ELC for everyone?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

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Anonymous wrote:Looks like our school has all 4th graders taking ELC this year. Anyone else?

So glad they're raising expectations for everyone and demanding a higher standard from all students!

It's probably because MCPS failed to provide a replacement for Benchmark, even though they said they would.

I thought they replaced it with Really Great Reading.

No, RGR was added as a supplement because the phonics component of Benchmark was abysmal. But it's not a comprehensive ELA curriculum, and Benchmark is still abysmal in other ways.

And the science of reading is not just about phonics (though that is important). It is also important for kids throughout elementary school to get a high-quality curriculum that exposes them to rich content areas. Benchmark is much weaker content-wise than some other curricula. But MCPS decided to go with Benchmark even after going through the RFP process last year for a new ES ELA curriculum.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Looks like our school has all 4th graders taking ELC this year. Anyone else?

So glad they're raising expectations for everyone and demanding a higher standard from all students!

+1000

Except that usually means lowering the standard to be sure the teaching is accessible to everyone. Teachers are pretty required to pass the kids so they have to find a way.

+1000 Unfortunately at MCPS, “advanced” for all, in practice, results in remedial for all, because the standards is lowered so that all can pass.

Oh you must be at one of the bad schools then. Advanced for all is just that at ours. It's amazing.

When my kid was in advanced for all they brought home info about an english project. It appeared to be a research paper! Wow..I did not think MCPS actually assigned them. Then I learned my child was only doing steps 1 and 2. Pick a topic. Write three notes from an on line source. No time for the other ten steps. This was a W feeder (though not recently)

[Anonymous]

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Anonymous wrote:It's possible the ELC for all schools are at schools where most of the students qualified for the CES lottery? I hope that's true.

There are no such schools. It's only the top 15%. For most to qualify, it would be top 50%.

Top 15% of who? Just that school or of the county. The school seems silly. One schools top 15% could be vastly different than another.

They group schools by SES level (percentage of students receiving FARMs) and then take the top 15 percent of students from those groups and put them in a lottery for CES. Anyone who isn't in CES is guaranteed ELC at their home school. But there are also kids who were not in the CES lottery who are offered ELC, particularly in low-FARMs school where the lottery cutoff is very high (above 85th percentile nationally). So there are indeed schools where most students demonstrate a need for enrichment, even if most students are not in the CES lottery.

DP. Just to give an example, my DC scored 93% in winter map-r, but located at a tier 2 school. From what I read, I believe that DC's score was deducted 12 percentage points (for being in a tier 2 school), so that became 81st percentile. Did not enter lottery and was not offered an ELC spot at local school.

Which is why I don’t think MAP tests are a good measure of student ability. It is very random and just one data point. A perfectly capable student could have a bad day and bomb his test and not qualify for ELC or CES.
My DC was entered into CES lottery based on his fall score back when we were online for almost a year. On his spring MAP, his score dropped. I wonder what his score would have been in winter but they never tested him. But he ended up getting the CES spot and did fine in the program. So i think a lot of kids who do not have that cut off score can still do well in ELC or even at CES.

It's a very good test of knowledge - and 93%ile is very good. It's just that MCPS adjusts the percentiles downward for low-FARMs schools, which makes it harder to get into CES for equity's stake. But MCPS could require ES to offer ELC to all who score at or above 85th percentile nationally. Right now, they are leaving it up to principal's choice, which is unfair.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Looks like our school has all 4th graders taking ELC this year. Anyone else?

So glad they're raising expectations for everyone and demanding a higher standard from all students!

It's probably because MCPS failed to provide a replacement for Benchmark, even though they said they would.

I thought they replaced it with Really Great Reading.

No, RGR was added as a supplement because the phonics component of Benchmark was abysmal. But it's not a comprehensive ELA curriculum, and Benchmark is still abysmal in other ways.

