MD report cards are out!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:So happy that my kids school got a 5! I always thought that Barnsley was great and nice to see them score so well! Principal and staff work so hard and its nice to see the high score!

Please don't assume that the principals and staff don't work hard at lower rated schools. I have friends at 5 star schools who would die if they had to work at my 3 star school. They are used to supportive parents students who come to school regularly and are ready to learn. Heck, many of the students are already at the EOY benchmack on the first day of school. Today, I had 9 students absent out of 22 (normally it is between 7-10) and a 2nd grader throw a chair at me while cursing me out. We had to evacuate the classroom and lost 35 mins of instructional time. And it's on Tuesday!

+1. Teachers in high needs schools work so much harder. I really believe their pay should reflect that too.

+1000. I'm sure this will be controversial on this board, but as someone who has worked in schools with high SES populations, Title 1 schools and a few in between, I think a telling metric on the MD report card is progress in achieving English language proficiency. It's something that's important for parents of ALL students, not just ESOL students, to be aware of. It is a measure of how well the school differentiates and whether the staff knows and uses differentiation strategies for all students. In some schools I've worked in with high SES populations, teachers have the attitude of "well, I taught it--so the kids should get it." Then they rely on parents to supplement. That won't work for most ELLs and won't work for any other kid who needs differentiation--whether to fill in gaps or to enrich.

Remember, the ESOL students spend the majority of the day with the classroom teachers, so teachers with strong differentiation skills will be able to help them make progress whereas in other schools the classroom teacher only relies on the ESOL teacher to provide that differentiation when strategies that benefit ESOL students actually benefit most students. The ESOL teacher can only do so much with the limited time they have with students. I want my kid in the class with the teacher who has strong differentiation skills.

I think it's kind of funny that teachers in schools with high SES populations truly believe they deserve all the accolades and gifts they receive when they wouldn't last a week at a focus or Title 1 school. Yes, I know some have paid their dues and need a break and I don't begrudge them that. I've certainly done that as well. But I understand what a cushy position I'm in when I'm working in a school with a high SES population because the majority of kids will meet the EOY benchmark with very little differentiation and I'm under no illusion that it's all because of what I've done for them but I can't say that's the same for all.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Parents of middle-class means should note the 5 star elementaries in affordable districts that do not host a CES center. Then track the district through HS to make sure you are not looking at a 5* elementary feeding into a 3* HS, with exception of renters (they can move) and parents of highly gifted students who are strong candidates for a magnet program given the new admission preferences. Those, IMHO, are best values. Signed - a Diamond ES parent, with a nod to Olney and a few others on the list.

Ew where is Diamond ES I have never heard of it and I know a lot of schools...

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Parents of middle-class means should note the 5 star elementaries in affordable districts that do not host a CES center. Then track the district through HS to make sure you are not looking at a 5* elementary feeding into a 3* HS, with exception of renters (they can move) and parents of highly gifted students who are strong candidates for a magnet program given the new admission preferences. Those, IMHO, are best values. Signed - a Diamond ES parent, with a nod to Olney and a few others on the list.

Ew where is Diamond ES I have never heard of it and I know a lot of schools...

It’s an excellent school in Gaithersburg.

Newsflash: just because you haven’t heard of it doesn’t mean it’s bad!

Jerk.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:So happy that my kids school got a 5! I always thought that Barnsley was great and nice to see them score so well! Principal and staff work so hard and its nice to see the high score!

Please don't assume that the principals and staff don't work hard at lower rated schools. I have friends at 5 star schools who would die if they had to work at my 3 star school. They are used to supportive parents students who come to school regularly and are ready to learn. Heck, many of the students are already at the EOY benchmack on the first day of school. Today, I had 9 students absent out of 22 (normally it is between 7-10) and a 2nd grader throw a chair at me while cursing me out. We had to evacuate the classroom and lost 35 mins of instructional time. And it's on Tuesday!

+1. Teachers in high needs schools work so much harder. I really believe their pay should reflect that too.

