MCAP results are pretty bad

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:4th-grade teacher here. Observing the kids taking the MCAP earlier this year was a frustrating experience. They were taking the grade-level test that was inclusive of all material that we are teaching this year. For a kid to have met expectations or exceeded, they would have needed to learn the grade-level curriculum outside of school. If a child is reliant on school instruction (the great majority), there would be no way to be proficient in the material prior to being taught it. I don't understand why this wasn't explained to parents. MAP-M is a much better indicator of where your child is at now.

Reading is a lot easier to fake prior to instruction as kids can have comprehension of above-grade-level texts without needing direct instruction.

Thank you so much for your insights. I have a 4th-grader, though, and the report says that what was administered was the 3rd grade test. Was that the same at all schools? I was especially concerned because DC is in math 4/5 and doing fine, so I would not have expected the very low score that emerged (!).

I can't tell you what it was called as I don't remember, but looking around, every single question asked of the children was on grade level 4th grade. For example, knowing how to multiply large numbers, find equivalent fractions, divide numbers, etc... It was not covering 3rd-grade material as taught in Eureka. It will be interesting to see what the end of the year test entails.

My child was intitially given the 4th grade test but she actually pointed this out to the proctor, saying this was material she hadn't learned, and then took both section of the 3rd grade math test the next day. Is it possible the kids in your 4th grade class took the 4th grade test instead of the 3rd grade test?

The kids in my 4th grade class definitely took the 4th grade test. When I pointed it out to our test coordinator, I was told this was correct and just the way it was being done and the results were just going to be meaningless. My understanding was that all 4th graders took the 4th grade test that covered 4th grade material that they had yet to learn. If some 4th graders took the 4th grade test and some took the 3rd grade test, that makes these results even more meaningless than I already thought.

No, they were supposed to take the 3rd grade test. When my daughter pointed out they gave the wrong test, they made all the kids take both parts of the 3rd grade test on the next day. You should let central office know of the discrepancy.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Does it say on the score sheet what grade level test each child was given?

It does. My 4th grader’s results say 3rd grade test.

[Anonymous]

Why are there only three levels this time? In the past there have been five levels:
Level 5: Exceeded expectations
Level 4: Met expectations
Level 3: Approached expectations
Level 2: Partially met expectations
Level 1: Did not yet meet expectations
https://support.mdassessments.com/resources/reporting/MCAP2019ScoreInterpretationGuide.pdf

It looks like they collapsed levels 1, 2, and 3 into one. Why?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Why are there only three levels this time? In the past there have been five levels:
Level 5: Exceeded expectations
Level 4: Met expectations
Level 3: Approached expectations
Level 2: Partially met expectations
Level 1: Did not yet meet expectations
https://support.mdassessments.com/resources/reporting/MCAP2019ScoreInterpretationGuide.pdf

It looks like they collapsed levels 1, 2, and 3 into one. Why?

I don’t know but would guess lots and lots of 1 and 2 over 3 so did it so it doesn’t look so bad.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Why are there only three levels this time? In the past there have been five levels:
Level 5: Exceeded expectations
Level 4: Met expectations
Level 3: Approached expectations
Level 2: Partially met expectations
Level 1: Did not yet meet expectations
https://support.mdassessments.com/resources/reporting/MCAP2019ScoreInterpretationGuide.pdf

It looks like they collapsed levels 1, 2, and 3 into one. Why?

Previously, PARCC was administered. This was the first time they did MCAP, which allowed them to set levels at convenient levels. I mean come on - a zero is "Approaching expectations"? Ridiculous.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:4th-grade teacher here. Observing the kids taking the MCAP earlier this year was a frustrating experience. They were taking the grade-level test that was inclusive of all material that we are teaching this year. For a kid to have met expectations or exceeded, they would have needed to learn the grade-level curriculum outside of school. If a child is reliant on school instruction (the great majority), there would be no way to be proficient in the material prior to being taught it. I don't understand why this wasn't explained to parents. MAP-M is a much better indicator of where your child is at now.

Reading is a lot easier to fake prior to instruction as kids can have comprehension of above-grade-level texts without needing direct instruction.

