Update on Curriculum Selection Process

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:So what's the Pre-K - 5 plan for ELA?

According to the letter, we should find out in February.

Interesting that there’s a delay on that one. I remember one of the posters on an earlier thread who was an educator said that they weren’t impressed with the finalists chosen for this and that one of them wasn’t recommended for accreditation.

I think two were not recommended. Hoping they are re-bidding but doubt it!

Which K-5 ELA curriculum weren't recommended? If they had so many bids, it boggles the mind that they would choose two curriculum that were not recommended as semi-finalists.

Copied from the other thread:


Here is an email posted to a parent list serve. The parent is a public school curriculum professional. Based on her feedback, 4 of 5 programs are terrible for literacy but all are good for math.

Here is my recommendation on what to do about the curriculum selection.

I have about 100 opinions and have done a ton of research on these (and already know a bunch of them from my day job). Not sure how interested/involved you want to be but figured I'd share my two cents. For middle school it isn't quite as horrible. But 2/3 of the elementary choices are bad and one is mediocre, so if you are inclined to say/do anything, I'd suggest you click on the links for feedback put negative responses on the rating scale (literally three clicks).

Also, for the record, the math choices are all strong, so we have that going for us!

So, if you have five minutes, here's what I would do (before Dec. 9!). Click to provide feedback on "Wonders" and put in negative ratings (the open ended responses are optional, but you could add, if you want, "Ed Reports does not rate Wonders all green." I'd also likely put in mediocre (middle rating) feedback on Benchmark, and higher feedback on ReadyGen (that's our best bet and it is only slightly above mediocre, honestly). Here is the page for feedback links for each program:
MCPS Curriculum Review – Vendor Presentations webpage.

To put this in perspective, I think the program called "Wonders" they have listed here is on par with what I see in some of the lowest performing, weakest districts in the country; in fact, we'd be better in terms of curriculum sending our kids to Baltimore City Schools. Seriously their materials for reading and literacy are better and more rigorous. Some of these are actually programs I actively superintendents against using. Wonders is so low level and boring that I would seriously consider private school.

One of my main sources was an independent review consortium called Ed Reports (actually called out in the RFP from MoCo for curriculum). Both Wonders and Benchmark are not rated "all green" on their ratings. Just in case you wanted one of my back up sources! You can click here if you are so inclined.

Thanks for reposting. It's sad that MCPS had so many vendors bid and this was the best they could do.

[Anonymous]

Eureka Math is terrible.

School districts like this program bc it is free to download online

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Eureka Math is terrible.

School districts like this program bc it is free to download online

Has to be an improvement over C2.0.

[Anonymous]

People I know using Eureka Math like it. And agree with PP - it cannot be worse than 2.0.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Eureka Math is terrible.

School districts like this program bc it is free to download online

My nephews do it at private school. My brother and SIL don't love it and don't hate it. It spirals, but so many math curriculums do.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Eureka Math is terrible.

School districts like this program bc it is free to download online

My nephews do it at private school. My brother and SIL don't love it and don't hate it. It spirals, but so many math curriculums do.

Yep, a number of area private schools use it.

[Anonymous]

The second option (Ready Common Core) would have been much better. The materials are easier to follow for students, teachers and parents alike. Eureka Math is just a national version of C 2.0 - a non profit group of educators wrote it. Great.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The second option (Ready Common Core) would have been much better. The materials are easier to follow for students, teachers and parents alike. Eureka Math is just a national version of C 2.0 - a non profit group of educators wrote it. Great.

Ready Common Core is not great. A few MCPS schools who are struggling use it. It is meant for kids who are not meeting benchmarks and does very little for those who are on grade level or above. It's very slow moving, repetitious and involves almost no critical thinking. Easy for teachers, parents and students as each week follows the same exact format and structure, but BORING for students who get it the first time.

[Anonymous]

Here is the memorandum for Tuesday's BOE meeting. Topic 7, scheduled to be discussed at 1:15 pm.

https://www.boarddocs.com/mabe/mcpsmd/Board.nsf/files/B7YMEB5AA1B0/$file/Adopt%20Curriculum%20Instruct%20Materials%20190108.pdf

[Anonymous]

oh well. can't be worse than the current curriculum. the Pearson materials (circa 2002) that I've been getting sent home with my 1st grader are confusing and poorly designed.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:oh well. can't be worse than the current curriculum. the Pearson materials (circa 2002) that I've been getting sent home with my 1st grader are confusing and poorly designed.

Of course it can be worse.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This is very promising. All of those curricula are highly rated by Ed Reports. I'm also glad they're delaying selection of the Pk-5 ELA curricula, as the choices they had were subpar.

Of course, the real test is how well they train teachers on implementing these curricula, but at least they'll be working with well-regarded materials.

Now to get rid of those horrible Chromebooks!

Did you look up studysync? It's all about being "connected."

#studentrobots

It looks like there are printed materials available!



"For schools in digital transition, print materials to use in conjunction with your digital subscription include:

Student Reading and Writing Companion, a print consumable of all core instructional assignments
Teacher Edition Print Companion, a resource with print versions of lessons, grammar and vocabulary worksheets, pacing guides, and other supports for effective management"

https://www.mheducation.com/prek-12/program/studysync-ela2015/studysync.html?page=1&sortby=title&order=asc&bu=seg

[Anonymous]

Powerpoint from yesterday's meeting has some helpful details: https://www.boarddocs.com/mabe/mcpsmd/Board.nsf/files/B89S955AB4C6/$file/Adopt%20Curriculum%20Instruct%20Materials%20190108%20PPT.pdf

[Anonymous]

So anyone know what the final verdict on the elementary school and middle school choices?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:So anyone know what the final verdict on the elementary school and middle school choices?

WHEREAS, Based on the outcome of the curriculum selection process, the superintendent
of schools recommends the purchase of the following curricular and instructional materials:
? Grades prekindergarten through Grade 5 Mathematics: Eureka Math by Great Minds, LLC
? Grades 6, 7, and 8 English Language Arts: StudySync by McGraw-Hill Education, Inc.
? Grades 6, 7, and 8 Mathematics: Illustrative Mathematics by LearnZillion, Inc.

(They are still deciding on the preK-5 ELA curriculum.)