Moving to MCPS for 6th grade

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:MCPS does not track. In fact, kids in advanced social studies classes in middle school are mixed in with kids in regular social studies classes so that the kids "don't know" who's who. The obvious problem is that a teacher can't go at 2 speeds, or assign extra work to the advanced kids without the regular kids knowing. So, as always, we cater to the lowest common denominator and the advanced kids get nothing to challenge them or keep them engaged.

They also recently started this honor for all things. So, all classes are "honors" classes now, which means there are no real honors classes. There are some exceptions, like honors math and language are still honors but honors English or Social Studies are kind of a joke now.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:MCPS does not track. In fact, kids in advanced social studies classes in middle school are mixed in with kids in regular social studies classes so that the kids "don't know" who's who. The obvious problem is that a teacher can't go at 2 speeds, or assign extra work to the advanced kids without the regular kids knowing. So, as always, we cater to the lowest common denominator and the advanced kids get nothing to challenge them or keep them engaged.

They also recently started this honor for all things. So, all classes are "honors" classes now, which means there are no real honors classes. There are some exceptions, like honors math and language are still honors but honors English or Social Studies are kind of a joke now.

OP, it really depends on the school. It is mostly W-feeders doing Honors for all and they are largely doing it in response to DCUM parents’ demands. Steer clear of those schools and it likely won’t be a problem.

[Anonymous]

Honors is a designation for HS classes, including some HS classes taught in middle schools.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:MCPS does not track. In fact, kids in advanced social studies classes in middle school are mixed in with kids in regular social studies classes so that the kids "don't know" who's who. The obvious problem is that a teacher can't go at 2 speeds, or assign extra work to the advanced kids without the regular kids knowing. So, as always, we cater to the lowest common denominator and the advanced kids get nothing to challenge them or keep them engaged.

They also recently started this honor for all things. So, all classes are "honors" classes now, which means there are no real honors classes. There are some exceptions, like honors math and language are still honors but honors English or Social Studies are kind of a joke now.

OP, it really depends on the school. It is mostly W-feeders doing Honors for all and they are largely doing it in response to DCUM parents’ demands. Steer clear of those schools and it likely won’t be a problem.

JWMS has "honors for all". Maybe it's mostly the clusters that are on the higher end of the SES spectrum.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:MCPS does not track. In fact, kids in advanced social studies classes in middle school are mixed in with kids in regular social studies classes so that the kids "don't know" who's who. The obvious problem is that a teacher can't go at 2 speeds, or assign extra work to the advanced kids without the regular kids knowing. So, as always, we cater to the lowest common denominator and the advanced kids get nothing to challenge them or keep them engaged.

They also recently started this honor for all things. So, all classes are "honors" classes now, which means there are no real honors classes. There are some exceptions, like honors math and language are still honors but honors English or Social Studies are kind of a joke now.

OP, it really depends on the school. It is mostly W-feeders doing Honors for all and they are largely doing it in response to DCUM parents’ demands. Steer clear of those schools and it likely won’t be a problem.

JWMS has "honors for all". Maybe it's mostly the clusters that are on the higher end of the SES spectrum.

Do you mean Advanced English and HIGH? Neither are honors classes. Honors for all is a high school thing that's happening all around the county.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:MCPS does not track. In fact, kids in advanced social studies classes in middle school are mixed in with kids in regular social studies classes so that the kids "don't know" who's who. The obvious problem is that a teacher can't go at 2 speeds, or assign extra work to the advanced kids without the regular kids knowing. So, as always, we cater to the lowest common denominator and the advanced kids get nothing to challenge them or keep them engaged.

They also recently started this honor for all things. So, all classes are "honors" classes now, which means there are no real honors classes. There are some exceptions, like honors math and language are still honors but honors English or Social Studies are kind of a joke now.

OP, it really depends on the school. It is mostly W-feeders doing Honors for all and they are largely doing it in response to DCUM parents’ demands. Steer clear of those schools and it likely won’t be a problem.

Yes. Steer clear of the schools with fewer problem kids, fewer stabbings, and fewer shooting.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:MCPS does not track. In fact, kids in advanced social studies classes in middle school are mixed in with kids in regular social studies classes so that the kids "don't know" who's who. The obvious problem is that a teacher can't go at 2 speeds, or assign extra work to the advanced kids without the regular kids knowing. So, as always, we cater to the lowest common denominator and the advanced kids get nothing to challenge them or keep them engaged.

They also recently started this honor for all things. So, all classes are "honors" classes now, which means there are no real honors classes. There are some exceptions, like honors math and language are still honors but honors English or Social Studies are kind of a joke now.

OP, it really depends on the school. It is mostly W-feeders doing Honors for all and they are largely doing it in response to DCUM parents’ demands. Steer clear of those schools and it likely won’t be a problem.

Yes. Steer clear of the schools with fewer problem kids, fewer stabbings, and fewer shooting.

