How bad are Montgomery County Schools?

[Anonymous]

Seems to me that parents who are obsessed with the county's rankings and test scores are just perpetuating the county's emphasis on prepping kids for tests.

Something's got to give. When teachers are forced to spend tons of time on mindless test prep, there is no more room for all the "extras" mentioned in this thread such as arts, daily PE, etc.

The reason that most of us think MoCo has such great schools has more to do with the education and wealth of its residents and less to do with the actual quality of instruction. That and MCPS spends $10 million a year on PR to brainwash everyone into believing the myth. From many of the posts on DCUM which discuss where to purchase a house in a neighborhood just to access schools with good test scores, this strategy appears to work.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Seems to me that parents who are obsessed with the county's rankings and test scores are just perpetuating the county's emphasis on prepping kids for tests.

Something's got to give. When teachers are forced to spend tons of time on mindless test prep, there is no more room for all the "extras" mentioned in this thread such as arts, daily PE, etc.

The reason that most of us think MoCo has such great schools has more to do with the education and wealth of its residents and less to do with the actual quality of instruction. That and MCPS spends $10 million a year on PR to brainwash everyone into believing the myth. From many of the posts on DCUM which discuss where to purchase a house in a neighborhood just to access schools with good test scores, this strategy appears to work.

I agree, but the same is true for the private school junkies, who judge a schools quality of instruction by how hard it is to get in.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Seems to me that parents who are obsessed with the county's rankings and test scores are just perpetuating the county's emphasis on prepping kids for tests.

I agree, but the same is true for the private school junkies, who judge a schools quality of instruction by how hard it is to get in.

I agree with you both that many people over-emphasize test scores. However, would you agree with me that a school's test scores are one valid measuring stick (among many) to consult when trying to evaluate a particular school? There is no single perfect way to evaluate a school, and it seems to me that you'd want to look at a lot of different things, including test scores.

It's sort of like buying a house. You'd want to look at the square footage, but also the landscaping ... and the neighborhood, and the local schools, etc. Anyone who just looks at square footage and ignores everything else would be silly, but you wouldn't say square footage is completely irrelevant as one way to check out a house. It's one useful measure among many, just like test scores.

[Anonymous]

I've not read every single post, but no school is perfect. Not traditional public, not private, not charter, not magnet.

FWIW, my child is in a public school in PG because we don't have other options. Fortunately, the school is working out for our child for the most part. We supplement where necessary, and occasionally (rarely) unlearn some stuff. After mulling this over for a few years, and exploring options we didn't really have anyway, and taking a long hard look at my child and how he learns, I've decided that the issues he has with school (and they are minor) are issues he'd have anywhere.

School, for better or worse, is not the be-all, end-all of a child's education or who they grow up to be.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:To the posters agreeing that the school lack programs beyond the basic reading, writing, and math skills but suggesting you use the money saved to pay for extra art, music, and sports programs, don't your children become overscheduled this way? Does it really make sense for a K or 1st grader to be stuck in a chair all day doing worksheets and then spend 1-2 hours in scheduled extracurricular activities, go home eat a quick dinner and then do worksheet homework? Wouldn't weekends become filled with catching up on what was left out in school?

I don't think scheduling is required in order to get in all of the extras. Sure, some scheduling is needed (e.g. our boys take piano lessons - 1/2 hour/child/week; both kids take tennis, which is an hour/week, and the younger one takes a pottery class which is 1 hour/week), but we get in a lot of that stuff as a family: We visit museums, go to concerts, go swimming together, camp, hike, and play sports together. Those aren't extracurriculars, it's just life.

I like our kids' MCPS elementary school. I don't love it, but I like it. My kids have parents with good, professional jobs; a large house; clothes, shoes, school supplies, and abundant food; a spiritual community; warm beds, and lots of love. They attend school in a top-rates school system and get plenty of formal and informal extras.

So their school isn't The Best? So what? From my point of view, they are blessed. Good enough is good enough.

