Benchmark questions for 3rd grader have me questioning my sanity

[Anonymous]

I love you, OP. I was rolling with laughter and understood everything you wrote. That's why I had my kid in Montessori through 4th grade. None of that is a thing in Montessori. DD wrote to write. DD answered questions to answer questions. She's fine in HS now when all this stuff is irrelevant.

[Anonymous]

Ahh, never change DCUM. Every parent convinced all teachers are idiots and that you could do a much better job of teaching your child.

[Anonymous]

I totally agree, OP!

My first grade DD got the following question as reading comprehension in her BOY TRC reading assessment: "What does [Character X's] motivation tell you about the story?" She got the question wrong and the test stopped. I asked her what answer she gave and it was essentially the answer to the question "What does the story tell you about [Character X's] motivation?" Like, yes, that's a different question, but it's a question that makes a lot more sense and I can totally see why a 6 year old would assume that was the question they were being asked. She 100% understood the story. She asked me what answer she should have given and I... wasn't sure exactly. It's a super, super basic story (reading level I question), so it's not like there's some very complex motivation occurring or that the character's motivation is different than it initially appears or anything along those lines.

As a result, she got marked as a reading level several levels below her actual reading level. Teacher agrees her actual demonstrated reading level is what I think it is (K or L, so not claiming she's some super reader or anything), but said her answer to the question was wrong. I didn't push on what the right answer was as it didn't seem worth it. Anyway, I assume she will thus show tons of progress during her MOY testing... which may explain the teacher's lack of flexibility. (I also don't know if the questions are set, chosen by the teacher from a selection or invented by the teacher, which would also be interesting to know.)

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I totally agree, OP!

My first grade DD got the following question as reading comprehension in her BOY TRC reading assessment: "What does [Character X's] motivation tell you about the story?" She got the question wrong and the test stopped. I asked her what answer she gave and it was essentially the answer to the question "What does the story tell you about [Character X's] motivation?" Like, yes, that's a different question, but it's a question that makes a lot more sense and I can totally see why a 6 year old would assume that was the question they were being asked. She 100% understood the story. She asked me what answer she should have given and I... wasn't sure exactly. It's a super, super basic story (reading level I question), so it's not like there's some very complex motivation occurring or that the character's motivation is different than it initially appears or anything along those lines.

As a result, she got marked as a reading level several levels below her actual reading level. Teacher agrees her actual demonstrated reading level is what I think it is (K or L, so not claiming she's some super reader or anything), but said her answer to the question was wrong. I didn't push on what the right answer was as it didn't seem worth it. Anyway, I assume she will thus show tons of progress during her MOY testing... which may explain the teacher's lack of flexibility. (I also don't know if the questions are set, chosen by the teacher from a selection or invented by the teacher, which would also be interesting to know.)

WTF does that even mean?

-OP

[Anonymous]

From what I know enriched literacy curriculum also used benchmark unfortunately

[Anonymous]

I'm an elementary school teacher and if it makes you feel any better, many of us hate Benchmark too. The questions are aligned to the Common Core State Standards which are just ridiculous to begin with. Benchmark is written so that the texts and questions are aligned with what a student should be able to read and comprehend by the end of the grade level according to the CCSS. Unfortunately, the pacing is such that teachers don't have time to slow down and make adjustments as needed. We race through the content and are told by Benchmark trainers to "trust the process" because the standards spiral all year. Call me old fashioned at 38 but I feel like it's better for a kid's confidence to feel successful as they move along throughout the year instead of fumbling in the dark most of the year.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Ahh, never change DCUM. Every parent convinced all teachers are idiots and that you could do a much better job of teaching your child.

Bizarre post. DD's teacher has been great. She's not the Benchmark curriculum factory where it's now clear 43 different editors each feel they have to add or change a word to a prompt to prove they deserve their salaries.

It's like the sentence starts out:

"What is the main idea of the story?"

And it's like a game of telephone as it goes through layers of bureaucratic approval on the way to being published.

"What is the main idea of the story?"
"What is the theme of the story?"
"What do you think is the theme of the story?"
"How would you describe what you think is the theme of the story?
"Write a paragraph about how you would describe what you think is the theme of the story?"
"Write a paragraph about what you would describe as the main theme idea of the story."
"Write a paragraph with examples from the text of what you would describe as the main theme idea of the story."
"Write a paragraph with text examples from what you would describe as the main theme idea of the text??"
"Write a paragraph with context samples from your description of theme main idea as text?!Interrobang!!"

I have NO problem with the teacher. Of course she's relying on the materials the school gives her. She's a teacher, she shouldn't also have to create an entire curriculum!

By the way, PP-- what's your answer to this question?

"Why is it important to understand how a character's actions affect the events of a story?"

Show your work!

-OP

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I remember that from my kids elementary days. So frustrating. Many prompts were grammatically incorrect or confounding nonsense. There were often multiple ways to interpret a question if you have a strong vocabulary. I think several things are going on: 1) some teachers/worksheet creators have a terrible grasp of language, especially the ones writing math word problems, 2) some try to change a question copied from somewhere else to "make it their own" and end up creating a confusing mess with their changes, and 3) the question writer assumes you only know of one way to think about the topic, which is the way that was taught in class.

