S/O - should MCPS bring back final exams for each semester?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Parent of an MCPS freshman here. He has quizzes and tests all the time, often several per week. I teach at the university level and I'm not concerned about the lack of final exams - these kids are already under a lot of pressure (and my kid is a slacker, so I can only imagine how intense it is for seriously competitive/neurotic kids.)

I think parents need to keep a keen eye on what is being taught and what is being evaluated. It does not matter if your kid is in a W school, or a private school or even a highly selective magnet school. Substandard curriculum, busy work assignments, poorly framed and administered exams/tests, terrible teachers, poorly differentiated classrooms and lack of support for all kinds of students - these are the hallmark of US education across the board.

Well for kids who graduate from my kid’s private school, I am told college is a cakewalk by comparison. Thankfully, my kid will have a challenging curriculum at a top university, so he won’t be slacking off in college.

And you're here, posting on the MD Public Schools forum around 11 pm, on a Saturday night, because...?

DP. She needs to justify the tuition to herself somehow. This is as good a way as any.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote: I think they should bring back final exams. I think it's a disservice to our students who are unprepared when they go off to college.

DD is a college sophomore and while she has "finals" many are not cumulative. Midterms occur throughout the semester and there are several (so two or three mid-terms plus a final), not just one midterm and one final. Many classes have projects or papers and no finals. Things are changing in colleges too.

(That being said, I'm all for MCPS using some sort of consistent assessment across the county for HS courses- finals, quarterly assessments, benchmark assessments, whatever they want to call them and how ever frequent, but something that would help ensure all kids with high grades are learning a base level of content in these courses)

[Anonymous]

We moved from private to MCPS, and my kid is more challenged at MCPS than the private school. Yes, we are still supplementing and enriching at home, but the bar is higher at MCPS than private school. We feel that our son has also become a more well-rounded and happier person at MCPS.

The number of students who had mental issues and were in therapy and/or medicated at our private school was not funny.

[Anonymous]

Why were they in therapy and/or medicated if it wasn't difficult?

[Anonymous]

I’m okay with finals but detest pop quizzes which add unnecessary stress, and think midterms are overkill.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Why were they in therapy and/or medicated if it wasn't difficult?

I am sure the therapy was not because these children found school work "difficult".

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I’m okay with finals but detest pop quizzes which add unnecessary stress, and think midterms are overkill.

So you think an exam halfway through a course that lasts from September-June is overkill?

[Anonymous]

Best of two grades from the quarter + the final exam grade will be the most sensible, most cost-effective, accurate and non-punitive Semester grade. It will give a truer picture of how the students are actually doing, will allow for some flexibility for students to recover from a bad phase or grade and it will reduce grade inflation.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I’m okay with finals but detest pop quizzes which add unnecessary stress, and think midterms are overkill.

Agree on the pop quizzes! I feel like they're punitive and are more about how well someone is listening on a given day in class and/or how quickly someone can assimilate the material.

[Anonymous]

Let these lazy ass MoFo students take tests and fail in HS if need be. Otherwise they are living in your basement and sucking the joy out of your golden years later on.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I’m okay with finals but detest pop quizzes which add unnecessary stress, and think midterms are overkill.

So you think an exam halfway through a course that lasts from September-June is overkill?

Mcps has semester classes so nothing lasts from September to June.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I’m okay with finals but detest pop quizzes which add unnecessary stress, and think midterms are overkill.

So you think an exam halfway through a course that lasts from September-June is overkill?

Mcps has semester classes so nothing lasts from September to June.

What? When I was in high school, nearly every course lasted the full school year. So every math, science, history and English course only lasts for 3 months (like in college)?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Here's the problem. College admissions. It is getting more and more competitive. I know so many W school students getting rejected and deferred in early action and early decision this year. Why? Perhaps because these admissions officers know very well what is going on with grade inflation in MCPS. So glad we moved our DS to a private school, where he has text books, 3 hours of homework a night, papers to write for multiple classes, mid term exams, final exams, etc. Exam weighting to quarterly grades is 1/3 each. So lots of incentive to do well on exams...which are cumulative. I can sleep at night knowing that he will graduate being able to succeed in a top university. Not so much for MCPS students these days.

I am seeing proof about this statement already with early admissions results. Lots of kids putting all the eggs in the ED basket for top schools NOT getting in...many denied. The kids I know who were denied were amazing kids...top of class, very high GPA and test scores and some URM. They are being flat out DENIED. It would be interesting to see what the Bethesda Magazine article shows on acceptances at the top MCPS high schools for this year. I suspect it will be much lower than past years...perhaps these universities are seeing that MCPS students do not perform well.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I’m okay with finals but detest pop quizzes which add unnecessary stress, and think midterms are overkill.

So you think an exam halfway through a course that lasts from September-June is overkill?

Mcps has semester classes so nothing lasts from September to June.

What? When I was in high school, nearly every course lasted the full school year. So every math, science, history and English course only lasts for 3 months (like in college)?

Yes it is semesters..just like college.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I’m okay with finals but detest pop quizzes which add unnecessary stress, and think midterms are overkill.

So you think an exam halfway through a course that lasts from September-June is overkill?

Mcps has semester classes so nothing lasts from September to June.

What? When I was in high school, nearly every course lasted the full school year. So every math, science, history and English course only lasts for 3 months (like in college)?

Yes it is semesters..just like college.

DP
So AP English is just one semester, and all the other AP classes?