MCPS Curriculum 2.0

[Anonymous]

Assuming that Curriculum 2.0 will fail in 5-6 years and a new, more academically-rigorous curriculum will be introduced, they will call these kids "Generation Curriculum 2.0". A bunch of "average" kids.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Good grades is one of the most positive reinforcement for studying I can think of. You want your child to care. Not just about grades of course, but there is nothing wrong with wanting to get good grades.

This +1000 elementary school grades don't "count" toward college but they do mean something to the kids.

Young kids want to please teachers and they are proud when they do well. Let's face it, the school work isn't that exciting even for the kids. They need positive reinforcement. Grades can be this incentive and reinforcement. Bad grading systems that are arbitrary or inconsistent can create disincentives.

The kids know that if they write 1 sentence they will get a P. If the kid tries to get an ES by writing 4 sentences, still gets a P and isn't told what he should do differently next time to get an ES he will not write 4 sentences again. He'll go back to 1. In is mind, there is no point or value in writing more. He won't get an ES anyway so why bother since the goal is P.

+1000. Although elementary grades don't "count," my DC learned a lot about how to get good grades in elementary school. Things like -- if you don't do your homework consistently then your grade goes down and if you do do it consistently it's an easy way to improve your grade, quizzes and tests count for a lot because they are separate categories, the importance of following the rubric or directions, etc. I think it will be a nightmare in MS when kids are dumped into 7 classes a day and trying to figure out how grading works.

I also was sad when I saw my DC's 3rd grade class board in the hallway in the beginning of the year. The kids had been asked to write about their goals for the year. This was something they were asked to do in class without the influence of parents. Many of them wanted to get straight As or had specific grade goals. But, of course, under 2.0 they have no way to accomplish this.

[Anonymous]

(I suspect that the children who wrote that they wanted to get straight As or had specific grade goals probably were influenced by parents -- even if the parents were not actually physically in the room at that exact moment.)

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Assuming that Curriculum 2.0 will fail in 5-6 years and a new, more academically-rigorous curriculum will be introduced, they will call these kids "Generation Curriculum 2.0". A bunch of "average" kids.

Under C 2.0, the grade-level math track at MCPS for middle school and high school is the advanced-level math track at most other school systems in the US.

MCPS is not perfect, but really, I think some perspective would be useful.

[Anonymous]

I agree that 2.0 will fail but it sucks that our kids are the ones that have to lose out until they change course. We moved here because we thought the schools were good. We were wrong.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I don't think this anything to do with people being competitive with each other. I do think that parents are worried about their kids learning enough in elementary school to do well enough in high school and compete for college spots.

Really? The only way some elementary parents know how well their child is doing in school is by the report card? Don't they review their returned child's assignments to see how they are doing?

My 1st grade DD's teacher returns all completed homework/in class assignments every week with the grade. By looking through those assignments, I am able to see how my DD is doing with her work. I see her writing improving all year, I see that she needs help with spelling and I see that she is doing good in math. I don't need to wait for the report card to tell me how she is doing - I see it with my very own eyes every single week that she is learning new material and doing well.

How can parents not get a sense of how their child is doing by reviewing their returned assignments? Why are they just waiting for the report card?

[Anonymous]

There are some pros to 2.0. The homework has been reduced greatly and it really doesn't matter if don't turn in an assignment from time to time. In the old system, if you didn't do the homework you did see a drop from an O to a S. You don't need to worry about taking them out of school for a vacation and missing something. This saved us a lot of money because its far more expensive to travel over winter or spring break.

I'll admit this since I'm on an anonymous board but there's no stress with 2.0 and I never feel guilty about not reading enough with my child or paying attention to school work. I've been able to sign my kid up for more sports and after school activities. He gets to play video games after dinner instead of doing homework, math problems or reading. He's happy and I can get things done.

Is the curriculum good academically? Probably not but its much easier if you work or don't have much time in the evening.

[Anonymous]

The only way some elementary parents know how well their child is doing in school is by the report card? Don't they review their returned child's assignments to see how they are doing?

My child's work comes home but there is never anything more than a sticker, a check, or a P. There is rarely anything marked wrong other than circling a misspelled word. She received an ES once or twice but there was nothing explaining what was good about what she did. Frankly, it didn't look that different from things she had done with a P. The rubrics are never sent home so its not like you could even look at that and see if your child did what they were supposed to do, I guess this is what the check is meant to do.

I have not seen improvements in my daughter's writing.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

The only way some elementary parents know how well their child is doing in school is by the report card? Don't they review their returned child's assignments to see how they are doing?

My child's work comes home but there is never anything more than a sticker, a check, or a P. There is rarely anything marked wrong other than circling a misspelled word. She received an ES once or twice but there was nothing explaining what was good about what she did. Frankly, it didn't look that different from things she had done with a P. The rubrics are never sent home so its not like you could even look at that and see if your child did what they were supposed to do, I guess this is what the check is meant to do.

I have not seen improvements in my daughter's writing.

