new insights into what went wrong with Wilson's PARCC scores

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The washpo article said it was a similar percentage of students that took the test this year and last year.

so what is the excuse again about the test scores?

The Post article also said kids would show up answer a few questions in 5 minutes and leave.

[Anonymous]

Solutions time:

OSSE/DCPS/Wilson: Need to work together to confirm actual students to test who are in the correct class and grade level, well in advance of the testing window next year. It's also mind boggling that we have a test that is high stakes for everyone except the students taking it. Almost no other states do this because you have all the kinds of issues we're having. Not saying it needs to be a final exam even, but it should at least be a test grade. On the other hand, don't focus on PARCC at the expense of everything else. It should be important, but not all encompassing.

PARCC: Needs to turn around their scores quickly (a few weeks at most) so they can be used for grades and actually inform instruction for the next year. It's mostly a multiple choice test and those results at least should be instant.

Wilson: Needs to clearly communicate the importance of this test for all stakeholders. PARCC gives strong evidence of students' preparedness for college: http://blogs.edweek.org/edweek/curriculum/2016/05/parcc_college_ready_score_reflects_rigor_of_college_work_study_finds.html. Skipping or worse, purposefully tanking the test for individual reasons makes the entire school look bad, which reflects badly on individual students as well. All things being equal, colleges certainly take school reputation into account when looking at applications and if continued, poor PARCC performance will hurt Wilson's reputation.

Teachers/parents: Most of what students hear about a particular test are coming from their teachers and parents. It's irresponsible for parents to push students to opt out of an assessment that is better designed than any students have previously had in DC. Assessment is an important part of planning for instruction and teachers need to send a message that this is a worthwhile endeavor and then show students how they are making use of that information. It should be embarrassing to the Wilson community that they're the only school that seems to have not taken this test seriously and it's not because they're smarter than everyone else. This just seems like poor citizenship. Also, just schedule your AP exams after school. Not that hard and that's what AP teachers across the country do every April and May.

Students: Assuming we addressed everything above, they just need to show up and do their best.

[Anonymous]

Thanks 9:27 for shifting the discussion. Don't agree with PARCC counting for a grade but I'm with you for 95% of your solution.

The idea that OSSE and DCPS couldn't sync up lists of students in th testing cohort is ridiculous. And while not reported that happened across every DCPS high school.

PARCC is better than DCCas which was taken every single year. A one-time test in two core subjects while in high school is a vast improvement but only works if the admins are smart enough not to make kids take it over and over.

[Anonymous]

9:27 makes some good.

I would add:

Wilson: Needs to step up its game considerably. It's a big bad world out there, and at the moment I don't think anyone is highly confident that Wilson is doing a great job with either the advanced kids or the struggling kids. The best I ever hear from other parents about Wilson (or Walls, for that matter) is a hedging sort of "It's OK, I guess. It has its strengths." Anyone who says otherwise is probably lacking a point of comparison.

From my perspective, with a child who is taking 3 AP and 3 honors courses as a sophomore (so presumably among the kids who would be expected to do reasonably well on PARCC), between final exams and AP tests and probably the first stab at the SAT, my kid will have a lot of testing happening in the last months of school. Add PARCC to that mix AT THE SAME TIME and it's clearly at the bottom of the list. I wouldn't encourage my kid to opt out or tank the test, but honestly, PARCC testing this year at Wilson was really disorganized, and when you present something that's a complete mess and ask everyone to take it seriously, you shouldn't be surprised when no one does.

Also, if my kid ended up being pulled out during an AP review session to take a different standardized test, I would be livid. It's really not that hard for the school to figure out who will be taking APs and to schedule those children at different times for PARCC. And no, your child can not easily convince a teacher (even a dedicated and helpful one) to schedule a second AP review session after school. That kind of thing DOES NOT HAPPEN at Wilson, which is one of the problems there, but not even close to the most important.

[Anonymous]

9:27 makes some good points. --Sorry, should have read before posting.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:9:27 makes some good.

I would add:

Wilson: Needs to step up its game considerably. It's a big bad world out there, and at the moment I don't think anyone is highly confident that Wilson is doing a great job with either the advanced kids or the struggling kids. The best I ever hear from other parents about Wilson (or Walls, for that matter) is a hedging sort of "It's OK, I guess. It has its strengths." Anyone who says otherwise is probably lacking a point of comparison.

From my perspective, with a child who is taking 3 AP and 3 honors courses as a sophomore (so presumably among the kids who would be expected to do reasonably well on PARCC), between final exams and AP tests and probably the first stab at the SAT, my kid will have a lot of testing happening in the last months of school. Add PARCC to that mix AT THE SAME TIME and it's clearly at the bottom of the list. I wouldn't encourage my kid to opt out or tank the test, but honestly, PARCC testing this year at Wilson was really disorganized, and when you present something that's a complete mess and ask everyone to take it seriously, you shouldn't be surprised when no one does.

