MCPS report cards -- how common is ES?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My kid got one ES in a special (forgot which one...bc these report cards are so silly...2.0 essentially makes grades meaningless).

I think that's the point. Elementary school (in this school of thought, not saying I agree or disagree) is to acquire skills and show that you acquired them. They need to learn the material. If it takes them 10 tries or 2 tries, they need to become "proficient." Once they have learned it, time to move to something else, or go deeper. It's a different mindset than in MS/HS, where students learn the matieral and then get graded on what they choose to do. In a perfect world in which all students learn everything they are taught, the grading system of MS/HS is really grading effort. The elementary school system with these report cards is showing what they have actually learned. The work study skills grades tell you about their effort, which is essentially they part the student has the most control over. That's what I immedaitely turn to now when report cards come home.

It made a heck of a lot mroe sense to me once I started looking at this way.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Mom of a K student. Got 1st report card. It tells me Nothing. There was no legend either. I had to ask what p stands for. Is this seriously what report cards will look like? I'm already not happy with the curriculum and how it's taught in my DD's school. The report card offered nothing in the way of seeing how she is really doing.

To me the grading is fine.. there is a legend on the back of the report card that I received so I can tell what P, I, ES and N stand for..

The main issue I think is what the actual categories mean. There is no way a parent can easily interpret what algebaric expressions or synthesis means. You might know or think you know but there should be some explanation as to what each "learning skill" consists of.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Mom of a K student. Got 1st report card. It tells me Nothing. There was no legend either. I had to ask what p stands for. Is this seriously what report cards will look like? I'm already not happy with the curriculum and how it's taught in my DD's school. The report card offered nothing in the way of seeing how she is really doing.

To me the grading is fine.. there is a legend on the back of the report card that I received so I can tell what P, I, ES and N stand for..

The main issue I think is what the actual categories mean. There is no way a parent can easily interpret what algebaric expressions or synthesis means. You might know or think you know but there should be some explanation as to what each "learning skill" consists of.

I agree. My 1st grader's only "I" was in "Reading - Literature" yet he was P in all the other reading categories and is reading at close to a 3rd grade level (according to the chart on the report card). So I don't really understand what his deficiency is because I don't know what "Reading - Literature" means.

[Anonymous]

This link has a lot of info about each individual item and what it means:

http://www.montgomeryschoolsmd.org/uploadedFiles/curriculum/integrated/EIC-Framework.pdf

[Anonymous]

5 ES last quarter, 5 this quarter. But none in math, despite the fact that due to being in Kumon he is waaaay ahead of the curriculum. Weird.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:5 ES last quarter, 5 this quarter. But none in math, despite the fact that due to being in Kumon he is waaaay ahead of the curriculum. Weird.

If grading is based on evens and odds and your child is doing geometry that is irrelevant. Child has to show "deeper understanding" on the area being covered

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:22:45 here - My ES in math kid tends to go crazy on math assignments...he does the basic work but then writes almost proofs or long explanations of what he's doing, spontaneously provides other examples, gives the teacher new problem sets on the back. He also uses much larger numbers than the worksheets might suggest, so if it is a simple thing on even and odds (just an example, this is something they did much earlier in the year), he will compare numbers in the millions or something with decimals, etc. He also does things with negative numbers, fractions, etc. He basically just challenges himself for fun on the worksheets.

Thats great and exactly what I think ES is intended to be... not just that everything was done correctly but that student went above and beyond what was asked for...

The problem I have with this model is that it is basically "what color am I thinking of?" Meaning, it is completely subjective and there is no direction given. You are asking a 3rd grader to imagine and then create what a teacher might want (but doesn't tell you in advance). That is asking an awful lot of a young child and asking for a level of precociousness that isn't, in and of itself, indicative of mastery of the subject matter.

Imagine if, at your job, your boss said "in order to get the highest performance assessment, you have to do something extraordinary but I won't tell you what that is." An adult would find this arbitrary and unsettling - why would a child not feel the same way?

Another problem with this model is that if most of the kids get a P (unless they read the teacher's mind, create problems on their own, solve them and describe them in a manner that pleases the teacher!), then most kids look exactly the same on paper. So, that tells me that, eventually, in order to differentiate kids, schools will HAVE TO rely on some standardized test. So by not differentiating kids in the classroom, aren't we creating a system where only the "good-standardized-test-takers" will be able to rise above. When I was in school, there were some kids who didn't do as well on standardized tests, but were amazing in the classroom, creative, etc., and the report card reflected all of that. Now, if the report card from the classroom doesn't say anything, we are - maybe inadvertently - making the standardized test the ONLY differentiating factor for these kids. Am I right?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Mom of a K student. Got 1st report card. It tells me Nothing. There was no legend either. I had to ask what p stands for. Is this seriously what report cards will look like? I'm already not happy with the curriculum and how it's taught in my DD's school. The report card offered nothing in the way of seeing how she is really doing.

