticipate/plan for needs 2-3 years in the future. Every year has brought us better understanding of not just what our child needs but what we, as parents, expect and want from a school. I personally would not change school districts for just kindergarten (unless of course there were other factors involved) but would instead use that first year as time to learn and refine your family's priorities.

Hello! 👋. Yes, I did post in this and the DCPS channel. Thank you so much for your response.

We are considering the reverse move you did – moving from MCP into DCPS before our older starts kindergarten - because it does seem like DC WOTP and CH elementary schools are generally stronger and smaller than MCPS ES (with a few exceptions in Bethesda).

Our local K is not a valid option for us (personal preference) so we have decided to either move or go private.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:VERY happy with our MCPS ES so far (4 years in). 2 boys in a W cluster school.

Thanks! Which ES? (OP here).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Good luck to you.
The less you know, the happier you’ll be.
You’ll be fine.

This

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I would be interested in hearing from the large number of people that came from DC to MCPS. This is mostly because we have comparison points whereas others may not. I can say that even the best schools in DC (and many of them are charters) offer far less than MCPS.

OP here. I would be interested to hear from former DCPS parents whose kids switched to MCPS, too, for comparison.

I read the DCPS forum sometimes and it does feel like those parents (in WOTP and CH schools) are happier overall than MCPS parents, aside from MCPS parents in “W” school pyramids.

OP, did you post in the DC forum as well? I think I see a very similar question. I would keep in mind that there are a lot more MCPS families and therefore, likely more complaints!

I'm a previous PP with a child in upper ES that's a focus school. We switched to MCPS from DC (charter school though) but did so for other factors as well, not just schools. I am happy that my child may have access to more options/pathways in MCPS (CES, magnet programs) that were not available in DC, but I also recognize that these programs are not guaranteed to exist when my child gets to high school. We were hoping to eventually use the DCC but now that's going away. I personally wouldn't take into much consideration what parents of much older children are saying here since so much can change between now and then, but I do think MCPS overall has more resources.

My child is several years older than yours, and I remember the stress of trying to decide what to do for kindergarten and reading through these forums. Now, we take it the school experience year by year and try to anticipate/plan for needs 2-3 years in the future. Every year has brought us better understanding of not just what our child needs but what we, as parents, expect and want from a school. I personally would not change school districts for just kindergarten (unless of course there were other factors involved) but would instead use that first year as time to learn and refine your family's priorities.

Hello! 👋. Yes, I did post in this and the DCPS channel. Thank you so much for your response.

We are considering the reverse move you did – moving from MCP into DCPS before our older starts kindergarten - because it does seem like DC WOTP and CH elementary schools are generally stronger and smaller than MCPS ES (with a few exceptions in Bethesda).

Our local K is not a valid option for us (personal preference) so we have decided to either move or go private.

Delusional

[Anonymous]

Yes, happy with MCPS, but do acknowledge that I'm lucky with my kids' temperament (self-motivated, well-behaved, good students) and our schools (local CES program, middle school with accelerated programs) with engaged principals and dedicated teachers and the specialty programs.

I'm a graduate of the SMACS program at Blair and my daughter is in the Humanities program at Poolesville, so MCPS having those specialized programs feels like a boon (even though we are really outside of the norm).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I would be interested in hearing from the large number of people that came from DC to MCPS. This is mostly because we have comparison points whereas others may not. I can say that even the best schools in DC (and many of them are charters) offer far less than MCPS.

OP here. I would be interested to hear from former DCPS parents whose kids switched to MCPS, too, for comparison.

I read the DCPS forum sometimes and it does feel like those parents (in WOTP and CH schools) are happier overall than MCPS parents, aside from MCPS parents in “W” school pyramids.

OP, did you post in the DC forum as well? I think I see a very similar question. I would keep in mind that there are a lot more MCPS families and therefore, likely more complaints!