ITA. "good enough is good enough" is my new motto. I have to laugh at some of the posts on this forum that say they need info. on "the absolute best [fill in the blank of some life-threatening issue]"

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Let me make sure I am understanding you correctly. If someone looking for info about schools is asking about which school districts perform poorly, you won't provide negative info about your neighborhood's school. And that's because helping someone out would not "benefit me or anyone in my neighborhood"? And you'd share your concerns about the schools only with people "who have already bought into the neighborhood." Are you saying you'd hide the poor schools just because there's no clear benefit to you in sharing the info, or is it because you think sharing the info hurts you somehow? How do you think this might hurt you?

Are you the only one who thinks this way, or do you think all your friends/neighbors think the same way?

I've got to say, this way of thinking surprises me.

Really?

Let me turn it around, for a second. Imagine you live in Silver Spring, MD, and the neighborhood school for your area is say, "Pleasant Acres" (I'm just making this up, don't know if there is one) You think it is not that great a great school, you have not been very happy with it, for K and 1 at least, but are hoping things will change, and that more people who currently send their kids to private school might consider their local public school instead.

Yet that's what you can afford right now.

What would motivate you to come onto this highly public forum and say "Pleasant Acres School is really disappointing. I have heard that other schools in Montgomery County offer a better education, and handle certain situations better than this one does; let me give you details of how bad the school I send my kid to really is. Please come into my neighborhood and buy a house here, becaiuse the school is really crappy."

The reason you would do this is....?

[Anonymous]

What is wrong with Silver Spring? Why did you choose that suburb over another? We like our school here...

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Let me make sure I am understanding you correctly. If someone looking for info about schools is asking about which school districts perform poorly, you won't provide negative info about your neighborhood's school. And that's because helping someone out would not "benefit me or anyone in my neighborhood"? And you'd share your concerns about the schools only with people "who have already bought into the neighborhood." Are you saying you'd hide the poor schools just because there's no clear benefit to you in sharing the info, or is it because you think sharing the info hurts you somehow? How do you think this might hurt you?

Are you the only one who thinks this way, or do you think all your friends/neighbors think the same way?

I've got to say, this way of thinking surprises me.

Let me turn it around, for a second. Imagine you live in Silver Spring, MD, and the neighborhood school for your area is say, "Pleasant Acres" (I'm just making this up, don't know if there is one) You think it is not that great a great school, you have not been very happy with it, for K and 1 at least, but are hoping things will change, and that more people who currently send their kids to private school might consider their local public school instead.

What would motivate you to come onto this highly public forum and say "Pleasant Acres School is really disappointing. I have heard that other schools in Montgomery County offer a better education, and handle certain situations better than this one does; let me give you details of how bad the school I send my kid to really is. Please come into my neighborhood and buy a house here, becaiuse the school is really crappy."

The reason you would do this is....?

PP here. I absolutely would give my unbiased opinion, warts and all. In fact, if I think the school stinks, I'd be pretty vocal about it, probably not waiting for someone to ask my opinion but rather volunteering it. At best, my criticism will find its way to someone who can help improve the situation. At worst, I will help someone (yes, an anonymous stranger) avoid the same mistake I made. Why wouldn't you want to help someone out with good advice?

[Anonymous]

Hundreds of people have read this thread (almost 1000 views). Chances are good that with enough information in a post, someone will be able to identify the poster. I might hate my local school enough to move my child to private but I still live in the neighborhood. I sure don't want all my neighbors to hate me because I've lowered their property value.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote: At worst, I will help someone (yes, an anonymous stranger) avoid the same mistake I made. Why wouldn't you want to help someone out with good advice?

Not just one anonymous stranger, a whole BUNCH of anonymous strangers. By naming the school, your review will come up every time they do a serach on the school in question.

Why would you want your neighborhood school to be known as a "bad" school? Then fewer people who value "good" schools will want to buy a home in your neighborhood.