To me the grading is fine.. there is a legend on the back of the report card that I received so I can tell what P, I, ES and N stand for..

The main issue I think is what the actual categories mean. There is no way a parent can easily interpret what algebaric expressions or synthesis means. You might know or think you know but there should be some explanation as to what each "learning skill" consists of.

I agree. My 1st grader's only "I" was in "Reading - Literature" yet he was P in all the other reading categories and is reading at close to a 3rd grade level (according to the chart on the report card). So I don't really understand what his deficiency is because I don't know what "Reading - Literature" means.

The I is probably related to his ability to respond in writing to written questions about the text. The reading shows you how well he can read. The grade shows you how well he can understand, synthesize and respond in writing to what he reads.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:This link has a lot of info about each individual item and what it means:

http://www.montgomeryschoolsmd.org/uploadedFiles/curriculum/integrated/EIC-Framework.pdf

Thanks thats helpful

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Mom of a K student. Got 1st report card. It tells me Nothing. There was no legend either. I had to ask what p stands for. Is this seriously what report cards will look like? I'm already not happy with the curriculum and how it's taught in my DD's school. The report card offered nothing in the way of seeing how she is really doing.

To me the grading is fine.. there is a legend on the back of the report card that I received so I can tell what P, I, ES and N stand for..

The main issue I think is what the actual categories mean. There is no way a parent can easily interpret what algebaric expressions or synthesis means. You might know or think you know but there should be some explanation as to what each "learning skill" consists of.

Doesn't your child ever bring home classwork or homework? I could tell by looking at DS's homework that they were working on algebraic thinking.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Mom of a K student. Got 1st report card. It tells me Nothing. There was no legend either. I had to ask what p stands for. Is this seriously what report cards will look like? I'm already not happy with the curriculum and how it's taught in my DD's school. The report card offered nothing in the way of seeing how she is really doing.

To me the grading is fine.. there is a legend on the back of the report card that I received so I can tell what P, I, ES and N stand for..

The main issue I think is what the actual categories mean. There is no way a parent can easily interpret what algebaric expressions or synthesis means. You might know or think you know but there should be some explanation as to what each "learning skill" consists of.

This is the PP. Then mine was lacking. I just checked. No legend on the back. Could my school have just left it out?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:22:45 here - My ES in math kid tends to go crazy on math assignments...he does the basic work but then writes almost proofs or long explanations of what he's doing, spontaneously provides other examples, gives the teacher new problem sets on the back. He also uses much larger numbers than the worksheets might suggest, so if it is a simple thing on even and odds (just an example, this is something they did much earlier in the year), he will compare numbers in the millions or something with decimals, etc. He also does things with negative numbers, fractions, etc. He basically just challenges himself for fun on the worksheets.

Thats great and exactly what I think ES is intended to be... not just that everything was done correctly but that student went above and beyond what was asked for...

The problem I have with this model is that it is basically "what color am I thinking of?" Meaning, it is completely subjective and there is no direction given. You are asking a 3rd grader to imagine and then create what a teacher might want (but doesn't tell you in advance). That is asking an awful lot of a young child and asking for a level of precociousness that isn't, in and of itself, indicative of mastery of the subject matter.

Imagine if, at your job, your boss said "in order to get the highest performance assessment, you have to do something extraordinary but I won't tell you what that is." An adult would find this arbitrary and unsettling - why would a child not feel the same way?

Another problem with this model is that if most of the kids get a P (unless they read the teacher's mind, create problems on their own, solve them and describe them in a manner that pleases the teacher!), then most kids look exactly the same on paper. So, that tells me that, eventually, in order to differentiate kids, schools will HAVE TO rely on some standardized test. So by not differentiating kids in the classroom, aren't we creating a system where only the "good-standardized-test-takers" will be able to rise above. When I was in school, there were some kids who didn't do as well on standardized tests, but were amazing in the classroom, creative, etc., and the report card reflected all of that. Now, if the report card from the classroom doesn't say anything, we are - maybe inadvertently - making the standardized test the ONLY differentiating factor for these kids. Am I right?

Why do you have a problem with it... It has no bearing on anything. As has been stated on here many times the goal is P thats what is being asked of the child. If your child through his own interest, motivation provides more thats WONDERFUL but not required.

And every job I've ever had evaluates personnel on behaviors/attitudes that are not specifically spelled out but what one just does because they have the ability.

Your last point I agree with on some level but I also think grades in the traditional sense are very misleading. There are people that get straight A's that are useless. They don't know how to create, improvise in ways that someone who just doesn't put in as much effort but gets B's might. When I was in school these people got overlooked...

I

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Mom of a K student. Got 1st report card. It tells me Nothing. There was no legend either. I had to ask what p stands for. Is this seriously what report cards will look like? I'm already not happy with the curriculum and how it's taught in my DD's school. The report card offered nothing in the way of seeing how she is really doing.

To me the grading is fine.. there is a legend on the back of the report card that I received so I can tell what P, I, ES and N stand for..