I'm a previous PP with a child in upper ES that's a focus school. We switched to MCPS from DC (charter school though) but did so for other factors as well, not just schools. I am happy that my child may have access to more options/pathways in MCPS (CES, magnet programs) that were not available in DC, but I also recognize that these programs are not guaranteed to exist when my child gets to high school. We were hoping to eventually use the DCC but now that's going away. I personally wouldn't take into much consideration what parents of much older children are saying here since so much can change between now and then, but I do think MCPS overall has more resources.

My child is several years older than yours, and I remember the stress of trying to decide what to do for kindergarten and reading through these forums. Now, we take it the school experience year by year and try to anticipate/plan for needs 2-3 years in the future. Every year has brought us better understanding of not just what our child needs but what we, as parents, expect and want from a school. I personally would not change school districts for just kindergarten (unless of course there were other factors involved) but would instead use that first year as time to learn and refine your family's priorities.

Hello! 👋. Yes, I did post in this and the DCPS channel. Thank you so much for your response.

We are considering the reverse move you did – moving from MCP into DCPS before our older starts kindergarten - because it does seem like DC WOTP and CH elementary schools are generally stronger and smaller than MCPS ES (with a few exceptions in Bethesda).

Our local K is not a valid option for us (personal preference) so we have decided to either move or go private.

You're the Rosemary Hills-area parent? Is your concern that you don't want your kid to be around any lower-income kids, or what's the issue?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:As a teacher and a parent of two in MCPS, I am generally happy with MCPS. I do think we provided a better product 20 years ago, but I'd say that's a national trend rather than a local. I do believe there is some correction going on that's going to take time to shake out. Someone mentioned how many parents are happy with their teachers, but would like to see more educational rigor and accountability for their children. I'd say that's accurate for the teachers too. But there are a lot of policies put in place over the last decade that have to be undone. Still, my experience is that there are good teachers teaching good students.
Of course, the biggest factor to your child's education success is you. Keeping them exposed to reading, music, physical activity, and limiting their use of screens (especially at an early age) is going to do so much more for their educational outcomes than any policy from central office.

This. The academic rigor just isn’t there compared with my rigorous private school education 30 years ago. They barely teach writing. My 6th grader has never been asked to write even a book report let alone a real essay or paper. But I’m not sure any other local public is better. We don’t have the money for private. As far as school experience goes it’s been fine. Just I wonder about the curriculum. My 3rd grader is doing a bit more writing so maybe it is improving.

Reading books is overrated and doesn't necessarily make a school rigorous.
Welcome to the 21st century.

Teaching writing well is hard with such big class sizes that MCPS has, but my MCPS 4th grader does weekly reading reports that are similar to the book reports I did as a kid (although they're shorter). My 6th grader did essays (and they definitely increase in frequency in 7th and 8th grade).

That's fantastic, but that wasn't our experience at all in ES or MS. We didn't have weekly book reports in 4th. We had a chart where kids had to pick one activity (i.e. read for 15 minutes, or anwser one question in 2-3 sentences). MCPS really varies by school and teachers.

Yes, of course that's the case, and most people recognize that their experiences aren't universal in a large public school system, which is why I take statements like "my AP English kid read only 1 book" with a grain of salt. My kid struggled in 7th grade English with a teacher who assigned a lot of writing and some texts that I honestly thought were more suitable to high school. I was told he was the toughest English teacher in the school. My kid's 8th grade teacher assigns a lot more multiple choice assignments and a lot less writing.

You were really lucky then. We have had one book in AP English this year. We have never had more than 2 books a year, maybe one year we had three but that wasn't the norm. Never had lots of multiple choice. Most writing assignments are a paragraph or two.

I wouldn’t judge the rigor of an AP English class on the number of books they’ve read. Are they reading historic texts? Classic short stories that are considered exemplary literary works? Sometimes the teacher is showing a specific literary device or teaching a specific theme that is featured for the AP exam and can do that with a shorter piece of literature. And you can do that whether or not something is a “book.”