Actually, these schools have more problem kids, more racist incidents and lot, lot of drugs problems.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:MCPS does not track. In fact, kids in advanced social studies classes in middle school are mixed in with kids in regular social studies classes so that the kids "don't know" who's who. The obvious problem is that a teacher can't go at 2 speeds, or assign extra work to the advanced kids without the regular kids knowing. So, as always, we cater to the lowest common denominator and the advanced kids get nothing to challenge them or keep them engaged.

They also recently started this honor for all things. So, all classes are "honors" classes now, which means there are no real honors classes. There are some exceptions, like honors math and language are still honors but honors English or Social Studies are kind of a joke now.

OP, it really depends on the school. It is mostly W-feeders doing Honors for all and they are largely doing it in response to DCUM parents’ demands. Steer clear of those schools and it likely won’t be a problem.

JWMS has "honors for all". Maybe it's mostly the clusters that are on the higher end of the SES spectrum.

Do you mean Advanced English and HIGH? Neither are honors classes. Honors for all is a high school thing that's happening all around the county.

yea, that's what I meant. Those classes are basically the "honors" equivalent. My younger DC is now in HS; older one just graduated. And yes, "honors for all" is also in HS.

I will say that there are a few students who aren't in the "honors" classes, but they've dumbed down the "honors" classes so much that it doesn't serve the highest achieving students at all.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:MCPS does not track. In fact, kids in advanced social studies classes in middle school are mixed in with kids in regular social studies classes so that the kids "don't know" who's who. The obvious problem is that a teacher can't go at 2 speeds, or assign extra work to the advanced kids without the regular kids knowing. So, as always, we cater to the lowest common denominator and the advanced kids get nothing to challenge them or keep them engaged.

They also recently started this honor for all things. So, all classes are "honors" classes now, which means there are no real honors classes. There are some exceptions, like honors math and language are still honors but honors English or Social Studies are kind of a joke now.

OP, it really depends on the school. It is mostly W-feeders doing Honors for all and they are largely doing it in response to DCUM parents’ demands. Steer clear of those schools and it likely won’t be a problem.

Yes. Steer clear of the schools with fewer problem kids, fewer stabbings, and fewer shooting.

Actually, these schools have more problem kids, more racist incidents and lot, lot of drugs problems.

But fewer shootings and stabbings. I'll take it!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:MCPS does not track. In fact, kids in advanced social studies classes in middle school are mixed in with kids in regular social studies classes so that the kids "don't know" who's who. The obvious problem is that a teacher can't go at 2 speeds, or assign extra work to the advanced kids without the regular kids knowing. So, as always, we cater to the lowest common denominator and the advanced kids get nothing to challenge them or keep them engaged.

They also recently started this honor for all things. So, all classes are "honors" classes now, which means there are no real honors classes. There are some exceptions, like honors math and language are still honors but honors English or Social Studies are kind of a joke now.

OP, it really depends on the school. It is mostly W-feeders doing Honors for all and they are largely doing it in response to DCUM parents’ demands. Steer clear of those schools and it likely won’t be a problem.

It's not just W feeders and is implemented pretty randomly, probably based on class size logistics more than the ability of cohorts within schools.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:MCPS does not track. In fact, kids in advanced social studies classes in middle school are mixed in with kids in regular social studies classes so that the kids "don't know" who's who. The obvious problem is that a teacher can't go at 2 speeds, or assign extra work to the advanced kids without the regular kids knowing. So, as always, we cater to the lowest common denominator and the advanced kids get nothing to challenge them or keep them engaged.

They also recently started this honor for all things. So, all classes are "honors" classes now, which means there are no real honors classes. There are some exceptions, like honors math and language are still honors but honors English or Social Studies are kind of a joke now.

OP, it really depends on the school. It is mostly W-feeders doing Honors for all and they are largely doing it in response to DCUM parents’ demands. Steer clear of those schools and it likely won’t be a problem.

JWMS has "honors for all". Maybe it's mostly the clusters that are on the higher end of the SES spectrum.

Do you mean Advanced English and HIGH? Neither are honors classes. Honors for all is a high school thing that's happening all around the county.

Advanced English is the curricular standard. They don't have a separate enriched course, but are supposed to use the enrichments "embedded" in the curriculum to meet individual students' needs. If anyone believes they do that with fidelity across the many middle schools, I have a bridge in Brooklyn that presents an attractive investment opportunity...

Historical Inquiry into Global Humanities (HIGH) is supposed to be a more enriched course than the curricular standard (that used to be called "World Studies", but they changed the name -- not the content -- to "Historical Inquiry into World Studies", perhaps to confuse the issue). The former isn't technically honors as it doesn't go on a HS transcript and come with an honors GPA bump, but it is analogous. Some middle schools have decided just to go with HIGH (no World Studies), but it is unclear if they do any cohorting that would tend to allow teachers to provide the enrichment to the population initially targeted for HIGH with any fidelity; the more likely approach is the "honors for all"-type, where the course is honors-lite (slightly better than honors-in-name-only), delivering a bare minimum of enrichment to allow the non-target population a better chance to succeed.

