MCPS policy on not returning quizzes, tests and exams to students

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I am the paranoid PP. My kid is not in the Whitman cluster.

Yeah, if you are so paranoid that you think you would be identified by even saying which cluster, then I just don't trust your judgment. Or believe you.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

We did have more or less the same experience with more than one feeder elementary for Pyle/Whitman. Some teachers were more helpful than others. The elementary schools are far smaller than Pyle so I don't want to say where, esp. because the combinationof elementary schools would identify us.

Aw, PP. Now they won't believe you either.

Funny. After I posted something my child said about the Pyle policy on tests, I was accused of quoting my imaginary child. There is no pleasing people who want to believe what they want to believe.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

My kid says she is told ahead of time what kind of test it will be because school tests can be retaken -- county tests can not. The retest process is kind of cool because it gives the kid a chance to correct dumb mistakes, figure out something that wasn't understood, or just try for an improved score. My kid retook a rest and the process was completely transparent to me. Actually, my participation was required.

I am often critical of MCPS but this retest process seems like a large burden on the teachers. When do the students retake the test? Presumably it is not during class time. The participation of the parents is required? This seems like a large burden on parents who cannot get off from work. I am trying to imagine a class of 25 and say 10 students want to retake the test. Does the teacher hold 10 separate sessions with each student to go over the initial test (since the test cannot be taken home)? And she needs to do this for each of her classes? It is hard for me to imagine that this is standard procedure in MCPS but perhaps I am wrong.

Retaking tests is NOT standard procedure and I think this is a HUGE issue. Talk about the achievement gap - well, if kids at Pyle are allowed to retake tests, why couldn't the principal at our middle school acknowledge that kids could retake tests when I asked at an open house? Does this apply to high school credit courses that the kids are taking in middle school, or just "regular honors/advanced" classes?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Thank you! I have a sixth-grader, and this is all new to me.

Get used to feeling like this. MCPS likes it this way. The less you know, the better

That has not been my experience in MCPS at all, and my sixth-grader has been in MCPS since kindergarten. There is a lot of information on line, and my child's teachers have always been very willing to answer questions.

Ditto. We are awash in information, both online and on paper (I posted the Pyle retake policy earlier), and we have had excellent feedback and responsiveness from teachers. What people are claiming to be an MCPS policy of excluding parents is more likely a difference in teachers and school administrators.

Yes, apparently the real estate premium for Pyle/Whitman is worth it. Signed, the dumb schmuck paying private school tuition in another cluster

[Anonymous]

Retaking tests is NOT standard procedure and I think this is a HUGE issue. Talk about the achievement gap - well, if kids at Pyle are allowed to retake tests, why couldn't the principal at our middle school acknowledge that kids could retake tests when I asked at an open house? Does this apply to high school credit courses that the kids are taking in middle school, or just "regular honors/advanced" classes?

As far as I know this is a county wide policy. My children have been allowed retakes starting in MS and continuing through HS. Interestingly a friend has a son in VA. They are not allowed retakes but they are given extra credit which is not allowed at MCPS. He just got extra credit for donating hand sanitizer to his teacher. I think retakes are a better idea.

[Anonymous]

PP again. We are not in a W cluster!

[Anonymous]

My child has never been offered to retake a test and honestly, I don't agree with that type of policy at all. Just another backdoor way of getting kids that don't truly understand to pass.

[Anonymous]

It is not the same test. If they do not truley understadn they would not pass the second time. The theory is that it is important for kids to understand a concept...lets say multiplying by exponents. It does not matter if you understand it on Monday or if you need some extra review after failing the quiz but by Friday you undestand. I think it encourages additional learning rather than just saying Oh well and moving on to the next topic.

[Anonymous]

My child has never been offered to retake a test and honestly, I don't agree with that type of policy at all. Just another backdoor way of getting kids that don't truly understand to pass.

It depends on how you orchestrate it. If a child takes a test, fails it, and then just moves on..they never master the material. One shot, too bad, move along, who cares. This isn't teaching or learning.

If you use assessments as a learning tool, you can motivate a child to learn the material and help them take responsibility for their own academic outcomes. You also put forward the ethic that even if you fail you can overcome this with hard work.

This doesn't mean you randomly give tests over and over again until the kid guesses the correct answer. You give frequent tests and send them back to the students. You require the students to return the graded tests and correct the wrong answers or they get more points off the test. If they scored below a certain level, you require that they complete a pre-test study guide, submit it and then re-take the test.

This approach can bring students in the middle up significantly, if you care about the kids in the middle.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

My child has never been offered to retake a test and honestly, I don't agree with that type of policy at all. Just another backdoor way of getting kids that don't truly understand to pass.

It depends on how you orchestrate it. If a child takes a test, fails it, and then just moves on..they never master the material. One shot, too bad, move along, who cares. This isn't teaching or learning.

If you use assessments as a learning tool, you can motivate a child to learn the material and help them take responsibility for their own academic outcomes. You also put forward the ethic that even if you fail you can overcome this with hard work.

This doesn't mean you randomly give tests over and over again until the kid guesses the correct answer. You give frequent tests and send them back to the students. You require the students to return the graded tests and correct the wrong answers or they get more points off the test. If they scored below a certain level, you require that they complete a pre-test study guide, submit it and then re-take the test.

This approach can bring students in the middle up significantly, if you care about the kids in the middle.

But they aren't allowed to take the tests home, so your point makes no sense. We went in with one test and we couldn't even write the problems down in the class to try. It was an awful experience for my child. Maybe you are in a middle school that does all this. Sounds like Pyle does. We are at JW and it has been a really bad middle school experience. I have never even heard of retaking tests. Never an option that was given.

[Anonymous]

Tests not coming home is completely unacceptable.

1. Students can not learn from their mistakes.
2. Students do not have access to previous tests to study for subsequent cumulative tests.
3. There is no way to address grading mistakes. As a professor, I made mistakes from time to time and I am very detailed oriented. There is no way that teachers in MCPS do not make mistakes.
4. Its harmful to students with learning disabilities who may understand the content but struggle with certain aspects of a question or skill. Test analysis for LD kids is critical in determining strategies and approaches to address the problem. It can be hidden by an average score.
5. Its not legal. FERPA protects students by providing them the right to all educational records.
6. It leads to lazy assessments. Tests and assessments should be changed not reused year after year after year.

[Anonymous]

We are at JW and it has been a really bad middle school experience. I have never even heard of retaking tests. Never an option that was given.

Did you go to back to school night at JW? I heard about it from virtually every teacher!

[Anonymous]

I have had 2 children at JW. Their teachers have made the policy on retakes quite clear both to the kids and parents. I think it can be a valuable teaching tool...also lots of extra work for the teachers.

[Anonymous]

So let me get this straight. MCPS doesn't return tests but they let kids retake them for higher grades? Am I the only one who thinks this is ass-backwards?

[Anonymous]

They prepare review packets. They return tests. They review the answers with students. They do not let students keep a copy of the test. They are available for additional review and reteaching outside of class. If a student needs to do additional review they have the same resources they did the first time around.