Teachers give us the down dirty about SOL scores this year

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:March, april, may and the first 2-3 weeks of june is 1/3rd of a school year.

There is no new material in May/June. At most, they missed two months of new material.

[Anonymous]

So reading through this, it seems like many parents are worried less about how their kids actually did rather than proving some point about learning lost during the pandemic? What good does that do at this point? Was done is done.

We're moving on, trying to make up deficits and there's literally no point in this nonsense

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:So reading through this, it seems like many parents are worried less about how their kids actually did rather than proving some point about learning lost during the pandemic? What good does that do at this point? Was done is done.

We're moving on, trying to make up deficits and there's literally no point in this nonsense

+1

I've been pleased reading this thread, seeing the reports of normal pass rates. Lots of good teachers and good students able to return to normal after virtual school. Not all posts but many of them are encouraging.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Can someone please explain the threshold for offering a child a retake vs. just letting them fail?

They are eligible to retake if they scored at least 375. It is up to the parents if they want them to retake if it’s not a high school course. If it is a HS class, it’s likely needed for graduation and there will be a retake date. If in HS and below 375 the retake would be later in summer or fall after remediation instead of in 1-2 weeks during the expedited retake/make up window.

If it’s elementary school and below 375 there is not an option to retake but remediation will likely be offered.

So if it's ES and below 375 will they still wait until the summer to tell us the score or will they try to do some remediation in the next couple of weeks? I don't have a whole lot of faith in my kid's school, she has been doing poorly and the school has not offered us any help. We've had to hire tutors.

They won’t receive remediation this year, that is saved for the students in the retake zone. I wouldn’t count on it for next year either. EVERY year it takes 3-4 months to get the MTSS process up and running. Stay with the tutoring. (ES Teacher)

Thank you for answering honestly - we are definitely going to stick with tutoring. I find it amazing that FCPS is supposed to be one of the best school districts in the country, but have found it to be mediocre at best.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Third Grade
Reading:
9 Pass Advanced
13 Pass Proficient
2 Fail, below the retake range

Math:
5 Pass Advanced
17 Pass Proficient
2 Fail, within retake range

Seems good. Do you know how this compares to pre-pandemic scores?

PP
I'd say it is better, on average, but it's just one class and they vary a lot from year to year.

[Anonymous]

They’re lower across the state for high school English EOC. But the kids who passed are the kids who made legit efforts last year and /or came in hybrid. The kids who turned on Google meet and rolled over or never logged in? Fails.

—English teacher

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:So reading through this, it seems like many parents are worried less about how their kids actually did rather than proving some point about learning lost during the pandemic? What good does that do at this point? Was done is done.

We're moving on, trying to make up deficits and there's literally no point in this nonsense

Exactly. “Give us the down dirty?” Puh-lease.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The thing that stands out about this thread is just how much AAP is a farce and should be dismantled because the whole thing is gamed.

If half the "gifted" kids an AAP class can't pass the basic, statewide math SOL, that's a sign that maybe they are not gifted.

Why don't you look at the actual data instead of rely on anonymous posts from people who often have an axe to grind?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The thing that stands out about this thread is just how much AAP is a farce and should be dismantled because the whole thing is gamed.

If half the "gifted" kids an AAP class can't pass the basic, statewide math SOL, that's a sign that maybe they are not gifted.

I mostly agree with this, but also think if half the "gen ed" kids in a gen ed class can't pass the basic, statewide math SOL, that's a sign that maybe they are not gen ed material.

[Anonymous]

I teach AAP and my students did surprisingly well - probably a bit better overall than in previous years, which is kind of surprising considering the circumstances. About 2/3 got PA on the tests. And of those who got PP, none were super low.

On a different note, I have always wondered about those who get low PP scores - should they really be in the program? These are the same kids who struggle in AAP.

[Anonymous]

Maybe 10% of the kids in AAP actually qualify as gifted and that is being generous. It isn’t a gifted program. It is a program for well behaved kids who are trained to “do school” well and this includes tests.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Can someone please explain the threshold for offering a child a retake vs. just letting them fail?

They are eligible to retake if they scored at least 375. It is up to the parents if they want them to retake if it’s not a high school course. If it is a HS class, it’s likely needed for graduation and there will be a retake date. If in HS and below 375 the retake would be later in summer or fall after remediation instead of in 1-2 weeks during the expedited retake/make up window.

If it’s elementary school and below 375 there is not an option to retake but remediation will likely be offered.

So if it's ES and below 375 will they still wait until the summer to tell us the score or will they try to do some remediation in the next couple of weeks? I don't have a whole lot of faith in my kid's school, she has been doing poorly and the school has not offered us any help. We've had to hire tutors.

They won’t receive remediation this year, that is saved for the students in the retake zone. I wouldn’t count on it for next year either. EVERY year it takes 3-4 months to get the MTSS process up and running. Stay with the tutoring. (ES Teacher)

Thank you for answering honestly - we are definitely going to stick with tutoring. I find it amazing that FCPS is supposed to be one of the best school districts in the country, but have found it to be mediocre at best.

MS parent here. DC is taking algebra and we began using math tutor for the first time. Before that, in ES, we always did math together at home. Do what you need to support your child. Parent-teacher collaboration is what makes FCPS highly regarded.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Lorton Station had AAP center kids fail both reading and math. Gen ed classes had six kids out of entire classes pass reading and even less pass math. It’s a travesty. I’m out of there.

well, they can hang out on tutor.com all summer and voila!... they should be back on their game!

Well this just makes me even more mad that my DS didn’t get into AAP, our center is Lorton Station. He’s great at reading and math, but apparently not special enough.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Lorton Station had AAP center kids fail both reading and math. Gen ed classes had six kids out of entire classes pass reading and even less pass math. It’s a travesty. I’m out of there.

well, they can hang out on tutor.com all summer and voila!... they should be back on their game!

Well this just makes me even more mad that my DS didn’t get into AAP, our center is Lorton Station. He’s great at reading and math, but apparently not special enough.

Good at reading and math doesn’t = special or gifted. Too many parents do not seem to understand this.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Lorton Station had AAP center kids fail both reading and math. Gen ed classes had six kids out of entire classes pass reading and even less pass math. It’s a travesty. I’m out of there.

well, they can hang out on tutor.com all summer and voila!... they should be back on their game!

Well this just makes me even more mad that my DS didn’t get into AAP, our center is Lorton Station. He’s great at reading and math, but apparently not special enough.

My daughter is really good at reading at math and usually gets pass advanced on SOLs. She didn’t get into AAP and we never appealed. We learned from our older child that it will be okay. Everything is open enrollment once they get to middle school and AAP is irrelevant. Don’t stress about it for the 3 years that is an option.