+1 I would judge the rigor/quality of an AP English class by how many kids are earning 4s/5s. How has the school that the PP won’t name but allegedly only assigns one book on critical race theory (the name of which book PP won’t name) performing?

Well that's stupid.

What would be your metric oh brilliant one? AP test scores are national independently assessed exams.

MCPS publishes AP scores by subject and school if you were interested looking at outcome data rather than posting whiny messages about MCPS teaching your kid only one book about “critical race theory” at a school you won’t name.

How dare you bring data on educational outcomes into a discussion about the PP’s opinions into what makes a good education. /s

It’s surprising how little MCPS performance metrics have come into the discussion here. Half of all MCPS students can’t do math or read at grade level. That is bad. Most of the discussion on this forum is about the changes to the gifted programs, school boundary changes and the teaching of LGBT topics…and snow days.

There’s very little discussion here about class sizes (huge) and quality of ES curricula to teach basic English and math (leaving aside the niche topic of complaints about an AP English teacher’s book choices.)

It's been somewhat but I think there's a portion on DCUM (or at least one poster) who either doesn't understand or are okay with it because people say it's the general trend.

So if people say like 60 percent of students in MCPS don't meet the benchmarks or targets, then some people claim it's okay that their kids don't meet it either because that's just the trend. Then the argument in the earlier discussions of removing the countywide programs for the six regional model is that MCPS needs to focus on the general population as a whole that is underperforming instead of the select few small portion that are advanced.

What people don't realize is that if you dig into the data more, certain schools have high rates of meeting the benchmarks while others have really low which causes the county average to be as low as it is.

So the experience will really vary based on the specific schools and also on the family's specific situation.

Even at Whitman, one out of five White kids graduate not proficient in math.

We've been down this rabbithole in other threads.

For high school math, you have to see what test is administered and looking at mdreportcard for Whitman, it says only 18.5 percent White students are proficient in Math. But when you look at the list of tests, Algebra 1 is the only test listed. So it's unlikely they tested in Algebra 2.

And it was already mentioned in other threads, students who are taking/retaking Algebra 1 in high school, likely aren't the higher performing students and more likely to not do well in the state assessment for it.

So Algebra 1 is not really a good indicator for math proficiency for high schools.

It's a bit more relevant for middle schools. So if you look at the population for Pyle, the proficiency level for Whites in Algebra 1 is 80.3 percent and should be a more accurate representation of students on a more on level track. Where this group can be a mix of 6 to 8th graders.

So again, this takes digging. It's not just "oh only 18.5 percent of Whites at Whitman tested proficient in the Algebra 1 test, so it's okayif my kid didn't do well too" You have to understand what groups take the classes and assessments when and what are their likely/expected outcomes.

Isn't the point that they are passing the classes despite not being proficient salient. How many of those kids were flunked?

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Anonymous wrote:As a teacher and a parent of two in MCPS, I am generally happy with MCPS. I do think we provided a better product 20 years ago, but I'd say that's a national trend rather than a local. I do believe there is some correction going on that's going to take time to shake out. Someone mentioned how many parents are happy with their teachers, but would like to see more educational rigor and accountability for their children. I'd say that's accurate for the teachers too. But there are a lot of policies put in place over the last decade that have to be undone. Still, my experience is that there are good teachers teaching good students.
Of course, the biggest factor to your child's education success is you. Keeping them exposed to reading, music, physical activity, and limiting their use of screens (especially at an early age) is going to do so much more for their educational outcomes than any policy from central office.

This. The academic rigor just isn’t there compared with my rigorous private school education 30 years ago. They barely teach writing. My 6th grader has never been asked to write even a book report let alone a real essay or paper. But I’m not sure any other local public is better. We don’t have the money for private. As far as school experience goes it’s been fine. Just I wonder about the curriculum. My 3rd grader is doing a bit more writing so maybe it is improving.

Reading books is overrated and doesn't necessarily make a school rigorous.
Welcome to the 21st century.

