MCPS Math Failures: Will exams come back when PARCC goes

[Anonymous]

After 2.0 rolled out MSA scores started dropping but MCPS made up the excuse that the new math curriculum didn't match the MSA so not to worry and scores would go up with PARCC.

HS math final exam failures rates also started soaring and MCPS tried to hide the data. Parents from Rockville had to file a MD FOIA request to release the scores. There were news articles on the terrible failure rate. MCPS said to wait another year for 2.0 alignment and guess what -the failure rates got worse.

MCPS recommended to the BOE that they just stop giving the final exam and the BOE agreed. MCPS and the BOE said that PARCC would be the new measurement for math proficiency and exams were not needed.

Now students are failing math PARCC exams. MCPS apologists or just MCPS says that now PARCC doesn't matter because its going away. No mention of whether exams will be coming back and I'm sure MCPS does not want them back to reveal how poorly they are doing.

How many times does this school system need to fail to finally admit that it isn't teaching math??? Why doesn't anyone care?

[Anonymous]

i doubt exams will come back because PARCC goes away. As I recall, BOE removed final exams because they were a source of "too much stress" for students. They were replaced with the Required Quarterly Assessment, which is now called Progress Check. The RQA/Prog Check is worth 10% of a quarter's grade. Not every subject has them, but math is one that does have them.

[Anonymous]

Horrible. Yet another reason to just reject the system and send your kid to private, if you can afford to do so.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:i doubt exams will come back because PARCC goes away. As I recall, BOE removed final exams because they were a source of "too much stress" for students. They were replaced with the Required Quarterly Assessment, which is now called Progress Check. The RQA/Prog Check is worth 10% of a quarter's grade. Not every subject has them, but math is one that does have them.

Seriously? What are they going to do when they get to college and have a battery of final exams? These kids are going to be completely unprepared.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:i doubt exams will come back because PARCC goes away. As I recall, BOE removed final exams because they were a source of "too much stress" for students. They were replaced with the Required Quarterly Assessment, which is now called Progress Check. The RQA/Prog Check is worth 10% of a quarter's grade. Not every subject has them, but math is one that does have them.

You recall incorrectly.

The high school I went to did not have whole-quarter or whole-semester final exams, with or without special final-exam periods. I don't think they are a necessary component of a good high school education.

[Anonymous]

Probably depends on what they replace PARCC with and who has to take it. I recall the reason they removed them was because of the amount of instructional time lost due to testing...

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:i doubt exams will come back because PARCC goes away. As I recall, BOE removed final exams because they were a source of "too much stress" for students. They were replaced with the Required Quarterly Assessment, which is now called Progress Check. The RQA/Prog Check is worth 10% of a quarter's grade. Not every subject has them, but math is one that does have them.

Seriously? What are they going to do when they get to college and have a battery of final exams? These kids are going to be completely unprepared.

Yes, so we have to have them in high school, to prepare them for college. But then what will they do when they get to high school completely unprepared? We have to have them in middle school, to prepare them for college. But then what will they do when they get to middle school completely unprepared?

[Anonymous]

Seriously? What are they going to do when they get to college and have a battery of final exams? These kids are going to be completely unprepared.

Yes, so we have to have them in high school, to prepare them for college. But then what will they do when they get to high school completely unprepared? We have to have them in middle school, to prepare them for college. But then what will they do when they get to middle school completely unprepared?

OMG, this is hands down the dumbest response I have ever read on DCUM. Did you even graduate from high school?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:i doubt exams will come back because PARCC goes away. As I recall, BOE removed final exams because they were a source of "too much stress" for students. They were replaced with the Required Quarterly Assessment, which is now called Progress Check. The RQA/Prog Check is worth 10% of a quarter's grade. Not every subject has them, but math is one that does have them.

Seriously? What are they going to do when they get to college and have a battery of final exams? These kids are going to be completely unprepared.

Yes, so we have to have them in high school, to prepare them for college. But then what will they do when they get to high school completely unprepared? We have to have them in middle school, to prepare them for college. But then what will they do when they get to middle school completely unprepared?