I told my kid to think back to class, and based on what the teacher has been talking about, what do you think the teacher wants you to write about? How would the teacher answer this question? That usually works. Otherwise, we say, answer based on your best guess about what is being asked and that is good enough. If the kid is freaking out, we say, put a question mark and note that the question doesn't make sense to you, and we initial it, so they know we tried.

Good suggestions, PP. I think the first might work sometimes, at least when the question isn't an absolutely confusing mess.

-OP

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Benchmark is absolutely awful. I cannot fathom why MCPS chose this awful curriculum, especially since it wasn't actually recommended by external experts. I wish they would invest in a decent ELA curriculum.

Agree, I was hoping it would be better but its not. They need to go back to basics.

[Anonymous]

I have to agree with previous posters. I also teach in the county and we were excited about Benchmark after surviving C 2.0. Benchmark provides a ton of additional resources that we didn't have with the county written curriculum. However, once we began teaching the curriculum the love went out the window. As someone else mentioned, there are too many mini-lessons to get through in a day and still find time to do small guided reading groups. Many of the topics are uninteresting too. My colleagues in another grade said that they spend an entire unit reading about corn. Who the heck cares about corn in elementary school? That's three weeks of readings. Benchmark is a miss.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Ahh, never change DCUM. Every parent convinced all teachers are idiots and that you could do a much better job of teaching your child.

DP

I don’t get the impression that anyone is saying that the teachers are idiots. I think we’re complaining about the curriculum.

FWIW, my kid has had some fantastic teachers. I think they are great despite working in a crappy system like MCPS. I wish MCPS would give teachers the tools to make their jobs easier versus making teachers deal with this kind of nonsense.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Ahh, never change DCUM. Every parent convinced all teachers are idiots and that you could do a much better job of teaching your child.

Bizarre post. DD's teacher has been great. She's not the Benchmark curriculum factory where it's now clear 43 different editors each feel they have to add or change a word to a prompt to prove they deserve their salaries.

It's like the sentence starts out:

"What is the main idea of the story?"

And it's like a game of telephone as it goes through layers of bureaucratic approval on the way to being published.

"What is the main idea of the story?"
"What is the theme of the story?"
"What do you think is the theme of the story?"
"How would you describe what you think is the theme of the story?
"Write a paragraph about how you would describe what you think is the theme of the story?"
"Write a paragraph about what you would describe as the main theme idea of the story."
"Write a paragraph with examples from the text of what you would describe as the main theme idea of the story."
"Write a paragraph with text examples from what you would describe as the main theme idea of the text??"
"Write a paragraph with context samples from your description of theme main idea as text?!Interrobang!!"

I have NO problem with the teacher. Of course she's relying on the materials the school gives her. She's a teacher, she shouldn't also have to create an entire curriculum!

By the way, PP-- what's your answer to this question?

"Why is it important to understand how a character's actions affect the events of a story?"

Show your work!

-OP

LOL! DP here. Very true.

[Anonymous]

The essential question of the unit your child is working in is the following:

How do our actions influence our lives?
In this unit, students will read and compare stories, poems, and myths to analyze characters and understand how their actions shape events.

There are times when what you say and do can directly impact others. You may not even know you are causing them problems. There are also times when you do nothing, and that too has a similar impact.

For instance (this text is used in the unit):
In paragraph 19, King Midas makes a wish to be able to turn everything he touches into gold. This soon causes problems for Midas, as even his food turns to gold he can’t eat! Midas’s next action is to hug his beloved daughter, who tried to comfort him. This action causes her to turn to gold! In response, Midas pleads with Dionysus to take his power away. This action summons Dionysus, who tells Midas to wash his hands in the river, which Midas does “until they were as red as bricks.” This action contributes to the story by bringing it to its resolution: Midas and his daughter return to normal.

Students are asked to do the following with guided practice:

How Dionysus’s actions in these paragraphs contribute to the events of the story?

Annotate! Circle story events that are caused by this character’s actions.

Students should identify that Dionysus’s actions in these paragraphs contribute to the resolution of the story because they rid Midas of his curse and turn his daughter back to normal.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Benchmark is absolutely awful. I cannot fathom why MCPS chose this awful curriculum, especially since it wasn't actually recommended by external experts. I wish they would invest in a decent ELA curriculum.

+1

Infuriating that they did not choose an evidence-based curriculum. The new superintendent should take this on.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Benchmark is absolutely awful. I cannot fathom why MCPS chose this awful curriculum, especially since it wasn't actually recommended by external experts. I wish they would invest in a decent ELA curriculum.

+1

Infuriating that they did not choose an evidence-based curriculum. The new superintendent should take this on.

I believe they will be doing a curriculum review on it beginning this spring. I can't see them switching because they have spent $$$$$$ on all of the materials for each classroom. I think my reading specialist gave me around 8 boxes of materials just for my one classroom. The ample resources seemed like a positive at first but the scripted lessons really stifle the creativity of the teachers. I miss choosing books that match my students' interests and spending the necessary time for them to demonstrate mastery vs. glazing over a topic and racing on to the next reading skill.