Teaching writing well is hard with such big class sizes that MCPS has, but my MCPS 4th grader does weekly reading reports that are similar to the book reports I did as a kid (although they're shorter). My 6th grader did essays (and they definitely increase in frequency in 7th and 8th grade).

That's fantastic, but that wasn't our experience at all in ES or MS. We didn't have weekly book reports in 4th. We had a chart where kids had to pick one activity (i.e. read for 15 minutes, or anwser one question in 2-3 sentences). MCPS really varies by school and teachers.

Yes, of course that's the case, and most people recognize that their experiences aren't universal in a large public school system, which is why I take statements like "my AP English kid read only 1 book" with a grain of salt. My kid struggled in 7th grade English with a teacher who assigned a lot of writing and some texts that I honestly thought were more suitable to high school. I was told he was the toughest English teacher in the school. My kid's 8th grade teacher assigns a lot more multiple choice assignments and a lot less writing.

You were really lucky then. We have had one book in AP English this year. We have never had more than 2 books a year, maybe one year we had three but that wasn't the norm. Never had lots of multiple choice. Most writing assignments are a paragraph or two.

I wouldn’t judge the rigor of an AP English class on the number of books they’ve read. Are they reading historic texts? Classic short stories that are considered exemplary literary works? Sometimes the teacher is showing a specific literary device or teaching a specific theme that is featured for the AP exam and can do that with a shorter piece of literature. And you can do that whether or not something is a “book.”

+1 I would judge the rigor/quality of an AP English class by how many kids are earning 4s/5s. How has the school that the PP won’t name but allegedly only assigns one book on critical race theory (the name of which book PP won’t name) performing?

Well that's stupid.

What would be your metric oh brilliant one? AP test scores are national independently assessed exams.

MCPS publishes AP scores by subject and school if you were interested looking at outcome data rather than posting whiny messages about MCPS teaching your kid only one book about “critical race theory” at a school you won’t name.

How dare you bring data on educational outcomes into a discussion about the PP’s opinions into what makes a good education. /s

It’s surprising how little MCPS performance metrics have come into the discussion here. Half of all MCPS students can’t do math or read at grade level. That is bad. Most of the discussion on this forum is about the changes to the gifted programs, school boundary changes and the teaching of LGBT topics…and snow days.

There’s very little discussion here about class sizes (huge) and quality of ES curricula to teach basic English and math (leaving aside the niche topic of complaints about an AP English teacher’s book choices.)

It's been somewhat but I think there's a portion on DCUM (or at least one poster) who either doesn't understand or are okay with it because people say it's the general trend.

So if people say like 60 percent of students in MCPS don't meet the benchmarks or targets, then some people claim it's okay that their kids don't meet it either because that's just the trend. Then the argument in the earlier discussions of removing the countywide programs for the six regional model is that MCPS needs to focus on the general population as a whole that is underperforming instead of the select few small portion that are advanced.

What people don't realize is that if you dig into the data more, certain schools have high rates of meeting the benchmarks while others have really low which causes the county average to be as low as it is.

So the experience will really vary based on the specific schools and also on the family's specific situation.

Even at Whitman, one out of five White kids graduate not proficient in math.

We've been down this rabbithole in other threads.

For high school math, you have to see what test is administered and looking at mdreportcard for Whitman, it says only 18.5 percent White students are proficient in Math. But when you look at the list of tests, Algebra 1 is the only test listed. So it's unlikely they tested in Algebra 2.

And it was already mentioned in other threads, students who are taking/retaking Algebra 1 in high school, likely aren't the higher performing students and more likely to not do well in the state assessment for it.

So Algebra 1 is not really a good indicator for math proficiency for high schools.

It's a bit more relevant for middle schools. So if you look at the population for Pyle, the proficiency level for Whites in Algebra 1 is 80.3 percent and should be a more accurate representation of students on a more on level track. Where this group can be a mix of 6 to 8th graders.

