MCAP results are pretty bad

[Anonymous]

just got MCAP test results.. it surprises me too see that my kid who is usually very good in Reading is a "Met expectations" on ELA. and what only 2% exceeded expectations ???? was the standard so high ? really interested to hear from parents who got "exceed expectations" on ELA

[Anonymous]

What grade?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:What grade?

5th grade. this is conducted for 4th grade though

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:just got MCAP test results.. it surprises me too see that my kid who is usually very good in Reading is a "Met expectations" on ELA. and what only 2% exceeded expectations ???? was the standard so high ? really interested to hear from parents who got "exceed expectations" on ELA

I am guessing the standard is based on children having been in in-person school regularly for the past two years, so yeah it probably does seem high to current families.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I honestly think if we all had to go back in time and take MCAP when we were in elementary school the scores would have been just as bad. The Common Core State Standards are ridiculously complicated and not developmentally appropriate. Too little time is spent on basic skills and instead, first graders are synthesizing information from texts in written responses. Can we at least foster a love of reading before cramming endless, boring informational text down their throats?
I agree with another poster that MAP is a better indicator. Though, the winter MAP scores at my school aren't too hot either. More proof that in-person instruction cannot be replaced by Zoom. Can't wait to hear how the virtual academy did on MAP in comparison to in-person schools.

MCPS already has a dumbed down curriculum.

Why do you need to attack Virtual Academy? What if students do better, not worse?

Well, except the kids seem to be doing much better on standardized tests than 10 or 20 years ago so he evidence says otherwise.

Probably because they have changed the tests.

Actually, not all standardized tests have been changed. The NAEP is designed for longitudinal comparisons. The scores for Maryland have been flat or down for the last decade.

Do they give that test anywhere other than Baltimore City?

They do a representative sample across the entire state.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I honestly think if we all had to go back in time and take MCAP when we were in elementary school the scores would have been just as bad. The Common Core State Standards are ridiculously complicated and not developmentally appropriate. Too little time is spent on basic skills and instead, first graders are synthesizing information from texts in written responses. Can we at least foster a love of reading before cramming endless, boring informational text down their throats?
I agree with another poster that MAP is a better indicator. Though, the winter MAP scores at my school aren't too hot either. More proof that in-person instruction cannot be replaced by Zoom. Can't wait to hear how the virtual academy did on MAP in comparison to in-person schools.

MCPS already has a dumbed down curriculum.

Why do you need to attack Virtual Academy? What if students do better, not worse?

Well, except the kids seem to be doing much better on standardized tests than 10 or 20 years ago so he evidence says otherwise.

Probably because they have changed the tests.

Actually, not all standardized tests have been changed. The NAEP is designed for longitudinal comparisons. The scores for Maryland have been flat or down for the last decade.

Do they give that test anywhere other than Baltimore City?

They do a representative sample across the entire state.

No, mostly in Baltimore city

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I honestly think if we all had to go back in time and take MCAP when we were in elementary school the scores would have been just as bad. The Common Core State Standards are ridiculously complicated and not developmentally appropriate. Too little time is spent on basic skills and instead, first graders are synthesizing information from texts in written responses. Can we at least foster a love of reading before cramming endless, boring informational text down their throats?
I agree with another poster that MAP is a better indicator. Though, the winter MAP scores at my school aren't too hot either. More proof that in-person instruction cannot be replaced by Zoom. Can't wait to hear how the virtual academy did on MAP in comparison to in-person schools.

MCPS already has a dumbed down curriculum.

Why do you need to attack Virtual Academy? What if students do better, not worse?

Well, except the kids seem to be doing much better on standardized tests than 10 or 20 years ago so he evidence says otherwise.

Probably because they have changed the tests.

Actually, not all standardized tests have been changed. The NAEP is designed for longitudinal comparisons. The scores for Maryland have been flat or down for the last decade.

Do they give that test anywhere other than Baltimore City?

They do a representative sample across the entire state.

No, mostly in Baltimore city

Our MS principal said they will be giving the NAEP to a sample of MCPS 8th graders this year.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I wouldn’t put too much stock in this assessment. Sometime we need to evaluate the validity of assessments.

And to the person trying to compare public schools to private, do private schools take the MCAP? I’m assuming they don’t. Furthermore, I wonder how public schools would do if they made students qualify for admission, and exclude any highly impacted students such as those with special needs or new to the English language, or those that can barely afford to feed their children, let alone pay for private tutors.

This. Have the state go ask all the surrounding private schools how many would be willing to test their 3rd and 5th grade students. They would freak. Privates barely share score information with parents when they do test.

Not true. My kid took Iowa assessments and some other standardized test (can't think of the same right now) in his Catholic MS. He also took the HSPT and got the results from all of these tests rather quickly.

Yes, private school parent here too - our school shared results with the community almost immediately and there was no covid slide at all.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I wouldn’t put too much stock in this assessment. Sometime we need to evaluate the validity of assessments.

And to the person trying to compare public schools to private, do private schools take the MCAP? I’m assuming they don’t. Furthermore, I wonder how public schools would do if they made students qualify for admission, and exclude any highly impacted students such as those with special needs or new to the English language, or those that can barely afford to feed their children, let alone pay for private tutors.

This. Have the state go ask all the surrounding private schools how many would be willing to test their 3rd and 5th grade students. They would freak. Privates barely share score information with parents when they do test.

