Do charters "teach to the test"

[Anonymous]

Dc prep seems to pride themselves on it, per my visits, but I don't have children there. The Montessori programs (charter and dcps) that i am familiar with do not teach to the test.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

As an "old" parent I can tell you our charter does not teach to the test, which is why we switched to it.

So let us understand here -- how do the children get the information and skills necessary to score proficient on the DCCAS in sufficient numbers for the school to stay operational?

If the school decided next year to stop teaching math for 36 months -- any math at all -- and spend those hours instead on sudoku or community service, and the kids predictably bombed the DCCAS, and the parents were all satisfied with this development because they value community service over math themselves .... what do you think would happen at higher levels?

Could this scenario continue indefinitely for 10, 15 years, where the school doesn't "teach" [any material that's on the math portion of] "the test," the parents are supportive, and the DCCAS Proficient scores slip under 10% Would the school retain its charter, in this extreme hypothetical scenario created to make a point?

It would not.

While I enjoy hyperbole as much as the next guy, this is just absurd. More to the point, the school would teach math as it always has and because (in theory) the school has done such a good job of teaching math, the children will do a good job on the test.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Dc prep seems to pride themselves on it, per my visits, but I don't have children there. The Montessori programs (charter and dcps) that i am familiar with do not teach to the test.

You're not familiar with Cap Hill Montessori then. The school offered "voluntary" Saturday test prep sessions this past school year, with the principal pledging to pay 3-figure bonuses to families of kids who made certain CAS "advanced" cut offs. I kid you not, ask around.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Dc prep seems to pride themselves on it, per my visits, but I don't have children there. The Montessori programs (charter and dcps) that i am familiar with do not teach to the test.

You're not familiar with Cap Hill Montessori then. The school offered "voluntary" Saturday test prep sessions this past school year, with the principal pledging to pay 3-figure bonuses to families of kids who made certain CAS "advanced" cut offs. I kid you not, ask around.

Although Montessori doesn't specifically "teach to the test," they also don't follow the children's interests like many of the more innovative charters (and DCPS) schools do. In Montessori, every child learns the same 100+ lessons over the course of a 3-4 year timespan. In more modern schools (Reggio, Tools of the Mind, etc), the teachers follow the interest of the children.