The list is out: VA schools not cutting it under No Child Left Behind

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

I was surprised Kenmore MS was on the list

.

That surprises me, too.

Looking through the numbers, it seems that the elementary schools that feed into Kenmore are doing well. Is there some influx of ESOL in middle school?

That is got the warning is disturbing.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

I was surprised Kenmore MS was on the list

.

That surprises me, too.

Looking through the numbers, it seems that the elementary schools that feed into Kenmore are doing well. Is there some influx of ESOL in middle school?

That is got the warning is disturbing.

huh?

[Anonymous]

Does anyone have the information of how the SOLs were developed, how they were tested, and how they were validated before they were used in the classroom?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

I was surprised Kenmore MS was on the list

.

That surprises me, too.

Looking through the numbers, it seems that the elementary schools that feed into Kenmore are doing well. Is there some influx of ESOL in middle school?

That is got the warning is disturbing.

huh?

Pretty sure PP meant "That it got the warning is disturbing."

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My daughter's school is improving in reading and math among the Limited English Proficient and financially disadvantaged with the exception of fourth grade reading, which seems to be in a free fall. Fourth grade boys overall also in a free fall for reading.What happens in fourth grade?

The test became more rigorous.

Can someone say more about the test becoming more rigorous? When? I am looking at the scores over the past two years for four Alexandria elementaries.

I noted some lowish math scores for 4th graders in 2012/13. But the same group of kids had higher scores for the 5th grade results in 2013/14 and the 4th graders at the same schools had higher scores for 2013/14.

Also, can someone explain why the elementaries have 6th grade scores for Math and VA studies? These schools only go up to 5th grade -- obvioulsy I am missing something.

Finally, if anyone has some advice for what to look for when studying these school report cards, please share.

My approach has been to study the scores for the demographic profile my child fits in. I want and expect my child to get pass ADV scores, so I am looking for what percentage of the students are succeeding at that level, not just the pass score.

[Anonymous]

I wish there was a category for helicopter/tiger parent. Not to be snarky, but it would be interesting to see if there's a correlation, regardless of race or income.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My daughter's school is improving in reading and math among the Limited English Proficient and financially disadvantaged with the exception of fourth grade reading, which seems to be in a free fall. Fourth grade boys overall also in a free fall for reading.What happens in fourth grade?

The test became more rigorous.

Can someone say more about the test becoming more rigorous? When? I am looking at the scores over the past two years for four Alexandria elementaries.

I noted some lowish math scores for 4th graders in 2012/13. But the same group of kids had higher scores for the 5th grade results in 2013/14 and the 4th graders at the same schools had higher scores for 2013/14.

Also, can someone explain why the elementaries have 6th grade scores for Math and VA studies? These schools only go up to 5th grade -- obvioulsy I am missing something.

Finally, if anyone has some advice for what to look for when studying these school report cards, please share.

My approach has been to study the scores for the demographic profile my child fits in. I want and expect my child to get pass ADV scores, so I am looking for what percentage of the students are succeeding at that level, not just the pass score.

The Math SOL changed in 2012/13 and scores dropped across the board that year. As far as approach: Personally, I look primarily at how low-income, Latino, and ESL kids do because those three categories are ones that have struggled the most at our school and I've invested a lot of time specifically working with kids in those categories to improve academically. I was heartened by the drastic improvements in math scores but concerned about the drop or subpar performance in reading in fourth grade. I think that having a peaceful home and access to books at home may be a factor. I am encouraged that those subgroups improve in reading in the fifth grade, however.

[Anonymous]

Our elementary, middle and high schools are accredited.

[Anonymous]

Does anyone know if the recent wave of undocumented children have to take the tests

[Anonymous]

This has to do with the gap between different groups, so any school with a very diverse socio-economic population might run into trouble with the way they are measuring this.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My daughter's school is improving in reading and math among the Limited English Proficient and financially disadvantaged with the exception of fourth grade reading, which seems to be in a free fall. Fourth grade boys overall also in a free fall for reading.What happens in fourth grade?

The test became more rigorous.

Can someone say more about the test becoming more rigorous? When? I am looking at the scores over the past two years for four Alexandria elementaries.

I noted some lowish math scores for 4th graders in 2012/13. But the same group of kids had higher scores for the 5th grade results in 2013/14 and the 4th graders at the same schools had higher scores for 2013/14.

Also, can someone explain why the elementaries have 6th grade scores for Math and VA studies? These schools only go up to 5th grade -- obvioulsy I am missing something.

Finally, if anyone has some advice for what to look for when studying these school report cards, please share.

My approach has been to study the scores for the demographic profile my child fits in. I want and expect my child to get pass ADV scores, so I am looking for what percentage of the students are succeeding at that level, not just the pass score.

When the math tests became more rigorous, the scores dropped. Then they started to rebound. The reading tests then went through changes. I expect scores will also rebound as students moving up to those grades are better prepared for this testing.

http://commweb.fcps.edu/newsreleases/newsrelease.cfm?newsid=2600

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Does anyone know if the recent wave of undocumented children have to take the tests

Any student who is new to the US after May 30 is exempt from the Reading test for the following spring. This exemption only applies to Reading. For math, everyone takes it regardless of whether you speak English, whether you've been in the US your whole life or whether you just got here. If a kid shows up a week before the SOL, he/she has to sit for the math test.


Yeah, it makes no sense. A kid who doesn't speak a word of English is expected to understand math word problems.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Does anyone know if the recent wave of undocumented children have to take the tests

Any student who is new to the US after May 30 is exempt from the Reading test for the following spring. This exemption only applies to Reading. For math, everyone takes it regardless of whether you speak English, whether you've been in the US your whole life or whether you just got here. If a kid shows up a week before the SOL, he/she has to sit for the math test.


Yeah, it makes no sense. A kid who doesn't speak a word of English is expected to understand math word problems.

Math is the universal language, or is that love

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Does anyone know if the recent wave of undocumented children have to take the tests

Any student who is new to the US after May 30 is exempt from the Reading test for the following spring. This exemption only applies to Reading. For math, everyone takes it regardless of whether you speak English, whether you've been in the US your whole life or whether you just got here. If a kid shows up a week before the SOL, he/she has to sit for the math test.


Yeah, it makes no sense. A kid who doesn't speak a word of English is expected to understand math word problems.

Math is the universal language, or is that love

It's love.

[Anonymous]

Wow, for those schools that have minority students, the score differences are striking within the school.