Not true. My kid took Iowa assessments and some other standardized test (can't think of the same right now) in his Catholic MS. He also took the HSPT and got the results from all of these tests rather quickly.

Yes, private school parent here too - our school shared results with the community almost immediately and there was no covid slide at all.

MCPS is doing much better than the rest of the state, but the parents who neglected their children and let them goof off during virtual had an impact.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I wouldn’t put too much stock in this assessment. Sometime we need to evaluate the validity of assessments.

And to the person trying to compare public schools to private, do private schools take the MCAP? I’m assuming they don’t. Furthermore, I wonder how public schools would do if they made students qualify for admission, and exclude any highly impacted students such as those with special needs or new to the English language, or those that can barely afford to feed their children, let alone pay for private tutors.

This. Have the state go ask all the surrounding private schools how many would be willing to test their 3rd and 5th grade students. They would freak. Privates barely share score information with parents when they do test.

Not true. My kid took Iowa assessments and some other standardized test (can't think of the same right now) in his Catholic MS. He also took the HSPT and got the results from all of these tests rather quickly.

Yes, private school parent here too - our school shared results with the community almost immediately and there was no covid slide at all.

MCPS is doing much better than the rest of the state, but the parents who neglected their children and let them goof off during virtual had an impact.

I’m sure a lot of parents did that but at least for my child, she did not perform well on this test and we were extremely diligent about virtual. There was no goofing off and all of her work and assignments were completed and on time.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I wouldn’t put too much stock in this assessment. Sometime we need to evaluate the validity of assessments.

And to the person trying to compare public schools to private, do private schools take the MCAP? I’m assuming they don’t. Furthermore, I wonder how public schools would do if they made students qualify for admission, and exclude any highly impacted students such as those with special needs or new to the English language, or those that can barely afford to feed their children, let alone pay for private tutors.

This. Have the state go ask all the surrounding private schools how many would be willing to test their 3rd and 5th grade students. They would freak. Privates barely share score information with parents when they do test.

Not true. My kid took Iowa assessments and some other standardized test (can't think of the same right now) in his Catholic MS. He also took the HSPT and got the results from all of these tests rather quickly.

Yes, private school parent here too - our school shared results with the community almost immediately and there was no covid slide at all.

MCPS is doing much better than the rest of the state, but the parents who neglected their children and let them goof off during virtual had an impact.

I’m sure a lot of parents did that but at least for my child, she did not perform well on this test and we were extremely diligent about virtual. There was no goofing off and all of her work and assignments were completed and on time.

I am convinced that there was something off about these tests. My now-6th grader (in AIM) reported that for day 1 of the 5th grade math test, the problems were super hard and unrecognizable. That was unusual and puzzling.

[Anonymous]

Many kids in the county are behind in Math. Saying that your kid is in AIM doesn't mean they somehow understood the materials anymore. I would say support them as best as you can and try to close the gap with Khan Academy.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I honestly think if we all had to go back in time and take MCAP when we were in elementary school the scores would have been just as bad. The Common Core State Standards are ridiculously complicated and not developmentally appropriate. Too little time is spent on basic skills and instead, first graders are synthesizing information from texts in written responses. Can we at least foster a love of reading before cramming endless, boring informational text down their throats?
I agree with another poster that MAP is a better indicator. Though, the winter MAP scores at my school aren't too hot either. More proof that in-person instruction cannot be replaced by Zoom. Can't wait to hear how the virtual academy did on MAP in comparison to in-person schools.

MCPS already has a dumbed down curriculum.

Why do you need to attack Virtual Academy? What if students do better, not worse?

Well, except the kids seem to be doing much better on standardized tests than 10 or 20 years ago so he evidence says otherwise.

Probably because they have changed the tests.

Actually, not all standardized tests have been changed. The NAEP is designed for longitudinal comparisons. The scores for Maryland have been flat or down for the last decade.

Do they give that test anywhere other than Baltimore City?

They do a representative sample across the entire state.

No, mostly in Baltimore city

It’s a statistical sample so a subset of all kids get it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I wouldn’t put too much stock in this assessment. Sometime we need to evaluate the validity of assessments.

And to the person trying to compare public schools to private, do private schools take the MCAP? I’m assuming they don’t. Furthermore, I wonder how public schools would do if they made students qualify for admission, and exclude any highly impacted students such as those with special needs or new to the English language, or those that can barely afford to feed their children, let alone pay for private tutors.

This. Have the state go ask all the surrounding private schools how many would be willing to test their 3rd and 5th grade students. They would freak. Privates barely share score information with parents when they do test.

Not true. My kid took Iowa assessments and some other standardized test (can't think of the same right now) in his Catholic MS. He also took the HSPT and got the results from all of these tests rather quickly.

Yes, private school parent here too - our school shared results with the community almost immediately and there was no covid slide at all.

MCPS is doing much better than the rest of the state, but the parents who neglected their children and let them goof off during virtual had an impact.

DCUM LOL!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Many kids in the county are behind in Math. Saying that your kid is in AIM doesn't mean they somehow understood the materials anymore. I would say support them as best as you can and try to close the gap with Khan Academy.

It was totally a mess for these kids - thrown into Eureka, covered volume double - end of 4th and beginning of 5th, never got surface area, skipped other materials. We did a lot of Khan academy over the summer. But it is weird - has high A in AIM all year, but did not even recognize problems in MCPA supposed to be 5th Grade math?