[Anonymous]

I went to DCPS and a top private (obviously those experiences are dated) and also have a couple kids in MCPS, different schools.

MCPS in my experience isn’t all that great. I do think it sounds more functional than what I hear from my friends who have kids at Wilson. But it’s not like you move to MoCo and your kids get some fabulous education. You do have instate access to state colleges though which I thing is a huge difference between living in MoCo and DC.

I don’t know what your financial situation is but I’d consider staying in dc and going private if you can afford it and get in. I’d rather live in DC and send my kids to private if I could afford it. My high school education was light years ahead of what my kids are getting, especially in social sciences and the humanities.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I went to DCPS and a top private (obviously those experiences are dated) and also have a couple kids in MCPS, different schools.

MCPS in my experience isn’t all that great. I do think it sounds more functional than what I hear from my friends who have kids at Wilson. But it’s not like you move to MoCo and your kids get some fabulous education. You do have instate access to state colleges though which I thing is a huge difference between living in MoCo and DC.

I don’t know what your financial situation is but I’d consider staying in dc and going private if you can afford it and get in. I’d rather live in DC and send my kids to private if I could afford it. My high school education was light years ahead of what my kids are getting, especially in social sciences and the humanities.

NP and I agree. Don't move to MoCo for the schools, OP, you will regret it. I attended a mediocre public school outside of this region and it was light years ahead of what my kids are getting here. I've heard about friends' experiences with elementary schools in upper NW and that is also light years ahead of my kids' experience. My kids are in an elementary school to that feeds into one of the middle schools recommended several times on this thread. The classes are big (30+ students per class, including the advanced math class) and the teachers are spread thin. They do not have the bandwidth to enrich your bored child. Despite the county's affluence, the schools do not have enough money to provide basic supplies to the classrooms, and we are now being asked to fund classroom resources that the county cut this year.

There are lots of complaints about MCPS on this forum and some people like to minimize it or dismiss it as people who will never be satisfied. There are real problems, though, and I am very worried about the experience my kids are having. It's much different than what MCPS's reputation led me to expect.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I went to DCPS and a top private (obviously those experiences are dated) and also have a couple kids in MCPS, different schools.

MCPS in my experience isn’t all that great. I do think it sounds more functional than what I hear from my friends who have kids at Wilson. But it’s not like you move to MoCo and your kids get some fabulous education. You do have instate access to state colleges though which I thing is a huge difference between living in MoCo and DC.

I don’t know what your financial situation is but I’d consider staying in dc and going private if you can afford it and get in. I’d rather live in DC and send my kids to private if I could afford it. My high school education was light years ahead of what my kids are getting, especially in social sciences and the humanities.

NP and I agree. Don't move to MoCo for the schools, OP, you will regret it. I attended a mediocre public school outside of this region and it was light years ahead of what my kids are getting here. I've heard about friends' experiences with elementary schools in upper NW and that is also light years ahead of my kids' experience. My kids are in an elementary school to that feeds into one of the middle schools recommended several times on this thread. The classes are big (30+ students per class, including the advanced math class) and the teachers are spread thin. They do not have the bandwidth to enrich your bored child. Despite the county's affluence, the schools do not have enough money to provide basic supplies to the classrooms, and we are now being asked to fund classroom resources that the county cut this year.

There are lots of complaints about MCPS on this forum and some people like to minimize it or dismiss it as people who will never be satisfied. There are real problems, though, and I am very worried about the experience my kids are having. It's much different than what MCPS's reputation led me to expect.

That's pure BS, even for DCUM fantasy land.
Those 2 PPs are private school parents, trying to recruit.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I went to DCPS and a top private (obviously those experiences are dated) and also have a couple kids in MCPS, different schools.

MCPS in my experience isn’t all that great. I do think it sounds more functional than what I hear from my friends who have kids at Wilson. But it’s not like you move to MoCo and your kids get some fabulous education. You do have instate access to state colleges though which I thing is a huge difference between living in MoCo and DC.

I don’t know what your financial situation is but I’d consider staying in dc and going private if you can afford it and get in. I’d rather live in DC and send my kids to private if I could afford it. My high school education was light years ahead of what my kids are getting, especially in social sciences and the humanities.

NP and I agree. Don't move to MoCo for the schools, OP, you will regret it. I attended a mediocre public school outside of this region and it was light years ahead of what my kids are getting here. I've heard about friends' experiences with elementary schools in upper NW and that is also light years ahead of my kids' experience. My kids are in an elementary school to that feeds into one of the middle schools recommended several times on this thread. The classes are big (30+ students per class, including the advanced math class) and the teachers are spread thin. They do not have the bandwidth to enrich your bored child. Despite the county's affluence, the schools do not have enough money to provide basic supplies to the classrooms, and we are now being asked to fund classroom resources that the county cut this year.

There are lots of complaints about MCPS on this forum and some people like to minimize it or dismiss it as people who will never be satisfied. There are real problems, though, and I am very worried about the experience my kids are having. It's much different than what MCPS's reputation led me to expect.

Why are you responding to your own post?