2017-2018 PARCC results

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:SWS is killing it.

No, Ross is K.I.L.L.I.N.G it!!!

And I’m not a Ross parent. I just believe that credit should be given where it’s due.

The school's performance on ELA is especially remarkable to me given how many English language learners there are at the school. A very significant percentage of the student population seems to come from World Bank and foreign service families. The number of foreign languages that kids speak with the parents at pick up time is striking, as is the number of kids who have started at the school speaking no English at all. I think because Ross is so small, there is a sense among the principal and teaching staff that the success of every single child matters. I see at lot of individualized intervention there, and not just for kids that need to be brought up to grade level.

There are English language learners and the ones at Ross are from UMC families with PhDs. These kids regardless of ethnicity will learn anywhere. We're not talking about English language learners who are the children of illiterate illegals here.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:So where is the achievement gap below 40 or 50%?

At Oyster-Adams, the black/white achievement gap in ELA is 12%; however it’s 32% in math.

There is essentially no black/white achievement gap at Ross: 4% in ELA and 0% in Math. DCPS needs to bottle and replicate whatever is going on at Ross!

High income is whats going on at Ross. How many poor/at risk black kids are at Ross?

There are some high income families at Ross, but there are also a lot of middle income students and students from single parent homes living in cramped apartments, plus some students from less expensive EOTP neighborhoods who lotteried in before Ross became so competitive. From what I can tell, Ross parents tend to be well-educated and highly engaged in their kids' lives, but I wouldn't describe the typical families there as wealthy by DC standards. The lack of racial achievement gap there has to be attributable to something else, or maybe the sample size is too small to mean anything other than the fact that the Black kids who were tested did well.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:SWS is killing it.

No, Ross is K.I.L.L.I.N.G it!!!

And I’m not a Ross parent. I just believe that credit should be given where it’s due.

The school's performance on ELA is especially remarkable to me given how many English language learners there are at the school. A very significant percentage of the student population seems to come from World Bank and foreign service families. The number of foreign languages that kids speak with the parents at pick up time is striking, as is the number of kids who have started at the school speaking no English at all. I think because Ross is so small, there is a sense among the principal and teaching staff that the success of every single child matters. I see at lot of individualized intervention there, and not just for kids that need to be brought up to grade level.

There are English language learners and the ones at Ross are from UMC families with PhDs. These kids regardless of ethnicity will learn anywhere. We're not talking about English language learners who are the children of illiterate illegals here.

Prior poster here. I completely agree with the fact that the Ross ELL population comes from highly educated families, in contrast to the ELL population in certain other parts of the city. I don't know that Ross ELL students are UMC by DC standards--many of these families are public service or professor or non-profit types--but it is absolutely true that the typical ELL student at Ross is not the child of a poor or illiterate immigrant family who is struggling to get by. It's a relatively sophisticated, international crowd. To my mind, that does not diminish Ross' skill in taking students where they are and effectively differentiating instruction in the classroom, especially given that many of these students only attend Ross for a couple of years before the family is moved home or to another country.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Yes but they are not any less upper income than the AA population at Ross which is the point. What are you trying to contest? That’s Ross has richer black kids and that’s why they perform as well as their white peers? Or that Janney has lower middle class (not low enough to qualify for FARM) AA than Ross and that’s why they suck with the 36 black kids they do have? I know one thing, as a black mom of a black boy, if I had my choice, I would not enroll my kid at Janney. Also, I know about 20 families at Janney. 4 black, 1 interracial, and 5 white. 3 of the 4 Black are head and shoulders more wealthy with more prestigious careers. But you keep assuming all the black kids at Janney come from households making a modest $70k.

PP here and I am simply wondering why Ross in particular has AA scores higher than comparable schools. Do you really think Ross is doing something so specific and impactful and different from Janney etc. that it increases scores that much in AA students compared to other schools? Rather than perhaps a more likely explanation, like SES differences or random fluctuations in scores? If so, all I can say is that you have more faith in the system than I do, from one black parent to another.

Ross is tiny, for one thing. There are like twelve kids in the fifth grade. As kids leave, the school does not backfill, so lots of fifth graders have been there all along vs. entering later.