So again, this takes digging. It's not just "oh only 18.5 percent of Whites at Whitman tested proficient in the Algebra 1 test, so it's okayif my kid didn't do well too" You have to understand what groups take the classes and assessments when and what are their likely/expected outcomes.

Isn't the point that they are passing the classes despite not being proficient salient. How many of those kids were flunked?

Yeah that's one of the big issues that I have with MCPS and why in one of my earlier posts I said it's important to not let your kids just coast by according to MCPS's standards.

But again, the point of this thread is if MCPS is really that bad where OP should just go to private instead. Where their neighborhood is a mix of happy families at both private and public.

My main issue with the previous poster is that they need to choose the their battles and know when to fight them. I don't think complaining about the performance at Whitman is necessarily the right avenue. Again looking at Pyle because it's the main school that feeds into Whitman the Algebra 1 test taker proficiency rates for Whites are:
2019 92% (like pp said above 90 percent is possible)
2022 54.7% (likely affected by the pandemic)
2023 67.3%
2024 72.1%
2025 80.3%

That is an excellent trend that you would hope to see.

OP already sees all the negative (and possibly valid) points people post about and was asking if they should consider private schools because of it.

So previous poster wasn't really helping with the thread in pointing out things already discussed in many other threads. And they send their kids to public schools. So their experience can't be so bad that they decided to send their kids to private and is a little bit hypocritical if they advise others to do so if they didn't themselves. As often pointed out, some privates aren't exactly perfect either.

Yeah we all know that MCPS has issues. But is pointing out that Whitman/Pyle isn't perfect with a 100 percent proficiency rate really the standard that we should expect from MCPS?

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Anonymous wrote:I would be interested in hearing from the large number of people that came from DC to MCPS. This is mostly because we have comparison points whereas others may not. I can say that even the best schools in DC (and many of them are charters) offer far less than MCPS.

OP here. I would be interested to hear from former DCPS parents whose kids switched to MCPS, too, for comparison.

I read the DCPS forum sometimes and it does feel like those parents (in WOTP and CH schools) are happier overall than MCPS parents, aside from MCPS parents in “W” school pyramids.

OP, did you post in the DC forum as well? I think I see a very similar question. I would keep in mind that there are a lot more MCPS families and therefore, likely more complaints!

I'm a previous PP with a child in upper ES that's a focus school. We switched to MCPS from DC (charter school though) but did so for other factors as well, not just schools. I am happy that my child may have access to more options/pathways in MCPS (CES, magnet programs) that were not available in DC, but I also recognize that these programs are not guaranteed to exist when my child gets to high school. We were hoping to eventually use the DCC but now that's going away. I personally wouldn't take into much consideration what parents of much older children are saying here since so much can change between now and then, but I do think MCPS overall has more resources.

My child is several years older than yours, and I remember the stress of trying to decide what to do for kindergarten and reading through these forums. Now, we take it the school experience year by year and try to anticipate/plan for needs 2-3 years in the future. Every year has brought us better understanding of not just what our child needs but what we, as parents, expect and want from a school. I personally would not change school districts for just kindergarten (unless of course there were other factors involved) but would instead use that first year as time to learn and refine your family's priorities.

Hello! 👋. Yes, I did post in this and the DCPS channel. Thank you so much for your response.

We are considering the reverse move you did – moving from MCP into DCPS before our older starts kindergarten - because it does seem like DC WOTP and CH elementary schools are generally stronger and smaller than MCPS ES (with a few exceptions in Bethesda).

Our local K is not a valid option for us (personal preference) so we have decided to either move or go private.

You're the Rosemary Hills-area parent? Is your concern that you don't want your kid to be around any lower-income kids, or what's the issue?

Moving to DC because you don’t want your kids at RHPS is just absurd.

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I have been happy with MCPS at Wood Acres and Whitman. Pyle was a mixed bag but hard to know how much of that is just middle school in general. Wood Acres had great teachers and a caring environment. Whitman has provided tons of interesting opportunities, a great range of classes, and many highly engaged and motivated peers across arts, sports, and civic engagement.