+1000. I'm sure this will be controversial on this board, but as someone who has worked in schools with high SES populations, Title 1 schools and a few in between, I think a telling metric on the MD report card is progress in achieving English language proficiency. It's something that's important for parents of ALL students, not just ESOL students, to be aware of. It is a measure of how well the school differentiates and whether the staff knows and uses differentiation strategies for all students. In some schools I've worked in with high SES populations, teachers have the attitude of "well, I taught it--so the kids should get it." Then they rely on parents to supplement. That won't work for most ELLs and won't work for any other kid who needs differentiation--whether to fill in gaps or to enrich.

Remember, the ESOL students spend the majority of the day with the classroom teachers, so teachers with strong differentiation skills will be able to help them make progress whereas in other schools the classroom teacher only relies on the ESOL teacher to provide that differentiation when strategies that benefit ESOL students actually benefit most students. The ESOL teacher can only do so much with the limited time they have with students. I want my kid in the class with the teacher who has strong differentiation skills.

I think it's kind of funny that teachers in schools with high SES populations truly believe they deserve all the accolades and gifts they receive when they wouldn't last a week at a focus or Title 1 school. Yes, I know some have paid their dues and need a break and I don't begrudge them that. I've certainly done that as well. But I understand what a cushy position I'm in when I'm working in a school with a high SES population because the majority of kids will meet the EOY benchmark with very little differentiation and I'm under no illusion that it's all because of what I've done for them but I can't say that's the same for all.

+1. I have had similar experiences in various schools and that’s a good point.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Uh, an Asian kid brought a gun to Clarksburg HS last year to shoot the place up. Thankfully, someone turned him in.

An Asian kid is responsible for the VA Tech massacre and another Asian kid decapitated a friend/fellow student in the VA Tech cafeteria.

Please stop fetishizing Asians. Check the Asian test scores at low performing schools (ex. DCC) and your theory completely falls apart. SES affects Asians just like all other groups.

Well, no. He is an American kid (with parents who immigrated from a country in Asia), and he brought the gun in the misguided idea of defending the place if somebody else tried to shoot it up.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Wait, so QO got the same grade as Rockville? 66%? Guess those house prices are not worth it afterall.

It's just cause they don't have the asians to make up for the scores. Barely any asians. That is why wootton scored even higher than churchill and why northwest and clarksburg did much better than they really are as schools. Awful schools, okay scores.

This. Where Asian-American students are, scores are always going to be high.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Wait, so QO got the same grade as Rockville? 66%? Guess those house prices are not worth it afterall.

It's just cause they don't have the asians to make up for the scores. Barely any asians. That is why wootton scored even higher than churchill and why northwest and clarksburg did much better than they really are as schools. Awful schools, okay scores.

This. Where Asian-American students are, scores are always going to be high.

Makes more sense to compare how each significantly sized cohort stacks up. Simply comparing averages doesn't really tell us much.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Wait, so QO got the same grade as Rockville? 66%? Guess those house prices are not worth it afterall.

[b]It's just cause they don't have the asians to make up for the scores. Barely any asians. That is why wootton scored even higher than churchill and why northwest and clarksburg did much better than they really are as schools. Awful schools, okay scores.[/b]

This. Where Asian-American students are, scores are always going to be high.

And what is your reason for the claim that Northwest and Clarksburg are awful schools? Not enough white kids there?
Also, regarding QO & Rockville, you do realize that QO has a larger population of Asian kids than Rockville, right?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Wait, so QO got the same grade as Rockville? 66%? Guess those house prices are not worth it afterall.

[b]It's just cause they don't have the asians to make up for the scores. Barely any asians. That is why wootton scored even higher than churchill and why northwest and clarksburg did much better than they really are as schools. Awful schools, okay scores.[/b]

This. Where Asian-American students are, scores are always going to be high.

And what is your reason for the claim that Northwest and Clarksburg are awful schools? Not enough white kids there?
Also, regarding QO & Rockville, you do realize that QO has a larger population of Asian kids than Rockville, right?