And the science of reading is not just about phonics (though that is important). It is also important for kids throughout elementary school to get a high-quality curriculum that exposes them to rich content areas. Benchmark is much weaker content-wise than some other curricula. But MCPS decided to go with Benchmark even after going through the RFP process last year for a new ES ELA curriculum.

It’s so frustrating. I truly don’t understand the incompetence at this point. It makes you wonder what is going on behind the scene at central office.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Looks like our school has all 4th graders taking ELC this year. Anyone else?

So glad they're raising expectations for everyone and demanding a higher standard from all students!

It's probably because MCPS failed to provide a replacement for Benchmark, even though they said they would.

I thought they replaced it with Really Great Reading.

No, RGR was added as a supplement because the phonics component of Benchmark was abysmal. But it's not a comprehensive ELA curriculum, and Benchmark is still abysmal in other ways.

And the science of reading is not just about phonics (though that is important). It is also important for kids throughout elementary school to get a high-quality curriculum that exposes them to rich content areas. Benchmark is much weaker content-wise than some other curricula. But MCPS decided to go with Benchmark even after going through the RFP process last year for a new ES ELA curriculum.

It’s so frustrating. I truly don’t understand the incompetence at this point. It makes you wonder what is going on behind the scene at central office.

Absolutely. The incompetence is stunning.

[Anonymous]

How is ELC for everyone going at schools where it’s offered to everyone?
At our school its going well as far as I can tell as a parent. It would be helpful if any teachers chime in.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Looks like our school has all 4th graders taking ELC this year. Anyone else?

It's amazing! At our school so many students are rising to this challenge. I have to commend the county for raising the bar.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Looks like our school has all 4th graders taking ELC this year. Anyone else?

It's amazing! At our school so many students are rising to this challenge. I have to commend the county for raising the bar.

That is great to know!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Looks like our school has all 4th graders taking ELC this year. Anyone else?

It's amazing! At our school so many students are rising to this challenge. I have to commend the county for raising the bar.

I think you misspelled “lowering” the bar

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Looks like our school has all 4th graders taking ELC this year. Anyone else?

It's amazing! At our school so many students are rising to this challenge. I have to commend the county for raising the bar.

Yet you haven’t explained what the challenge is that so many are rising to.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Bannockburn, Wood Acres, Carderock and Bradley Hills are also doing ELC for all in 4th grade. Think it is was a wise choice- up the bar for everyone and provide some supports for kids who need it. Not sure why people are unhappy about this.

Farmland is also doing ELC for all 3rd thru 5th.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Looks like our school has all 4th graders taking ELC this year. Anyone else?

It's amazing! At our school so many students are rising to this challenge. I have to commend the county for raising the bar.

Yet you haven’t explained what the challenge is that so many are rising to.

The higher expectations that honors asks of all students.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Bannockburn, Wood Acres, Carderock and Bradley Hills are also doing ELC for all in 4th grade. Think it is was a wise choice- up the bar for everyone and provide some supports for kids who need it. Not sure why people are unhappy about this.

Farmland is also doing ELC for all 3rd thru 5th.

ELC is only 4th and 5th. If they are doing something in 3rd different from Benchmark, it is not ELC.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Looks like our school has all 4th graders taking ELC this year. Anyone else?

It's amazing! At our school so many students are rising to this challenge. I have to commend the county for raising the bar.

Yet you haven’t explained what the challenge is that so many are rising to.

The higher expectations that honors asks of all students.

Again, not explaining what they’re doing. Which make me believe that yes they may have raised the bar, but no its not a true ELC/CES type class.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Looks like our school has all 4th graders taking ELC this year. Anyone else?

It's amazing! At our school so many students are rising to this challenge. I have to commend the county for raising the bar.

Yet you haven’t explained what the challenge is that so many are rising to.

The higher expectations that honors asks of all students.

Again, not explaining what they’re doing. Which make me believe that yes they may have raised the bar, but no its not a true ELC/CES type class.

It's a better curriculum overall, so if more kids can handle it, why not? MCPS dropped the ball and Benchmark is awful. No reason most of the students should be stuck with that when ELC is readily available.