The main issue I think is what the actual categories mean. There is no way a parent can easily interpret what algebaric expressions or synthesis means. You might know or think you know but there should be some explanation as to what each "learning skill" consists of.

Doesn't your child ever bring home classwork or homework? I could tell by looking at DS's homework that they were working on algebraic thinking.

My child is in K so no there was not much algebraic thinking worksheets coming home. But my point was not what I can interpret my point is what the average parent can. It shouldn't be a huge leap to provide descriptions for the categories being graded on and parents shouldn't have to dig through the layers of the website to find it....

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Mom of a K student. Got 1st report card. It tells me Nothing. There was no legend either. I had to ask what p stands for. Is this seriously what report cards will look like? I'm already not happy with the curriculum and how it's taught in my DD's school. The report card offered nothing in the way of seeing how she is really doing.

To me the grading is fine.. there is a legend on the back of the report card that I received so I can tell what P, I, ES and N stand for..

The main issue I think is what the actual categories mean. There is no way a parent can easily interpret what algebaric expressions or synthesis means. You might know or think you know but there should be some explanation as to what each "learning skill" consists of.

Doesn't your child ever bring home classwork or homework? I could tell by looking at DS's homework that they were working on algebraic thinking.

My child is in K so no there was not much algebraic thinking worksheets coming home. But my point was not what I can interpret my point is what the average parent can. It shouldn't be a huge leap to provide descriptions for the categories being graded on and parents shouldn't have to dig through the layers of the website to find it....

But you don't have to dig through layers of the website to find out what your child's grade was based on. Just send the teacher an e-mail and ask. I am not a big fan of these report cards either, and I think the grading standards are varying widely across schools. But the value of the grade system and what they will mean in the longterm are separate questions from why an individual child received a particular grade. If parents don't understand why their children received a particular grade and what it is based on, the BOE can't help. the parent needs to ask the teacher.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:22:45 here - My ES in math kid tends to go crazy on math assignments...he does the basic work but then writes almost proofs or long explanations of what he's doing, spontaneously provides other examples, gives the teacher new problem sets on the back. He also uses much larger numbers than the worksheets might suggest, so if it is a simple thing on even and odds (just an example, this is something they did much earlier in the year), he will compare numbers in the millions or something with decimals, etc. He also does things with negative numbers, fractions, etc. He basically just challenges himself for fun on the worksheets.

Thats great and exactly what I think ES is intended to be... not just that everything was done correctly but that student went above and beyond what was asked for...

The problem I have with this model is that it is basically "what color am I thinking of?" Meaning, it is completely subjective and there is no direction given. You are asking a 3rd grader to imagine and then create what a teacher might want (but doesn't tell you in advance). That is asking an awful lot of a young child and asking for a level of precociousness that isn't, in and of itself, indicative of mastery of the subject matter.

Imagine if, at your job, your boss said "in order to get the highest performance assessment, you have to do something extraordinary but I won't tell you what that is." An adult would find this arbitrary and unsettling - why would a child not feel the same way?

Another problem with this model is that if most of the kids get a P (unless they read the teacher's mind, create problems on their own, solve them and describe them in a manner that pleases the teacher!), then most kids look exactly the same on paper. So, that tells me that, eventually, in order to differentiate kids, schools will HAVE TO rely on some standardized test. So by not differentiating kids in the classroom, aren't we creating a system where only the "good-standardized-test-takers" will be able to rise above. When I was in school, there were some kids who didn't do as well on standardized tests, but were amazing in the classroom, creative, etc., and the report card reflected all of that. Now, if the report card from the classroom doesn't say anything, we are - maybe inadvertently - making the standardized test the ONLY differentiating factor for these kids. Am I right?

Why do you have a problem with it... It has no bearing on anything. As has been stated on here many times the goal is P thats what is being asked of the child. If your child through his own interest, motivation provides more thats WONDERFUL but not required.

And every job I've ever had evaluates personnel on behaviors/attitudes that are not specifically spelled out but what one just does because they have the ability.

Your last point I agree with on some level but I also think grades in the traditional sense are very misleading. There are people that get straight A's that are useless. They don't know how to create, improvise in ways that someone who just doesn't put in as much effort but gets B's might. When I was in school these people got overlooked...

I

I agree with this for the most part.
I want to instill in my child a love of learning and to rise to her level of excellence...not trying to rise above everyone else.
I will agree it is 'more than a notion' to learn and try to understand the new grading system.
MCPS has to do a better job of explaining.
What does help is my school sends home data notebooks so you can track the work your kid is doing.
I just think this system requires a lot more communication between parents and teachers...
But I think a lot of folks need to understand...that grading has always been subjective...you grew up with and understand "A" "B", etc.
But if you think Miss Betty Sue in room 21 is grading EXACTLY the way Mr. Tommy Lee was grading in room 22 you are deluding yourself.
They may have used the same grades...but HOW they came to the grade your kid got may have been different...Tommy grades on a curve...and Miss Betty doesn't count homework...get it?