MD 2022-2023 MCAP Results: Only 14% proficient ELA, 13 proficient math at state-level; MCPS 13.5% ELA, 13.7% math

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The problem starts way before Algebra. I work at a Title 1 school and kids are herded along despite not having mastery or even basic understanding of mathematical concepts. Teachers are forced to keep pace with the lessons and not allowed to deviate based on student comprehension. We have fourth graders who can not multiply single digit numbers that are expected to divide fractions and they are lost in the sauce. I’m not a classroom teacher, and I don’t see myself ever going back as a traditional classroom teacher because of the explicit expectation that you must strictly follow Week 4, Day 3 Eureka lesson plans with zero differentiation of math abilities-we are not allowed to split kids up into groups based on skill proficiency. I do reading pull outs for struggling readers (don’t get me started on Benchmark and how MCPS schools/teachers don’t understand the science of reading) but it is heartbreaking to witness how much these students are struggling. The answer is not to hire more math and reading coaches. We need to meet students where they are academically, identify the areas of deficit and reteach the foundational concepts.

YES! Thank you. Yes, to all of this.

Parents think the kids are doing fine because they are passing and moving along to the next grade.

I teach in another MD district. Many immigrant parents seem confused that their kids are passed to the next grade when they aren't passing. This doesn't happen in other countries. There needs to be minimum standards for each grade. Our current standards are very high (which is good since many students can meet them) but not all students will meet them. We need minimum standards for each grade. Students who don't meet them must attend a summer program and if they still don't meet them, they need to repeat the grade. I shouldn't have to pass a student to the next grade who is far below grade level. We all know what will happen. It's a snowball effect. That's how you end up with 9th graders who read on a 4th/5th grade level.

[Anonymous]

OMG OMG OMG THE SKY IS FALLING!!!!!!!!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The problem starts way before Algebra. I work at a Title 1 school and kids are herded along despite not having mastery or even basic understanding of mathematical concepts. Teachers are forced to keep pace with the lessons and not allowed to deviate based on student comprehension. We have fourth graders who can not multiply single digit numbers that are expected to divide fractions and they are lost in the sauce. I’m not a classroom teacher, and I don’t see myself ever going back as a traditional classroom teacher because of the explicit expectation that you must strictly follow Week 4, Day 3 Eureka lesson plans with zero differentiation of math abilities-we are not allowed to split kids up into groups based on skill proficiency. I do reading pull outs for struggling readers (don’t get me started on Benchmark and how MCPS schools/teachers don’t understand the science of reading) but it is heartbreaking to witness how much these students are struggling. The answer is not to hire more math and reading coaches. We need to meet students where they are academically, identify the areas of deficit and reteach the foundational concepts.

YES! Thank you. Yes, to all of this.

Parents think the kids are doing fine because they are passing and moving along to the next grade.

I teach in another MD district. Many immigrant parents seem confused that their kids are passed to the next grade when they aren't passing. This doesn't happen in other countries. There needs to be minimum standards for each grade. Our current standards are very high (which is good since many students can meet them) but not all students will meet them. We need minimum standards for each grade. Students who don't meet them must attend a summer program and if they still don't meet them, they need to repeat the grade. I shouldn't have to pass a student to the next grade who is far below grade level. We all know what will happen. It's a snowball effect. That's how you end up with 9th graders who read on a 4th/5th grade level.

maybe provide a more vocational options for those who are more inclined toward that

[Anonymous]

Vocational does not mean unskilled. Most actual professions are highly technical and need basic organization, social, reading and math skills.

If kids are bombing academic courses they are usually bombing vocational courses too.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

I thought this was the year we were supposed to see improvements after last year being the first year back in school from COVID? The bar is on the floor and I'm not seeing thoughtful investigations of root-cause analyses or meaningful solutions. And before anyone says, "It's poor kids," it's not. Even "economically-advantaged" students managed 53% ELA proficiency at 25% math proficiency.

This is a five-alarm fire kind of situation. Where's the leadership from MCPS on this?

My kid's DCC school had 75%+ proficient in ELA and 50% proficient at math according to the results I received in the mail. My kid themselves scored something like 840 on math and 810 on reading. I think 750 was proficient so overall my kid and their school seem to be doing great despite the overall state's results.

[Anonymous]

People who get worked up over these things don't grasp that this is a new test that isn't fully tuned or debugged. The results are better but not especially reliable.

[Anonymous]

Maybe it’s time to ban the phones in the classroom.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:People who get worked up over these things don't grasp that this is a new test that isn't fully tuned or debugged. The results are better but not especially reliable.

So what is the appropriate response? Ignore it? Even though other performance data, including MCPS's own EOL data, confirms that kids are seriously behind in reading and math?

I don't get it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Evidence of Learning presentation to BOe
https://mcpsmd.new.swagit.com/videos/222933

K-12 Comprehensive math plan update
https://mcpsmd.new.swagit.com/videos/230561

Not sure if you posted this in support of MCPS, but I did rewatch the math plan update.

As usual, MCPS talked around the problem, but board member Wolff got to the heart of it when she basically got them to admit that part of the reason for the poor math proficiency scores is because too many MCPS kids are being pushed into Algebra 1 early, which requires compacted math, which means they're not building and getting the appropriate amount of exposure and time to master those foundational skills.

This means the problem is on two parties:

1. Parents: We need to stop treating 7th or 8th grade Algebra 1 as the benchmark. Many of our kids aren't ready for it. (Not sure why this is revolutionary, Algebra 1 in 9th grade was completely the norm back when I was in MCPS). Stop pushing your schools to put your kid in "accelerated math" programs unless the test scores demonstrate they have a genuine need at that level. It's great that you believe in your baby's potential, but there's no rush. 9th grade Algebra 1 is ON TRACK, not behind.

