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Montgomery County Public Schools (MCPS)
Montgomery county parents - did we make a mistake?
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Anonymous
| What is it about worksheets and test prep that have many parents up in arms? My kid does worksheets in Pre-K extended day program and really enjoys them. It's not all he does, goodness knows, he's outdoors about 2-3 hours a day, and there's lots of other stuff they are doing, but, yes, they are doing worksheets and packets. He enjoys it, we don't mind sitting with him to help him on them - what's the big deal? |
Anonymous
Because it is a waste of time and most kids aren't actually learning much from them. It gets to be a very big deal when your kid is older and bringing home over an hour of busywork a night...just to "prepare" for a test that they would do well on anyway. |
Anonymous
and why would kids do well on the test anyway? Because they have been taught well? |
Anonymous
The MSA covers basic concepts. Most kids do fine because they have been taught the basics. It is ridiculous to expect all kids to do the same amount of test prep. I can only speak for my ES but here, all kids, whether GT or not, get the same huge MSA packets that must be completed every week. They also have practice tests. This goes on from December until March. If they were actually learning something, it would be a different story. For kids who already know the material, it is time consuming busywork. |
Anonymous
| And even for kids who don't do well on the tests doing a lot of worksheets is rarely the way to learn material in a deep, meaningful, long-lasting fashion. |
Anonymous
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If the kids do not finish these packets they take what little recess they have away from them. Montgomery County is going to end up with a bunch of overweight people who can answer basic questions.
The admin puts alot of pressure on kids to do all this stuff which is bad. Even for kids who do not mind doing all the busywork, this is time that they could be spending doing science, art, music, physical activity, or learning actual analytical and critical thinking skills. |
Anonymous
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It's not just about worksheets or packets either. It's about what gets pushed aside to make room for teaching to the test. The 4th grade MSA only tests math and reading so DCs teacher has pretty much skipped science for the past four months. DC loves science.
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Anonymous
| What can parents do about this? (Besides move). |
Anonymous
To me the big deal is the low level content of the work they are doing. Here's a sample of the fourth grade MSA Coach workbook -- typical test prep stuff. http://www.triumphlearning.com/Pages/articles/89MD_readsampl.pdf |
Anonymous
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Here's a sample MSA Jumpstart test prep book, again fourth grade reading:
http://www.triumphlearning.com/parts/articles/101MD_sample.pdf One week of this stuff; OK, I get it. But months of this stuff, what's the point, if you already have a kid who is a good reader? |
Anonymous
MCPS teacher here...Please keep in mind that we, the classroom teachers, are told by the administration what we should be doing with the kids in the weeks prior to MSA testing. For example, in the area of math, we are provided with MCPS indicators that will be assessed on the state tests. One way to review for the material/indicators is to go over many of the questions on the formative assessments. Also keep in mind that with regards to testing, the calendar year is March to March. This means that your 3rd, 4th, or 5th grade child will be tested on material that may not be formally taught until the last marking period (April - June). So for example, your child may be expected to know how to measure an object to the nearest 1/4", but the math unit that includes measurement may be the last unit of the year (May - June). Something else to think about is the kid who works and is instructed above-grade-level in the area of math. Yes, these children have strong math skills and for the most part pick up and retain concepts easily. However, many of these kids have been pushed into above-grade-level classes and have missed some grade-level objectives. Quite a few of my students who work two years above-grade-level in math had no idea how to calculate the median, mode, and range of data displayed on a line plot on a practice test administered in recent weeks. These are 4th grade math objectives that will show up on the state tests. One child was quite frustrated by this and firmly told me that she had never been taught how to do these types of calculations. The practice tests are reviewed in class so that the children can see the mistakes they made. As for reading, classroom teachers are likely reviewing how to thoroughly respond to generic questions that can be applied to many texts. For example, your child may be asked to respond to a question like, "How does (name of character) change from the beginning to the end of the story. Use evidence from the text to support your answer." Your MCPS child is likely spending time these days reading multiple texts and writing and rewriting BCRs to improve the quality of their written responses. Please keep in mind that the classroom teachers would like to be spending more quality time on science investigations and the like, but we must do as we are told and that means more test prep for about another two weeks. |
Anonymous
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Thanks to the teacher for posting. This is absolutely the point - all the teachers I have encountered in Moco are absolutely wonderful-dynamic, creative and highly committed to children. Test prep, as other posters have mentioned, doesn't allow teachers the freedom to encourage more creative, critical and conceptual learning and children are denied this when the focus is on test prep.
I really would be interested to know what it is that can be done about this - it seems a motivated group of parents and teachers would be the key ingredient to developing better ideas and pushing for a better system. The movement towards testing and test prep has gone overboard. There is a place for it, but causing teachers to skip science for 4 months and wasting children's time on worksheets and test prep materials are big costs that will impact the future. Our children should be encouraged to invent, create, think critically - these are the ingredients for success and this applies to all subjects including math and reading. |
Anonymous
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What age does all this test prep begin? To the MoCo teachers, how does this effect K and 1st grade students. Right now it's sounding pretty bad, so someone please tell me that my smart, happy, inquisitive, energetic 4 year old will be a smart, happy, inquisitive, energetic 5 year old Kingergartener in a MoCo school a year and half form now!
Is this county really that stifling? The kids are okay, yes? |
Anonymous
Obviously you're not from within the system. I speak from experience. Furthermore, you supported my claim that there is NO true quality control in Mo Co. Just read your last statement. If Mo Co had true quality control, BCC (which really isn't so hot) would not be "superior" to many of the downcounty schools. Why do you think we have a "red zone?" oh yeah - true equity . . . |
Anonymous
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I tutor a boy in fourth grade who is in MD public school. He's learning to decode words with -tion, -sion endings. One word today was declaration. He tried to sound it out and said "declare -uh -shun" I helped him figure it out.
Then I prompted, "You know, like the Declaration ... of..." and waited for him to say..."Independence". Nothing. "When the 13 colonies said that they wanted to be free from Britain..." He had no clue what I was talking about. The big war we fought between Britain and the American colonies to gain our independence? He knew that -- World War...II! When will the MSA test history??? He can't read, but he actually is familiar with some science terms and concepts because those are being tested now in fifthe grade. History, not so much. |