And my own personal theory--Ross contains an above-average proportion of only/oldest children. It's very common that a family who lives IB sends their first kid there, but when they have a second kid, they want more space, so they move out of the catchment. So small classes full of the oldest children of educated, involved parents -- not really something that can be replicated.

What it does suggest is that physical plant is not the secret sauce. The Ross building is tiny and old, and they are lacking in facilities common at other schools. Not to say that physical plant doesn't matter, but clearly it's not a critical component of academic success.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Yes but they are not any less upper income than the AA population at Ross which is the point. What are you trying to contest? That’s Ross has richer black kids and that’s why they perform as well as their white peers? Or that Janney has lower middle class (not low enough to qualify for FARM) AA than Ross and that’s why they suck with the 36 black kids they do have? I know one thing, as a black mom of a black boy, if I had my choice, I would not enroll my kid at Janney. Also, I know about 20 families at Janney. 4 black, 1 interracial, and 5 white. 3 of the 4 Black are head and shoulders more wealthy with more prestigious careers. But you keep assuming all the black kids at Janney come from households making a modest $70k.

PP here and I am simply wondering why Ross in particular has AA scores higher than comparable schools. Do you really think Ross is doing something so specific and impactful and different from Janney etc. that it increases scores that much in AA students compared to other schools? Rather than perhaps a more likely explanation, like SES differences or random fluctuations in scores? If so, all I can say is that you have more faith in the system than I do, from one black parent to another.

Ross is tiny, for one thing. There are like twelve kids in the fifth grade. As kids leave, the school does not backfill, so lots of fifth graders have been there all along vs. entering later.

And my own personal theory--Ross contains an above-average proportion of only/oldest children. It's very common that a family who lives IB sends their first kid there, but when they have a second kid, they want more space, so they move out of the catchment. So small classes full of the oldest children of educated, involved parents -- not really something that can be replicated.

What it does suggest is that physical plant is not the secret sauce. The Ross building is tiny and old, and they are lacking in facilities common at other schools. Not to say that physical plant doesn't matter, but clearly it's not a critical component of academic success.

Is that your theory for the black students that are scoring 5s as well?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Yes but they are not any less upper income than the AA population at Ross which is the point. What are you trying to contest? That’s Ross has richer black kids and that’s why they perform as well as their white peers? Or that Janney has lower middle class (not low enough to qualify for FARM) AA than Ross and that’s why they suck with the 36 black kids they do have? I know one thing, as a black mom of a black boy, if I had my choice, I would not enroll my kid at Janney. Also, I know about 20 families at Janney. 4 black, 1 interracial, and 5 white. 3 of the 4 Black are head and shoulders more wealthy with more prestigious careers. But you keep assuming all the black kids at Janney come from households making a modest $70k.

PP here and I am simply wondering why Ross in particular has AA scores higher than comparable schools. Do you really think Ross is doing something so specific and impactful and different from Janney etc. that it increases scores that much in AA students compared to other schools? Rather than perhaps a more likely explanation, like SES differences or random fluctuations in scores? If so, all I can say is that you have more faith in the system than I do, from one black parent to another.

Ross is tiny, for one thing. There are like twelve kids in the fifth grade. As kids leave, the school does not backfill, so lots of fifth graders have been there all along vs. entering later.

And my own personal theory--Ross contains an above-average proportion of only/oldest children. It's very common that a family who lives IB sends their first kid there, but when they have a second kid, they want more space, so they move out of the catchment. So small classes full of the oldest children of educated, involved parents -- not really something that can be replicated.

What it does suggest is that physical plant is not the secret sauce. The Ross building is tiny and old, and they are lacking in facilities common at other schools. Not to say that physical plant doesn't matter, but clearly it's not a critical component of academic success.

There is a full class (20+ kids) in 5th grade at Ross this year as the feed to School Without Walls @ Francis becomes an increasingly attractive for middle school. What's the secret sauce? Parents who can afford to live in Dupont Cirlce - not all rich, many in small apartments, but highly educated and prioritizing living in the city near a great school. A principle who cares about results, hires great teachers and resources academic support.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Yes but they are not any less upper income than the AA population at Ross which is the point. What are you trying to contest? That’s Ross has richer black kids and that’s why they perform as well as their white peers? Or that Janney has lower middle class (not low enough to qualify for FARM) AA than Ross and that’s why they suck with the 36 black kids they do have? I know one thing, as a black mom of a black boy, if I had my choice, I would not enroll my kid at Janney. Also, I know about 20 families at Janney. 4 black, 1 interracial, and 5 white. 3 of the 4 Black are head and shoulders more wealthy with more prestigious careers. But you keep assuming all the black kids at Janney come from households making a modest $70k.