If you want to know how well your child is doing in school, my suggestion is to look at your child's work. Not how the teacher marked the work. What your child actually did.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

The only way some elementary parents know how well their child is doing in school is by the report card? Don't they review their returned child's assignments to see how they are doing?

My child's work comes home but there is never anything more than a sticker, a check, or a P. There is rarely anything marked wrong other than circling a misspelled word. She received an ES once or twice but there was nothing explaining what was good about what she did. Frankly, it didn't look that different from things she had done with a P. The rubrics are never sent home so its not like you could even look at that and see if your child did what they were supposed to do, I guess this is what the check is meant to do.

I have not seen improvements in my daughter's writing.

If you want to know how well your child is doing in school, my suggestion is to look at your child's work. Not how the teacher marked the work. What your child actually did.

Exactly. I don't need to see the teacher's "grade" on my dd's spelling tests to see that she needs extra help with spelling. I don't need to see the teacher's "grade" on some of her math assignments to see which ones she got wrong and needs extra practice with.

And to the 2 posters before you who claim 2.0 causing less stress at home - hey, I completely agree with you that evenings without homework are so much more pleasant and less stres free, but guess what? I still make my DD do her homework because extra reinforcement is good for all the kids! I want her to learn something and not just get a better grade!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:
The only way some elementary parents know how well their child is doing in school is by the report card? Don't they review their returned child's assignments to see how they are doing?


My child's work comes home but there is never anything more than a sticker, a check, or a P. There is rarely anything marked wrong other than circling a misspelled word. She received an ES once or twice but there was nothing explaining what was good about what she did. Frankly, it didn't look that different from things she had done with a P. The rubrics are never sent home so its not like you could even look at that and see if your child did what they were supposed to do, I guess this is what the check is meant to do.

I have not seen improvements in my daughter's writing.


If you want to know how well your child is doing in school, my suggestion is to look at your child's work. Not how the teacher marked the work. What your child actually did.

Excuse me but I clearly wrote that I am looking at my child's work. Her answers are correct. There are no comments from the teacher on what she could have done better or what she did well. There are no rubrics that explain what was expected from the assignment. In math, her answers are always correct and she doesn't have any erase marks so she seems to get the answer fast and correct the first time. Her writing has not improved since the fall.

[Anonymous]

OK, but then you do know how she is doing. She is doing well in math, and she is not doing well (or at least not as well as you think she should be doing) in writing.

So I don't understand how this supports the idea parents do not know how their children are doing because of the new report card format.

[Anonymous]

OK, but then you do know how she is doing. She is doing well in math, and she is not doing well (or at least not as well as you think she should be doing) in writing.

So I don't understand how this supports the idea parents do not know how their children are doing because of the new report card format.

Are you kidding?? You really think that a report card with all Ps and all assignments coming home with nothing more than a check or a P is giving parents substantive feedback? Furthermore, if the assignments come home without a rubric how would any parent know what was originally expected for the assignment? In the new system, it seems to perfectly acceptable for a child not to improve as long as where they started was within the P range.

In the past, if something came home with any grade there was some commentary. If your child received an S the teacher would willingly tell you what was expected for an O and what your child should work on. When the child received an O, the teacher made some short comment on what they did a good job on to receive the O. The report card had comments.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

OK, but then you do know how she is doing. She is doing well in math, and she is not doing well (or at least not as well as you think she should be doing) in writing.

So I don't understand how this supports the idea parents do not know how their children are doing because of the new report card format.

Are you kidding?? You really think that a report card with all Ps and all assignments coming home with nothing more than a check or a P is giving parents substantive feedback? Furthermore, if the assignments come home without a rubric how would any parent know what was originally expected for the assignment? In the new system, it seems to perfectly acceptable for a child not to improve as long as where they started was within the P range.

In the past, if something came home with any grade there was some commentary. If your child received an S the teacher would willingly tell you what was expected for an O and what your child should work on. When the child received an O, the teacher made some short comment on what they did a good job on to receive the O. The report card had comments.

No, I'm saying that assignments coming home are giving parents substantive feedback. So what is the issue -- that you don't know what the child could have done to do a better job (which you must have ideas about, since you say that her writing hasn't improved) or that you don't know what the child could have done to receive a better grade?

Also, what school are you at? At my elementary school, the papers came home with a check, a star, or a smiley face (with no rubric, either). Now they come home with a check, a star, a smiley face, or a P. I don't perceive this as a big difference.

And again, if it is perfectly acceptable for your child not to improve in class, that is a problem with your child's teacher and/or principal -- not the curriculum.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Assuming that Curriculum 2.0 will fail in 5-6 years and a new, more academically-rigorous curriculum will be introduced, they will call these kids "Generation Curriculum 2.0". A bunch of "average" kids.

Under C 2.0, the grade-level math track at MCPS for middle school and high school is the advanced-level math track at most other school systems in the US.

MCPS is not perfect, but really, I think some perspective would be useful.

+1