2. Admin: Stop cowtowing to pushy parents. Trust the teachers' evaluations and stop allowing any of your staff in the counseling office or team leads to parrot things like "Your child isn't college ready unless they take Algebra 1 by 8th grade."

As usual, it looks like we have created our own problem and now we have to untangle ourselves from a web of our own making.

That’s not the problem. Please don’t take away accelerated math. That, plus remote work, will cause families to flee to HoCo and Urbana.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Evidence of Learning presentation to BOe
https://mcpsmd.new.swagit.com/videos/222933

K-12 Comprehensive math plan update
https://mcpsmd.new.swagit.com/videos/230561

Not sure if you posted this in support of MCPS, but I did rewatch the math plan update.

As usual, MCPS talked around the problem, but board member Wolff got to the heart of it when she basically got them to admit that part of the reason for the poor math proficiency scores is because too many MCPS kids are being pushed into Algebra 1 early, which requires compacted math, which means they're not building and getting the appropriate amount of exposure and time to master those foundational skills.

This means the problem is on two parties:

1. Parents: We need to stop treating 7th or 8th grade Algebra 1 as the benchmark. Many of our kids aren't ready for it. (Not sure why this is revolutionary, Algebra 1 in 9th grade was completely the norm back when I was in MCPS). Stop pushing your schools to put your kid in "accelerated math" programs unless the test scores demonstrate they have a genuine need at that level. It's great that you believe in your baby's potential, but there's no rush. 9th grade Algebra 1 is ON TRACK, not behind.

2. Admin: Stop cowtowing to pushy parents. Trust the teachers' evaluations and stop allowing any of your staff in the counseling office or team leads to parrot things like "Your child isn't college ready unless they take Algebra 1 by 8th grade."

As usual, it looks like we have created our own problem and now we have to untangle ourselves from a web of our own making.

That’s not the problem. Please don’t take away accelerated math. That, plus remote work, will cause families to flee to HoCo and Urbana.

Nobody said they were taking away accelerated math. They are merely recommending that the criteria no be because a parent feels like their kid SHOULD be in accelerated math, because some college prep counselor insisted their kid wouldn't be considered college-ready if they weren't taking Algebra 1 in 7th or 8th grade.

[Anonymous]

You do realize that you really need to be in Calc by 11th to do well (really well) on the SAT?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Evidence of Learning presentation to BOe
https://mcpsmd.new.swagit.com/videos/222933

K-12 Comprehensive math plan update
https://mcpsmd.new.swagit.com/videos/230561

Not sure if you posted this in support of MCPS, but I did rewatch the math plan update.

As usual, MCPS talked around the problem, but board member Wolff got to the heart of it when she basically got them to admit that part of the reason for the poor math proficiency scores is because too many MCPS kids are being pushed into Algebra 1 early, which requires compacted math, which means they're not building and getting the appropriate amount of exposure and time to master those foundational skills.

This means the problem is on two parties:

1. Parents: We need to stop treating 7th or 8th grade Algebra 1 as the benchmark. Many of our kids aren't ready for it. (Not sure why this is revolutionary, Algebra 1 in 9th grade was completely the norm back when I was in MCPS). Stop pushing your schools to put your kid in "accelerated math" programs unless the test scores demonstrate they have a genuine need at that level. It's great that you believe in your baby's potential, but there's no rush. 9th grade Algebra 1 is ON TRACK, not behind.

2. Admin: Stop cowtowing to pushy parents. Trust the teachers' evaluations and stop allowing any of your staff in the counseling office or team leads to parrot things like "Your child isn't college ready unless they take Algebra 1 by 8th grade."

As usual, it looks like we have created our own problem and now we have to untangle ourselves from a web of our own making.

Agreed. But mcps needs to make the accelerated math criteria more transparent. If it’s not clear then it causes confusion among parents

[Anonymous]

You take a kid with some attention deficits or other learning needs, and let them have a phone in the classroom. Let’s see, are they going to learn math or play on their phone? Studies prove the addictive nature of the phones over and over. Teachers cannot compete with the phones.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:You do realize that you really need to be in Calc by 11th to do well (really well) on the SAT?

Here we go. This is precisely the attitude that we're talking about.

The SATs cover Algebra 1 and 2 material. Full-stop.

While the SAT Math section tests your knowledge of high school math, it doesn’t venture past what you’ll learn in Algebra II and Pre-Calculus classes.

If you haven’t reached Calculus yet, there is no need to worry!

SOURCE: https://prepexpert.com/what-kind-of-math-is-on-the-sat/#:~:text=While%20the%20SAT%20Math%20section%20tests%20your%20knowledge%20of%20high,is%20no%20need%20to%20worry!

Are kids who are in Calc by 11th likely to do better than those who stay on-level? Maybe. But that's not a reason to force your kid to go faster than they're ready.

Also, it depends on what you define as well or really well. If your on-level kid scores within the 1200-1400 range on the SATs, that's good. However, if you as a parent refuse to accept anything less than a 1500, then your expectations are warped.

[Anonymous]

MCPS literally serves the accelerated students as well. It is possible and better to have different classes for kids with different needs. Ask the teachers.

Yet, I assure you it is not the kids who did Algebra in 7th or 8th who are dragging down the test scores. You know that PP. this is an effort to deflect/distract from the real issues, which is failing to teach math to most of the kids.

Start with banning the phones. Give the kids a chance to learn without notifications and text messages. Too many distractions.