PP here and I am simply wondering why Ross in particular has AA scores higher than comparable schools. Do you really think Ross is doing something so specific and impactful and different from Janney etc. that it increases scores that much in AA students compared to other schools? Rather than perhaps a more likely explanation, like SES differences or random fluctuations in scores? If so, all I can say is that you have more faith in the system than I do, from one black parent to another.

Ross is tiny, for one thing. There are like twelve kids in the fifth grade. As kids leave, the school does not backfill, so lots of fifth graders have been there all along vs. entering later.

And my own personal theory--Ross contains an above-average proportion of only/oldest children. It's very common that a family who lives IB sends their first kid there, but when they have a second kid, they want more space, so they move out of the catchment. So small classes full of the oldest children of educated, involved parents -- not really something that can be replicated.

What it does suggest is that physical plant is not the secret sauce. The Ross building is tiny and old, and they are lacking in facilities common at other schools. Not to say that physical plant doesn't matter, but clearly it's not a critical component of academic success.

Is that your theory for the black students that are scoring 5s as well?

Yes. I think that black students at Ross are also likely to be MC/UMC, and they are attending the same small school with small class sizes and classrooms mostly filled with MC/UMC kids. Their parents are likely to be involved in their education. I doubt that there are many kids falling through the cracks at a school that size.

[Anonymous]

I'm wondering if there are differences in faculty demographics between Ross and some of the other schools where similarly affluent black students do well.

Is the principal or APs AA? Are they male/female? What's the diversity mix of the teacher.

All the data shows that students of color do better when at least some of their teachers look like them. The same does not hold true for white students btw.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I'm wondering if there are differences in faculty demographics between Ross and some of the other schools where similarly affluent black students do well.

Is the principal or APs AA? Are they male/female? What's the diversity mix of the teacher.

All the data shows that students of color do better when at least some of their teachers look like them. The same does not hold true for white students btw.

I have no idea if there's a systematic difference between the schools, but I do know one teacher who left Ross and is now at Shepherd--I'd like to pick her brain, lol.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I'm wondering if there are differences in faculty demographics between Ross and some of the other schools where similarly affluent black students do well.

Is the principal or APs AA? Are they male/female? What's the diversity mix of the teacher.

All the data shows that students of color do better when at least some of their teachers look like them. The same does not hold true for white students btw.

The principal is a white female. Based on the website, all the teachers are white (there is one whose photo isn't posted, so it's possible she's black, but she's also new to the school), and most are women. They do have some black aides/paraprofessionals.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Easy fix. City wide lottery!

Could you imagine the traffic nightmare this would cause?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'm wondering if there are differences in faculty demographics between Ross and some of the other schools where similarly affluent black students do well.

Is the principal or APs AA? Are they male/female? What's the diversity mix of the teacher.

All the data shows that students of color do better when at least some of their teachers look like them. The same does not hold true for white students btw.

The principal is a white female. Based on the website, all the teachers are white (there is one whose photo isn't posted, so it's possible she's black, but she's also new to the school), and most are women. They do have some black aides/paraprofessionals.

Whatever. I just got the DCPS calendar, and almost everybody in it was black. Satisfied?

[Anonymous]

Ha.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Easy fix. City wide lottery!

Could you imagine the traffic nightmare this would cause?

No. We're nearly there. 75% of DC students do not attend their zoned, neighborhood schools now. They go to charters, OOB DCPS or application / city-wide schools.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'm wondering if there are differences in faculty demographics between Ross and some of the other schools where similarly affluent black students do well.

Is the principal or APs AA? Are they male/female? What's the diversity mix of the teacher.

All the data shows that students of color do better when at least some of their teachers look like them. The same does not hold true for white students btw.

The principal is a white female. Based on the website, all the teachers are white (there is one whose photo isn't posted, so it's possible she's black, but she's also new to the school), and most are women. They do have some black aides/paraprofessionals.

She's white.