Also, if my kid ended up being pulled out during an AP review session to take a different standardized test, I would be livid. It's really not that hard for the school to figure out who will be taking APs and to schedule those children at different times for PARCC. And no, your child can not easily convince a teacher (even a dedicated and helpful one) to schedule a second AP review session after school. That kind of thing DOES NOT HAPPEN at Wilson, which is one of the problems there, but not even close to the most important.

Totally agree to schedule extra review sessions for after school and/or Saturdays and well in advance of the PARCC window. An AP exam done less than 2-3 days of the test date is not going to be very helpful anyway. That should happen even if PARCC didn't exist. If teachers won't do it, allow kids to form their own study groups.

Figure out which students potentially has AP exam and PARCC conflicts (bc they are in Geometry or English II) and schedule their PARCC exams at the front or back of the PARCC testing window.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Thanks 9:27 for shifting the discussion. Don't agree with PARCC counting for a grade but I'm with you for 95% of your solution.

The idea that OSSE and DCPS couldn't sync up lists of students in th testing cohort is ridiculous. And while not reported that happened across every DCPS high school.

PARCC is better than DCCas which was taken every single year. A one-time test in two core subjects while in high school is a vast improvement but only works if the admins are smart enough not to make kids take it over and over.

This is just coming out now, but this has been the case with every assessment that DC has implemented for the past 7 years that I have been at DCPS. The schools do not have ultimate control over who gets tested, if a child has not taken the assessment it matters not which grade they are in they have to take each assessment during their time at DCPS. This is one of the reasons folks that teachers objected to a high percentage of their final score being based on student assessments!!! This year not only do assessments count (they are assessments not tests) but also student surveys. Maybe now instead of blaming teachers for low test scores, everyone will start looking a little closer at the nonsense that has been going on at DCPS for years. Also, remember those cheating scandals, this plays out in test scores later on down the line. Those students got passing grades when they were not proficient, did they ever get remediation support? NO. So now that we have tighter control over student data, many students at DCPS who previously thought they were proficient are suddenly not. The PARCC is not a test, so really any student who is taking AP math and English should be able to get a reasonable grade on PARCC! These are more complex that the DCCAS but not as high as some other state assessments. Honestly, all these years of Ed. Reform has just created chaos and no one knows what's going on anymore. We just did beginning of year assessments in all schools and that was a HOT mess also. Parents don't really know what is gong on in these schools.

[Anonymous]

Shouldn't Kaya Henderson take some personal responsibility for this fiasco?

Is it not her job to make sure there is a plan in place for which students should take which test, and to figure out when in the year to administer the tests?

[Anonymous]

She is out the door and could care less. She sold Scores in her press release as showing continued improvement

[Anonymous]

So many posts I want to respond to here....

1) When 'they' are talking about AP review sessions they mean class. Wilson students missed class to take the PARCC. My daughter had to miss about a weeks worth of chemistry classes to take the test. She told me she answered A on every single question so she could get back to her honors chemistry class.

2) If you seriously think that the wilson students skipping the PARCC to prepare for their 4+ AP (college level) tests won't be prepared for college you're kidding yourself

3) Have you taken an AP exam, my daughter's AP US History teacher explained to us on back to school night that if she were to teach all the material on the test she would need an extra 4 weeks of school.

4) My daughter, her teachers and I all know exactly how inconsequential the tests are. It's a joke for her and her friends and they compared the ridiculous answers they wrote for the essay portions of the english exam. (My personal favorite was one where God descends from the heavens to tell DCPS to stop making them take the test.

5) Wilson kids have so much pride for their school and it won't take a handful of "DC Urban Moms" questioning it to force them to take a test to prove that their school is great. Something they already know

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:So many posts I want to respond to here....

1) When 'they' are talking about AP review sessions they mean class. Wilson students missed class to take the PARCC. My daughter had to miss about a weeks worth of chemistry classes to take the test. She told me she answered A on every single question so she could get back to her honors chemistry class.

2) If you seriously think that the wilson students skipping the PARCC to prepare for their 4+ AP (college level) tests won't be prepared for college you're kidding yourself

3) Have you taken an AP exam, my daughter's AP US History teacher explained to us on back to school night that if she were to teach all the material on the test she would need an extra 4 weeks of school.

4) My daughter, her teachers and I all know exactly how inconsequential the tests are. It's a joke for her and her friends and they compared the ridiculous answers they wrote for the essay portions of the english exam. (My personal favorite was one where God descends from the heavens to tell DCPS to stop making them take the test.

5) Wilson kids have so much pride for their school and it won't take a handful of "DC Urban Moms" questioning it to force them to take a test to prove that their school is great. Something they already know

How weird!!! You can't leave the PARCC room in the middle of the test, so you are sitting in the room doing nothing if you just write anything on the test. It's not like they let you leave, so I'm beginning to doubt these stories, perhaps kids are embarrassed that this is their real score. It was not a test, it was an assessment, nothing your daughter had to study for. So, if your child was prepared for AP and had been attending classes all year she should have aced that English and Math PARCC and still been able to sit there and chill. Wilson and the Post is perpetuating this story about Wilson to cover up the fact that their scores were abysmal. Every other high school also had PARCC and AP at the same time, but funny how only Wilson is complaining about it and Banneker kids did just fine.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:So many posts I want to respond to here....

