Message from Jack Smith about Grade Inflation

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There is nothing wrong with the grading system.

There are other things that could be improved, but the grading system is fine.

I am simply amazed at how some parents think things should remain the same because they want their kids to have good grades (without working for it). They are willing to sacrifice a solid education for an exaggerated representation of their performance in school, which colleges know is just that - exaggerated. These parents are in for a rude awakening when college search comes along.

Your assumptions are incorrect.

My child is actually in a high school test-in program (and has been in MCPS magnets since 4th grade) so we certainly aren't trying to avoid hard work or a good education.

uh

You do realize that your kid's magnet school experiences are in a bubble and do not reflect what happens in an average classroom on a daily basis.

Average kids are going to be smarter because we arbitrarily decide to give them lower grades. If they aren’t in challenging classes then of course the grading is easier. As it should be.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The reason why there were lower grades in the past isn't that there's grade inflation today but because of the widespread use of leaded gas affected your generation's ability to reason.

That's why they've had to dumb down the SAT several times since then, and scores are still going down... Sure.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The reason why there were lower grades in the past isn't that there's grade inflation today but because of the widespread use of leaded gas affected your generation's ability to reason.

That's why they've had to dumb down the SAT several times since then, and scores are still going down... Sure.

When I took the SATs back in the 70s the median score @FCPS was around 800-900 range.

[Anonymous]

My kid has also been in test-in magnets since 4th grade and is currently in HS. The only time it was hard to get a great grade was in his upcounty HGC. Every magnet child was getting a P, because the magnet teachers were told not to give any ES.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:However, some kids are not good test takers and are hurt when their grades mean less because the system isn’t accurately reflecting their hard work and knowledge.

Your child is not a ‘bad test taker’ - your child is reaching his/her cognitive limits. Please be honest and recognize that.
Please.

My child doesn't go to MCPS--I follow this forum because I'm MCPS staff. My child has a 132 IQ and straight As at a rigorous private. I can assure you that my child chokes on standardized exams -- anxiety gets in her way. Everyone has cognitive limits--but standardized tests don't happen to reflect hers. You're pretty ignorant. Be honest and recognize that.

You don't trust the county to educate your kid?

just curious

I do not. Not at all. I don't like working in the county anymore either, though, so I'll be changing that up too. It's a shame.

I was the poster to whom you responded.

- former MCPS teacher (in another district now for the same reason)

Former MCPS parent - I left MCPS after two administrators at my son’s school suggested it, following a series of meetings about our concern re his writing level. They confided that their kids were in independent and Catholic schools.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:However, some kids are not good test takers and are hurt when their grades mean less because the system isn’t accurately reflecting their hard work and knowledge.

Your child is not a ‘bad test taker’ - your child is reaching his/her cognitive limits. Please be honest and recognize that.
Please.

My child doesn't go to MCPS--I follow this forum because I'm MCPS staff. My child has a 132 IQ and straight As at a rigorous private. I can assure you that my child chokes on standardized exams -- anxiety gets in her way. Everyone has cognitive limits--but standardized tests don't happen to reflect hers. You're pretty ignorant. Be honest and recognize that.

You live in a crazily privileged world but you have absolutely no awareness of it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:However, some kids are not good test takers and are hurt when their grades mean less because the system isn’t accurately reflecting their hard work and knowledge.

Your child is not a ‘bad test taker’ - your child is reaching his/her cognitive limits. Please be honest and recognize that.
Please.

My child doesn't go to MCPS--I follow this forum because I'm MCPS staff. My child has a 132 IQ and straight As at a rigorous private. I can assure you that my child chokes on standardized exams -- anxiety gets in her way. Everyone has cognitive limits--but standardized tests don't happen to reflect hers. You're pretty ignorant. Be honest and recognize that.

You don't trust the county to educate your kid?

just curious

I do not. Not at all. I don't like working in the county anymore either, though, so I'll be changing that up too. It's a shame.

I was the poster to whom you responded.

- former MCPS teacher (in another district now for the same reason)

Former MCPS parent - I left MCPS after two administrators at my son’s school suggested it, following a series of meetings about our concern re his writing level. They confided that their kids were in independent and Catholic schools.

Like no one would know that their kids are in privates.
Cool story bro.

[Anonymous]

How often do you talk to your kids' teachers about where their kids go to school? I know no one has ever asked me. My kids go to private and I work in the county.

[Anonymous]

I work for the county and would never send my kids to private. Outcomes for children with the same backgrounds and SES is the same. If that money is burning a hole in your pocket, you'd be better served spending it on enrichment.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My kid has also been in test-in magnets since 4th grade and is currently in HS. The only time it was hard to get a great grade was in his upcounty HGC. Every magnet child was getting a P, because the magnet teachers were told not to give any ES.

Isn’t this &*%# ridiculous? Listening to that Jack Smith interview, the only one who made sense was the teachers’ rep. We should decimate the bureaucracy - that’s where huge savings would come from. Most of MCPS costs are in salaries and benefits. Let’s increase them for teachers, and cut the bureaucracy!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I work for the county and would never send my kids to private. Outcomes for children with the same backgrounds and SES is the same. If that money is burning a hole in your pocket, you'd be better served spending it on enrichment.

Outcomes are not the same from my vantage point. Kids are excited to learn and they are like different people socially and emotionally. It is tiring to watch teachers burn out, be disrespected, and for bad behavior to be met with silence.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:How often do you talk to your kids' teachers about where their kids go to school? I know no one has ever asked me. My kids go to private and I work in the county.

Seems like it - you made a false assumption based on a lack of reading comprehension. Reread the post.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I work for the county and would never send my kids to private. Outcomes for children with the same backgrounds and SES is the same. If that money is burning a hole in your pocket, you'd be better served spending it on enrichment.

That is exactly what many studies have shown. The same kid will do the same at any of these schools. Although a school's average may be affected by it's overall SES, individual outcomes are a function of the individual's SES.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I work for the county and would never send my kids to private. Outcomes for children with the same backgrounds and SES is the same. If that money is burning a hole in your pocket, you'd be better served spending it on enrichment.

No dear, no they are not.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My kid has also been in test-in magnets since 4th grade and is currently in HS. The only time it was hard to get a great grade was in his upcounty HGC. Every magnet child was getting a P, because the magnet teachers were told not to give any ES.

Isn’t this &*%# ridiculous? Listening to that Jack Smith interview, the only one who made sense was the teachers’ rep. We should decimate the bureaucracy - that’s where huge savings would come from. Most of MCPS costs are in salaries and benefits. Let’s increase them for teachers, and cut the bureaucracy!

+1,000,000