Thank you so much for your insights. I have a 4th-grader, though, and the report says that what was administered was the 3rd grade test. Was that the same at all schools? I was especially concerned because DC is in math 4/5 and doing fine, so I would not have expected the very low score that emerged (!).

I can't tell you what it was called as I don't remember, but looking around, every single question asked of the children was on grade level 4th grade. For example, knowing how to multiply large numbers, find equivalent fractions, divide numbers, etc... It was not covering 3rd-grade material as taught in Eureka. It will be interesting to see what the end of the year test entails.

The sample mcap 3rd grade questions are on equivalent fractions, area perimeter, multiplication etc. all topics covered in 3rd grade.

[Anonymous]

Thinking of the math tests, yes to the above:

1. 4th graders were supposed to take the 3rd grade test.
2. The score report says "3rd grade" at the upper left.
3. Any score below "meets expectations" is coded as "approaching expectations." And the color bar for that section of the results line does indeed start at 0 (zero).

_Sample_ 3rd-grade math questions were definitely end-of-year 3rd-grade level, and most of them were multi-step to arrive at an answer that might have been typed in or might have been multiple choice. Some samples required showing work and even allowed drawing diagrams. Variety was definitely prioritized over consistency, too, which would have required the test-taker to change gears with pretty much every question.

The samples simply felt overdesigned to me (I teach, but not at this level): the kinds of things that are oh-so-clever and examine multiple concepts and techniques in a single elegant question or sequence; the kind of test that feels terrific to make up (this is a great way to assess this skill! how cool that this question works this way!) but tends not to work so well in the classroom. The samples weren't bad or anything, just rather baroque in their complexity.

A student who finds this kind of test-taking a sort of creative challenge might be able to do well, but I can understand why many (manifestly including my own DC, who fared _very_ poorly) might not. Multi-step questions in particular are a pitfall, especially when they are free-response: more opportunities to make a simple calculation mistake that will cost you the entire question.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Just received in the mail fall 2021's MCAP results.

MCAP = Maryland Comprehensive Assessment Program

It has a section called "How Students in Maryland Performed."

For Grade 4 level:

Math

Approached Expectations: 79%
Met Expectations: 12%
Exceeded Expectations: 9%

ELA

Approached Expectations: 77%
Met Expectations: 21%
Exceeded Expectations: 2%


Basically nearly 80% of Maryland's current 5th graders do not demonstrate grade level understanding.

Pathetic.

Back to the basics please. WIth a real time-tested K-8 curriculum. Just buy it from colonial England or something, this is terrible.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Just got the results. When people said that the vast majority “approached” expectations in MD, I thought that was a middle category. But “approached” means that the child could have scored a zero on the test; it is the lowest category. I will bet that was renamed from “did not meet expectations” because the percentage of students being in that category was so high. The results are truly terrible for MD; I’m curious what the breakdown for MCPS is—I suspect it’s not that different.

NO

Do you work in Central Office? Why are you posting misinformation?

I received the score report yesterday. A score of Zero counts as ‘Approaching Expectations’. Really, that category should be ‘Did Not Meet Expectations’.

Clearly approached expectations is a nicer way to say did not meet expectations. I think thats pretty obvious. No one wants to say or hear that 86% of 3rd graders did not meet expectations

Semantics are not going to save this piss poor performance.

[Anonymous]

Is mcap test only administrated for students grade 3 and above only?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Is mcap test only administrated for students grade 3 and above only?

Yes, although this year's 3rd graders have not yet taken it, since the early fall assessment was for the grade they completed last year and there's no 2nd grade MCAP. 3rd graders and up will take it again this spring.

[Anonymous]

My 8th graders results say "8th grade" in the corner of the test. Is the theory here that he was supposed to take the 7th grade test?

[Anonymous]

If these tests are simply a benchmark for the state, do they even affect our kids? If so how?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:If these tests are simply a benchmark for the state, do they even affect our kids? If so how?

Simple answer: NO

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My 8th graders results say "8th grade" in the corner of the test. Is the theory here that he was supposed to take the 7th grade test?

In the right corner it gives the current grade level and in the left corner it should say which test was given.