1) When 'they' are talking about AP review sessions they mean class. Wilson students missed class to take the PARCC. My daughter had to miss about a weeks worth of chemistry classes to take the test. She told me she answered A on every single question so she could get back to her honors chemistry class.

2) If you seriously think that the wilson students skipping the PARCC to prepare for their 4+ AP (college level) tests won't be prepared for college you're kidding yourself

3) Have you taken an AP exam, my daughter's AP US History teacher explained to us on back to school night that if she were to teach all the material on the test she would need an extra 4 weeks of school.

4) My daughter, her teachers and I all know exactly how inconsequential the tests are. It's a joke for her and her friends and they compared the ridiculous answers they wrote for the essay portions of the english exam. (My personal favorite was one where God descends from the heavens to tell DCPS to stop making them take the test.

5) Wilson kids have so much pride for their school and it won't take a handful of "DC Urban Moms" questioning it to force them to take a test to prove that their school is great. Something they already know

Well, your daughter and her friends are making Wilson look like a terrible school (with plenty of help from Wilson admins.). Way to show school pride!

[Anonymous]

Not terrible but a school full of self-interested, entitled brats.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:So many posts I want to respond to here....

1) When 'they' are talking about AP review sessions they mean class. Wilson students missed class to take the PARCC. My daughter had to miss about a weeks worth of chemistry classes to take the test. She told me she answered A on every single question so she could get back to her honors chemistry class.

2) If you seriously think that the wilson students skipping the PARCC to prepare for their 4+ AP (college level) tests won't be prepared for college you're kidding yourself

3) Have you taken an AP exam, my daughter's AP US History teacher explained to us on back to school night that if she were to teach all the material on the test she would need an extra 4 weeks of school.

4) My daughter, her teachers and I all know exactly how inconsequential the tests are. It's a joke for her and her friends and they compared the ridiculous answers they wrote for the essay portions of the english exam. (My personal favorite was one where God descends from the heavens to tell DCPS to stop making them take the test.

5) Wilson kids have so much pride for their school and it won't take a handful of "DC Urban Moms" questioning it to force them to take a test to prove that their school is great. Something they already know

How weird!!! You can't leave the PARCC room in the middle of the test, so you are sitting in the room doing nothing if you just write anything on the test. It's not like they let you leave, so I'm beginning to doubt these stories, perhaps kids are embarrassed that this is their real score. It was not a test, it was an assessment, nothing your daughter had to study for. So, if your child was prepared for AP and had been attending classes all year she should have aced that English and Math PARCC and still been able to sit there and chill. Wilson and the Post is perpetuating this story about Wilson to cover up the fact that their scores were abysmal. Every other high school also had PARCC and AP at the same time, but funny how only Wilson is complaining about it and Banneker kids did just fine.

Great point about Banneker! Those kids had just as many APs as Wilson and Walls, yet they excelled on the PARCC. Hmmm...

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:So many posts I want to respond to here....

1) When 'they' are talking about AP review sessions they mean class. Wilson students missed class to take the PARCC. My daughter had to miss about a weeks worth of chemistry classes to take the test. She told me she answered A on every single question so she could get back to her honors chemistry class.

2) If you seriously think that the wilson students skipping the PARCC to prepare for their 4+ AP (college level) tests won't be prepared for college you're kidding yourself

3) Have you taken an AP exam, my daughter's AP US History teacher explained to us on back to school night that if she were to teach all the material on the test she would need an extra 4 weeks of school.

4) My daughter, her teachers and I all know exactly how inconsequential the tests are. It's a joke for her and her friends and they compared the ridiculous answers they wrote for the essay portions of the english exam. (My personal favorite was one where God descends from the heavens to tell DCPS to stop making them take the test.

5) Wilson kids have so much pride for their school and it won't take a handful of "DC Urban Moms" questioning it to force them to take a test to prove that their school is great. Something they already know

How weird!!! You can't leave the PARCC room in the middle of the test, so you are sitting in the room doing nothing if you just write anything on the test. It's not like they let you leave, so I'm beginning to doubt these stories, perhaps kids are embarrassed that this is their real score. It was not a test, it was an assessment, nothing your daughter had to study for. So, if your child was prepared for AP and had been attending classes all year she should have aced that English and Math PARCC and still been able to sit there and chill. Wilson and the Post is perpetuating this story about Wilson to cover up the fact that their scores were abysmal. Every other high school also had PARCC and AP at the same time, but funny how only Wilson is complaining about it and Banneker kids did just fine.

Great point about Banneker! Those kids had just as many APs as Wilson and Walls, yet they excelled on the PARCC. Hmmm...

Much much smaller testing cohort but same point would hold for BASIS (91% ELA; 86% Math). ALL testing students were enrolled in a minimum of 2 AP classes.