All I'm saying is, I can understand why people would be motivated to post good things about their school, but not bad things.

I am personally reluctant to post negative things about my child's former private school! I didn't like it, for pretty specific reasons, but I don't want to post them in an online forum accessible by many people. I like the people who run the school, and the parents who send their kids there, and don't want to hurt them by posting negative things, in case someone might be turned off about sending their children there. The most I will do is post faint praise.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote: At worst, I will help someone (yes, an anonymous stranger) avoid the same mistake I made. Why wouldn't you want to help someone out with good advice?

Not just one anonymous stranger, a whole BUNCH of anonymous strangers.

I'm the PP you quoted. So much the better if a whole bunch of people read my criticism. That's why I'd post it. If I like the school or the neighborhood, I'll be vocal about that too. I just don't like the idea of refusing to give good advice (or worse yet giving misinformation) to someone looking for help. Perhaps I'm naive, but that's not the way I'd want to live.

BTW, I can understand people not wanting to "out" their identity by posting too much personal detail. But the solution for that is just too avoid giving too much detail. If your school stinks, say it stinks and say why. You don't have to include your child's name or your home address.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote: At worst, I will help someone (yes, an anonymous stranger) avoid the same mistake I made. Why wouldn't you want to help someone out with good advice?

Not just one anonymous stranger, a whole BUNCH of anonymous strangers. By naming the school, your review will come up every time they do a serach on the school in question.

Why would you want your neighborhood school to be known as a "bad" school? Then fewer people who value "good" schools will want to buy a home in your neighborhood.

All I'm saying is, I can understand why people would be motivated to post good things about their school, but not bad things. . . .

So you mislead strangers in hopes of maintaining your property value? That's cynical.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote: At worst, I will help someone (yes, an anonymous stranger) avoid the same mistake I made. Why wouldn't you want to help someone out with good advice?

Not just one anonymous stranger, a whole BUNCH of anonymous strangers. By naming the school, your review will come up every time they do a serach on the school in question.

Why would you want your neighborhood school to be known as a "bad" school? Then fewer people who value "good" schools will want to buy a home in your neighborhood.

All I'm saying is, I can understand why people would be motivated to post good things about their school, but not bad things. . . .

So you mislead strangers in hopes of maintaining your property value? That's cynical.

Uh, no. I don't mislead strangers. If someone knocks on my door, or speaks to me at the playground, and asks about what I think of the neighborhood school, that's one thing. I'm happy to give my opinion -- good, bad, and indifferent.

But identifying a neighborhood school by name, and sharing negative things about it? So everyone searching for info on that school can see it? I wouldn't do it. Not that I have to -- I'm quite happy with our local public school choices. But if I weren't I wouldn't identify the schools by name.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We plan to send our kids to BCCHS but now I see the new US news rankings, and BCC isnt even in the running for top school anymore! http://www.usnews.com/articles/education/high-schools/2009/12/09/americas-best-high-schools-gold-medal-list.html

B-CC never was in the US News rankings - though the school ranks high in Jay Matthews' Challenge Index. Different methodologies in ranking schools.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I'll name a school: Greenwood Elementary in Brookeville, MD. It is an excellent school, with talented teachers, strong leadership, and a dedicated and effective PTA. The kindergarten classes use centers. There's lots of movement throughout the day --- kids are not stuck in their seats. The students are fully engaged and stimulated, but not pressured. It is a lovely, nurturing environment, and we're thrilled with the school on several different levels. We know parents who have yanked their kids out of private school to attend strong MCPS public schools comparable to Greenwood.

Perfect example of different strokes for different folks. This is the school we pulled our two sons out of. Everyone was nice sure, but both boys went into K reading and doing math at an advanced level, and neither could get the stimulation or engagement that they needed. The excuse was always that in the higher grades is when the differentation really begins. We were not ok with waiting. On my court of 11 houses, 9 of them send their kids to private.