DP.. percentage wise, it's not that different

QO - 13.6%
R - 11.3

Rockville also has a much higher FARMS, ESOL and SPED % than QO.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Parents of middle-class means should note the 5 star elementaries in affordable districts that do not host a CES center. Then track the district through HS to make sure you are not looking at a 5* elementary feeding into a 3* HS, with exception of renters (they can move) and parents of highly gifted students who are strong candidates for a magnet program given the new admission preferences. Those, IMHO, are best values. Signed - a Diamond ES parent, with a nod to Olney and a few others on the list.

Ew where is Diamond ES I have never heard of it and I know a lot of schools...

there's this thing called google....

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:So happy that my kids school got a 5! I always thought that Barnsley was great and nice to see them score so well! Principal and staff work so hard and its nice to see the high score!

Please don't assume that the principals and staff don't work hard at lower rated schools. I have friends at 5 star schools who would die if they had to work at my 3 star school. They are used to supportive parents students who come to school regularly and are ready to learn. Heck, many of the students are already at the EOY benchmack on the first day of school. Today, I had 9 students absent out of 22 (normally it is between 7-10) and a 2nd grader throw a chair at me while cursing me out. We had to evacuate the classroom and lost 35 mins of instructional time. And it's on Tuesday!

+1. Teachers in high needs schools work so much harder. I really believe their pay should reflect that too.

+1000. I'm sure this will be controversial on this board, but as someone who has worked in schools with high SES populations, Title 1 schools and a few in between, I think a telling metric on the MD report card is progress in achieving English language proficiency. It's something that's important for parents of ALL students, not just ESOL students, to be aware of. It is a measure of how well the school differentiates and whether the staff knows and uses differentiation strategies for all students. In some schools I've worked in with high SES populations, teachers have the attitude of "well, I taught it--so the kids should get it." Then they rely on parents to supplement. That won't work for most ELLs and won't work for any other kid who needs differentiation--whether to fill in gaps or to enrich.

Remember, the ESOL students spend the majority of the day with the classroom teachers, so teachers with strong differentiation skills will be able to help them make progress whereas in other schools the classroom teacher only relies on the ESOL teacher to provide that differentiation when strategies that benefit ESOL students actually benefit most students. The ESOL teacher can only do so much with the limited time they have with students. I want my kid in the class with the teacher who has strong differentiation skills.

I think it's kind of funny that teachers in schools with high SES populations truly believe they deserve all the accolades and gifts they receive when they wouldn't last a week at a focus or Title 1 school. Yes, I know some have paid their dues and need a break and I don't begrudge them that. I've certainly done that as well. But I understand what a cushy position I'm in when I'm working in a school with a high SES population because the majority of kids will meet the EOY benchmark with very little differentiation and I'm under no illusion that it's all because of what I've done for them but I can't say that's the same for all.

+1. I have had similar experiences in various schools and that’s a good point.

+ 1000 I heart this post. I love how you explain the significance of the ESL score interms of how this matters to all students.

[Anonymous]

Anyone have a principal who is freaking out about their report card? Townhalls with parents flipping out? Not sure if this report card is a good idea.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Anyone have a principal who is freaking out about their report card? Townhalls with parents flipping out? Not sure if this report card is a good idea.

Most of them are happy and tweeting out their high numbers regardless of how bad the actual report card is.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Anyone have a principal who is freaking out about their report card? Townhalls with parents flipping out? Not sure if this report card is a good idea.

Haha! Our PTA president said look, we got 4 out of 5 stars! And the principal will never explain that means that barely half the school is proficient in either math or language. No one seemed to care what the actual data meant.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Anyone have a principal who is freaking out about their report card? Townhalls with parents flipping out? Not sure if this report card is a good idea.

I am not sure how valuable they are given what seems to be a very generous curve. But to the extent they show bad news and are being viewed as such, I don't view that as a bad thing. Is it better for people to just stick they're head in the sand.