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

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

And yes, one can be bright and still need to retest to work on showing all work -- and preventing careless mistakes. Also, I have high expectations and pushed her to seek a retake to learn early on what's expected on school tests so that those kinds of mistakes are not made again. And they have not. Surely you can't disagree with that strategy, seeing as you want to see past assessments for the same reason, yes?

Yes, I agree with you. Retaking a test can be an excellent learning experience.

What I don't understand is why you think it hurts a student to have all graded exams returned home. You quoted a teacher as saying that the retest process is "meant to be burdensome." Certainly the school does not have the resources to have more than a small fraction of students retake a test. You are fortunate that your child has mastered the art of test taking (at least through the first 4 weeks of school) after one retest experience. What about students who are struggling in the class -- getting Cs or lower on their tests but not able to see their marked-up tests without making an appointment with the teacher?
Even for those doing well in class, the graded tests can be a valuable resource at home. I always found that, following summer vacation, going through my old tests was an excellent review for a new year. (Most classes are cumulative, relying on a solid understanding of the previous year's work.)
Both the retest process and studying grading exams at home are valuable learning tools. There is no need for them to be mutually exclusive.

You put words into my mouth. Never said it "hurts" a student to have all graded exams returned home. I'm just not that upset that some tests are not returned for my child's unlimited use and retesting, in large part because my kid has ample opportunity to improve and learn from the school formatives that she CAN take home and retake. If she didn't do that, and didn't do well on subsequent assessments, then that's on her. Would it be even more helpful if she could take the county assessments home and get to retake them too? Sure, just as it would be nice to have do-overs and unlimited opportunities to reassess everything else in our lives, in the comfort of our own homes and with the benefit of our parents' counsel. But we don't.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote: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?

No, you have it backwards.

I can see the tests if I schedule an appointment so I am kinda okay with that, but I do not like the retesting policy. You either study or you don't. And this 15% curve they gave for the final algebra exam last year is insane. Seriously, how bad are these teachers that they can not teach the requirements correctly? The system and grading is so flawed. It is nearly impossible to fail a class. And if my child works hard on time to study and prepare for a test how does another student who didn't but gets a redo allowed the same grade? If they only want kids to understand and who cares about grades, then why grade to begin with?

agreed! If my child works their butt off on time and gets A's why are other kids being allowed to retake tests to up their grade to the same as others got initially. Final grades look the same.

Then you should be glad there are no retakes allowed on any of the county assessments. That should separate the wheat from the chaff.

[Anonymous]

Well, the second formative in 7th grade math is this week. I have no idea whether this one will be a county formative or school-based one. The first one was a county formative, so can't use that to help prepare since it didn't come home. And it's all the same topic. What a shame. Stupid system.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:my kid has ample opportunity to improve and learn from the school formatives that she CAN take home and retake.

So you would agree that having county formatives (as we do at Hoover), which cannot be taken home, is completely unacceptable?

[Anonymous]

What s a formative?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:What s a formative?

I thought I knew the answer to this (discussed earlier in this thread) but the MCPS website has left me totally confused

http://www.montgomeryschoolsmd.org/departments/techlit/docs/pd/Module%20IV/Formative%20and%20Summative%20Data%20Definitions.doc

This makes it sound like summatives are not used for grades

[Anonymous]

Anonymous I'm just not that upset that some tests are not returned for my child's unlimited use and retesting [/quote wrote:

There should never be any retesting. If you do poorly, then try to do better on the next test.

But for years school have been returning graded test for a child's "unlimited use" . Do you think it would be horrible if a child used a test to review past work.
(What else do you think a child would use a past test for?)

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote: Do you think it would be horrible if a child used a test to review past work.
(What else do you think a child would use a past test for?)

Well apparently MCPS things a child would sell it on the black market. Maybe EBay?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Well, the second formative in 7th grade math is this week. I have no idea whether this one will be a county formative or school-based one. The first one was a county formative, so can't use that to help prepare since it didn't come home. And it's all the same topic. What a shame. Stupid system.

Why don't you use the study guide from the teacher to study for the test?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote: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?

No, you have it backwards.

I can see the tests if I schedule an appointment so I am kinda okay with that, but I do not like the retesting policy. You either study or you don't. And this 15% curve they gave for the final algebra exam last year is insane. Seriously, how bad are these teachers that they can not teach the requirements correctly? The system and grading is so flawed. It is nearly impossible to fail a class. And if my child works hard on time to study and prepare for a test how does another student who didn't but gets a redo allowed the same grade? If they only want kids to understand and who cares about grades, then why grade to begin with?

agreed! If my child works their butt off on time and gets A's why are other kids being allowed to retake tests to up their grade to the same as others got initially. Final grades look the same.

Then you should be glad there are no retakes allowed on any of the county assessments. That should separate the wheat from the chaff.

It does. Which is why there are high failure rates but kids still pass so what is the big deal?? No child gets left behind truly means just that. If you suck, we will still give you a good grade and make sure you graduate.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What s a formative?

I thought I knew the answer to this (discussed earlier in this thread) but the MCPS website has left me totally confused

http://www.montgomeryschoolsmd.org/departments/techlit/docs/pd/Module%20IV/Formative%20and%20Summative%20Data%20Definitions.doc

This makes it sound like summatives are not used for grades

They need to get lost. Just call the dam thing a quiz. What they do with it is their business.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:
Why don't you use the study guide from the teacher to study for the test?

We do. But most subjects are cumulative and build on the results of earlier work tested in the previous exam. If we can't see the previous exam and analyze the mistakes, we lack an essential tool for preparing for the next exam.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Well, the second formative in 7th grade math is this week. I have no idea whether this one will be a county formative or school-based one. The first one was a county formative, so can't use that to help prepare since it didn't come home. And it's all the same topic. What a shame. Stupid system.

Why don't you use the study guide from the teacher to study for the test?

Not all teachers give study guides. They do help kids to focus when studying but it is not required for teachers to give one to students.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What s a formative?

I thought I knew the answer to this (discussed earlier in this thread) but the MCPS website has left me totally confused

http://www.montgomeryschoolsmd.org/departments/techlit/docs/pd/Module%20IV/Formative%20and%20Summative%20Data%20Definitions.doc

This makes it sound like summatives are not used for grades

They need to get lost. Just call the dam thing a quiz. What they do with it is their business.

A formative sure doesn't seem like a quiz. There is a study guide several pages long to study. It takes the whole hour to take the formative. The quizzes we get back are much shorter. The formative is worth a lot more points than a quiz.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Well, the second formative in 7th grade math is this week. I have no idea whether this one will be a county formative or school-based one. The first one was a county formative, so can't use that to help prepare since it didn't come home. And it's all the same topic. What a shame. Stupid system.

Why don't you use the study guide from the teacher to study for the test?

We do. But having seen other formatives and how they throw in problems that haven't been practices in homework, it's best to practice all kinds of problems. The study guide didn't reflect some of the problems my kid had difficulty with and I'd really like to know how he did on those types of problems on the last formative. But since I haven't seen it I don't know. And he is not studying independently as a high school or college student would. So I want all the tools I can get to cover the material.