Why are some schools putting EVERYONE into AIM and HIGH?

[Anonymous]

So has everyone heard from their local middle schools about HIGH and AIM? I have a kid at a CES that didn't get into a magnet but has high test scores and should definitely be in HIGH...have heard nothing from her home middle school. Not sure who to contact.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:So has everyone heard from their local middle schools about HIGH and AIM? I have a kid at a CES that didn't get into a magnet but has high test scores and should definitely be in HIGH...have heard nothing from her home middle school. Not sure who to contact.

Our principal just got the list from Central Office on Friday. He will distribute to counselors on Monday. They already registered sixth and seventh graders for next year so I guess there will be a lot of tweaking next week.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I hear Pyle is all HIGH.

You heard right.

At Pyle all classes use the HIGH curriculum but they have a separate cohort of.kids grouped together who tested into HIGH and do extra activities such as model UN, more DBQs etc

That's not what we heard. They said everyone would do the extra activities like model UN, etc. Where did you hear the stuff about the grouping?

I checked and you are correct, they both do Model UN, but there are some small additions. Here is how they describe it in the registration booklet, available here:
https://drive.google.com/file/d/12Re7Wz9goXiAX0MFlj9Y2S6NPfXmyuL1/view

"Cohort students will go
beyond this core as they learn additional content, explore deeper connections to today, engage in
investigative inquiry to strengthen their writing through Document Based Questions, and enhance
their learning through relevant literature connections."

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:They didn’t get rid of exams because they were too hard to grade. They got rid of them because too many kids failed them.

Exactly. 60-70% were bombing it.

Parents: Why is everyone failing? Is it the curriculum, is it our teachers, are the kids overworked, do they just not try, and/or we pushing these kids into math classes too fast?

MCPS Board: Let's not figure this out. No finals or midterms for anyone. Let's make our already inflated grading scale even easier

Parents: Sounds good to us!


Parents do NOT care what their kids learn. They are just like the county. Test scores and grades for college is the only thing that matters

[Anonymous]

It completely varies by school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:They didn’t get rid of exams because they were too hard to grade. They got rid of them because too many kids failed them.

Exactly. 60-70% were bombing it.

Parents: Why is everyone failing? Is it the curriculum, is it our teachers, are the kids overworked, do they just not try, and/or we pushing these kids into math classes too fast?

MCPS Board: Let's not figure this out. No finals or midterms for anyone. Let's make our already inflated grading scale even easier

Parents: Sounds good to us!


Parents do NOT care what their kids learn. They are just like the county. Test scores and grades for college is the only thing that matters

Kids are failing because many of them have no clue how to study. You’d think every student would be required to take a study skills class before 9th grade. I’m a teacher and I can prepare my students for our exams by going through a study guide prior to the exam and holding extra after school sessions but at the end of the day, I can’t make the students do the work. On my classroom door is a poster that reads “Teachers can open the door but you must walk through it yourself.” Times have changed and when students don’t do well on tests, teachers are the ones who are questioned. This is backwards.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:They didn’t get rid of exams because they were too hard to grade. They got rid of them because too many kids failed them.

Exactly. 60-70% were bombing it.

Parents: Why is everyone failing? Is it the curriculum, is it our teachers, are the kids overworked, do they just not try, and/or we pushing these kids into math classes too fast?

MCPS Board: Let's not figure this out. No finals or midterms for anyone. Let's make our already inflated grading scale even easier

Parents: Sounds good to us!


Parents do NOT care what their kids learn. They are just like the county. Test scores and grades for college is the only thing that matters

Kids are failing because many of them have no clue how to study. You’d think every student would be required to take a study skills class before 9th grade. I’m a teacher and I can prepare my students for our exams by going through a study guide prior to the exam and holding extra after school sessions but at the end of the day, I can’t make the students do the work. On my classroom door is a poster that reads “Teachers can open the door but you must walk through it yourself.” Times have changed and when students don’t do well on tests, teachers are the ones who are questioned. This is backwards.

I'm assuming you are a middle school or high school teacher. Our elementary school teachers don't even use notebooks or have regular tests. My 5th grader has never taken a test in school, never taken notes or been taught study skills except at home. It is not backward when they are supposed to learn these skills and aren't being taught.

[Anonymous]

I am a HS teacher (9th grade) at a Catholic school. I taught for many years in public school. Study skills need to be taught in MS and solidified then. HS is not the time to take tests for the first time IMO. Now that schools have gotten rid of many cumulative exams, students don’t get much practice taking them which is unfortunate. College is a very expensive place to be doing something for the first time IMO. How many students drop out due to poor study skills?