Huh? You don't seem to understand the concept of preparing someone for something incrementally. It's not about saying "oh let's have them do the same thing over and over from infancy!" That's stupid. You build them up little by little. Having essentially no cumulative exams in some subjects is not preparing them for college. HS students don't have to have the very high stakes exams some colleges have, but students should have some practice dealing with a week of final exams before they're in college, where the professors will not take the time to help them develop the proper study skills.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Seriously? What are they going to do when they get to college and have a battery of final exams? These kids are going to be completely unprepared.

Yes, so we have to have them in high school, to prepare them for college. But then what will they do when they get to high school completely unprepared? We have to have them in middle school, to prepare them for college. But then what will they do when they get to middle school completely unprepared?

OMG, this is hands down the dumbest response I have ever read on DCUM. Did you even graduate from high school?

Yes, and from college, and from graduate school! All after going to a high school that didn't have final exams.

[Anonymous]

Huh? You don't seem to understand the concept of preparing someone for something incrementally. It's not about saying "oh let's have them do the same thing over and over from infancy!" That's stupid. You build them up little by little. Having essentially no cumulative exams in some subjects is not preparing them for college. HS students don't have to have the very high stakes exams some colleges have, but students should have some practice dealing with a week of final exams before they're in college, where the professors will not take the time to help them develop the proper study skills.

This X100.

Let not forgot that the BOE and MCPS doesn't give a rats h behind about student stress. They don't want data showing their failure. This school system has fallen so fast and so far it should be a case study in what not to do for education majors for years to come.

There needs to be quality measurement for MCPS and at some point someone has to be held accountable or it will be below Detroit before you know it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:i doubt exams will come back because PARCC goes away. As I recall, BOE removed final exams because they were a source of "too much stress" for students. They were replaced with the Required Quarterly Assessment, which is now called Progress Check. The RQA/Prog Check is worth 10% of a quarter's grade. Not every subject has them, but math is one that does have them.

Seriously? What are they going to do when they get to college and have a battery of final exams? These kids are going to be completely unprepared.

Yes, so we have to have them in high school, to prepare them for college. But then what will they do when they get to high school completely unprepared? We have to have them in middle school, to prepare them for college. But then what will they do when they get to middle school completely unprepared?

Presumably, it would be a good idea to get kids used to the idea a cumulative exams BEFORE their grades on those exams matter, so yes, it’s a good idea to have them in junior high school.

I live in PA and our district starts cumulative final exams in third grade.

[Anonymous]

Every kid I know in mcps starts taking AP exams in 9th or 10th. The end of the year is filled with comprehensive exams. I don't miss finals at all. What I do not like is MCPS has not really changed the curriculum to cover the extra time that was spent reviewing and taking finals.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:i doubt exams will come back because PARCC goes away. As I recall, BOE removed final exams because they were a source of "too much stress" for students. They were replaced with the Required Quarterly Assessment, which is now called Progress Check. The RQA/Prog Check is worth 10% of a quarter's grade. Not every subject has them, but math is one that does have them.

You recall incorrectly.

The high school I went to did not have whole-quarter or whole-semester final exams, with or without special final-exam periods. I don't think they are a necessary component of a good high school education.

So you graduated from an MCPS high school in the last 2 years? I was specifically referring to Montgomery County (MD) Board of Education decision. They canned middle school final exams about 3 years ago and high school final exams were eliminated the next year and replaced with the RQA.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:i doubt exams will come back because PARCC goes away. As I recall, BOE removed final exams because they were a source of "too much stress" for students. They were replaced with the Required Quarterly Assessment, which is now called Progress Check. The RQA/Prog Check is worth 10% of a quarter's grade. Not every subject has them, but math is one that does have them.

Seriously? What are they going to do when they get to college and have a battery of final exams? These kids are going to be completely unprepared.

Yes, so we have to have them in high school, to prepare them for college. But then what will they do when they get to high school completely unprepared? We have to have them in middle school, to prepare them for college. But then what will they do when they get to middle school completely unprepared?

Presumably, it would be a good idea to get kids used to the idea a cumulative exams BEFORE their grades on those exams matter, so yes, it’s a good idea to have them in junior high school.

I live in PA and our district starts cumulative final exams in third grade.

Not seriously?