MCPS Teachers: Why cling to grade inflation and disregard MAP?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Send your kid to a Catholic school. That’s the only place that gave me actual data that wasn’t computer based. Those As he got in public school were BS.

More private backdoor recruiting! And with some proselytizing mixed in for fun!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Send your kid to a Catholic school. That’s the only place that gave me actual data that wasn’t computer based. Those As he got in public school were BS.

More private backdoor recruiting! And with some proselytizing mixed in for fun!

Try again. We aren’t even Catholic. My kids were finally taught handwriting, grammar, how to write, basic math facts, etc. It’s what public schools used to be like before they concerned themselves with trying to create equal outcomes.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Send your kid to a Catholic school. That’s the only place that gave me actual data that wasn’t computer based. Those As he got in public school were BS.

For math?! Are you serious? When we were at catholic school during the pandemic, my MCPS kids were way ahead on math understanding. A bit behind in rote memorization of facts but their understanding and ability to do word problems was noticeably stronger than their Catholic school peers.

There are great reasons to choose a Catholic education for your child, but hoping to get advanced in math ain’t it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Mathnasium has a strong financial incentive to tell you that your kid is behind at the beginning and then, after months of classes there, they will probably proudly announce that she is fixed, thanks to them!

I wouldn’t assume that the teacher is hiding something and mathnasium is the objective arbiter here.

+1 exactly. I wouldn’t trust their “expertise”

Your daughter is fine. Please I do hope you aren’t putting undue pressure on her- then she will absolutely learn to hate the subject. She will receive plenty of math support if needed in middle and high.

I'm the OP and this mindset, which seems to mirror the status quo among MCPS staff and leadership, is dangerous.

Evidence shows that putting off fixing math deficiencies only compounds the problems, which is precisely why black and brown children underperform in middle and high school compared to their white and Asian counterparts. Getting the fundamentals right and early in elementary is a critical building block to math success in middle and high school.

Elementary school is the foundation, if these problems are not caught and worked on in Elementary it will is very difficult for the kids to catch up in higher grades. especially in Maths. Its very important to help kids get the basics of maths clear in elementary schools. I have seen that MCPS is not correcting the small mistakes kids make in their tests. When kids are corrected at early stage, they are more likely to do better in higher grades and enjoy school life and get a professional degrees.

[Anonymous]

OP, was your DD placed in Math 5 or Math 5/6?

[Anonymous]

OP, this is how things are done in public school math. If you want more, I'm afraid you have to tutor yourself, get an outside tutor, or send her to some math enrichment program.

[Anonymous]

By all means provide enrichment. What I was trying to tell you was if she is getting mostly A’s and B’s in class and an occasional C or D , the teacher is most likely to think your daughter is doing fine. But I agree that she needs help and mathnasium is a good place to get that help and get her on track.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Send your kid to a Catholic school. That’s the only place that gave me actual data that wasn’t computer based. Those As he got in public school were BS.

More private backdoor recruiting! And with some proselytizing mixed in for fun!

Try again. We aren’t even Catholic. My kids were finally taught handwriting, grammar, how to write, basic math facts, etc. It’s what public schools used to be like before they concerned themselves with trying to create equal outcomes.

We did all that at home. Problem solved.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:By all means provide enrichment. What I was trying to tell you was if she is getting mostly A’s and B’s in class and an occasional C or D , the teacher is most likely to think your daughter is doing fine. But I agree that she needs help and mathnasium is a good place to get that help and get her on track.

That’s not grade inflation. That is a kid who needs a bit of help at home.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:By all means provide enrichment. What I was trying to tell you was if she is getting mostly A’s and B’s in class and an occasional C or D , the teacher is most likely to think your daughter is doing fine. But I agree that she needs help and mathnasium is a good place to get that help and get her on track.

That’s not grade inflation. That is a kid who needs a bit of help at home.

We do help her at home. Actually, what my daughter chiefly complains about is that the teacher doesn't spend enough time teaching the material and that leads her to not being able to complete the homework.

This is borne out by a message the teacher recently sent where she said, "Unfortunately, due to many factors, I do not have time to reteach this concept in whole group tomorrow, and we have to move on to the next lesson."

I don't know why she's short on time, but I would say my daughter, and likely other kids, need more time practicing and learning the material to have the confidence to do the homework effectively. So the material is being taught in rapid succession and the kids are retaining only a portion of it and then it's on to the next lesson before they've mastered what they were learning in the first place.

But nice try trying to pin the blame on the parent, as always.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP, was your DD placed in Math 5 or Math 5/6?

Math 5.

[Anonymous]

There’s only so much individualized tailoring of the curriculum/speed at public school. It sounds like she doesn’t qualify for remediation. Some kids missed or didn’t fully absorb foundational concepts during the pandemic and it shows on the MAP scores. The best advice is to continue pursuing at home and/or with tutors. My son has similar math “stats” but is in 6th grade. His teacher suggested we use the MCPS-provided platform I-excel, which provides practice questions, sample Q&A, and instructional videos tailored to each kids’ MAP scores. In addition to assigned homework we require our son to spend an extra 20 minutes on I-excel a few times a week. I didn’t even know it existed till I requested a meeting with the teacher.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:There’s only so much individualized tailoring of the curriculum/speed at public school. It sounds like she doesn’t qualify for remediation. Some kids missed or didn’t fully absorb foundational concepts during the pandemic and it shows on the MAP scores. The best advice is to continue pursuing at home and/or with tutors. My son has similar math “stats” but is in 6th grade. His teacher suggested we use the MCPS-provided platform I-excel, which provides practice questions, sample Q&A, and instructional videos tailored to each kids’ MAP scores. In addition to assigned homework we require our son to spend an extra 20 minutes on I-excel a few times a week. I didn’t even know it existed till I requested a meeting with the teacher.

Yeah, I mean despite my gripes about having to pay for tutoring to support my daughter's math development, I can understand that. I just wish her teacher had leveled with me and told me as much, rather than downplaying the MAP scores and telling me my daughter is doing well.

I don't think she's a bad teacher. But it seems like the system just forces some unpleasant compromises that leave kids and teachers shortchanged. But I just I can't expect an MCPS employee to admit as much. Hence, why I thought I might get the real answer in an anonymous forum where teachers might feel more comfortable stating the truth.

[Anonymous]

I don’t understand what you want to hear. You are in public school. The evidence is she is she is at a level that is not concerning and would meet the criteria now. If you want her to improve than it’s on you. Otherwise get out of public school. I feel for her teacher with a parent like you. You aren’t special.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I don’t understand what you want to hear. You are in public school. The evidence is she is she is at a level that is not concerning and would meet the criteria now. If you want her to improve than it’s on you. Otherwise get out of public school. I feel for her teacher with a parent like you. You aren’t special.

Actually, that's not clear. As parents we are told of the importance of our kids being at or on grade level. She's below it, though slightly. So I'm responding exactly how the school district, which conducts the MAP tests and distributes the reports to parents, has instructed me to. It is the teacher, contrary to what MCPS says, who is telling me to disregard MAP.

If you're a teacher, I feel sorry for any parents or students who have to suffer with ridiculous superiority complex.