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Montgomery County Public Schools (MCPS)
Montgomery county parents - did we make a mistake?
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Anonymous
| I've had two kids go through elementary school in the MCPS system, and I wouldn't say that the MSAs ever caused either of them much stress. At our school, there was relatively little in the way of pep rallies or signs; simply a couple of announcements to parents (via newsletter and phone) regarding the MSA schedule and a pitch to be sure kids arrived on time on testing dates. Though there was some test prep in class, our kids never brought home review packets geared specifically to the MSA. However, on a macro level MCPS devotes extensive resources to test prep, administration and review, and, of course, this means that the same resources aren't being devoted to providing kids with other, richer educational experiences. Moreover, the curriculum has become so focused on reading and math that science and social studies are almost non-existent. Finally, I should note that the MSAs have never provided me with any added value in terms of understanding my kids' academic strengths and weaknesses. The most valuable information I ever received along these lines came from their teachers, who knew them well and had a comprehensive view of their progress over the course of a year, rather than just a snapshot taken on a specific day or over a few days of testing. |
Anonymous
My child is in a Prince George's County (MD) public school in the second grade. Every few weeks he brings home a science homework paper, related to a unit he is currently studying (for example, this month was "weather", and written in a format that will be on the 3rd grade Science MSA "Brief Constructed response" so hthe chidren can get practice in answering the question. Last weeks assignment was something about the fact that the earth's axis tils, which makes us have seasons, and the Brief Constructed Response prompted students to describe how they prepare for one season. My son BOMBED the answer, btw... he said he prepares for summer by getting psyched for no school. |
Anonymous
| My child just left private school as an experiment and was in MoCo for her first and last year |
Anonymous
Could you elaborate? Too much testing? Bad teachers? What part of MoCo are you in? |
Anonymous
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poster 2/24/10 11:40
Potomac Elementary, Potomac Elementary, Potomac Elementary......and, now Hoover MS God I hate all the obsession with testing! |
Anonymous
I actually think Howard is very diverse- live here, was raised here. I would modify your sentence to read - "But keep in mind that if diversity is important to you, Howard offers less of that in the western part of the county. The entire rest of the County is VERY diverse. |
Anonymous
New mom here...Can someone explain what is the red zone? I hear this all the time. |
Anonymous
MoCo has undergone HUGE demographics changes in the past 10 years, changing the County school system from about 80% white to now less than 40% white. I don't know the figures on poverty, but now it's something like more than half of kindergartners are living in poverty. Many kids are immigrants and have English comprehension challenges as well. So the County identified schools where kids were under-performing significantly and created a differentiated treatment plan. Green zone were schools that were performing well. Red zone schools weren't. The County shifted focus from equity of resources to equity of outcomes. And the red zone schools are performing much better than they used to. They aren't equal, but they are much better. |
Anonymous
| Thanks for the info about the red zone versus green zone. Is there a map of this I can see or a listing of the schools in each zone? |
SAM2
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Here are an article and a couple presentations on the red/green zone issue (with maps). My understanding is that the program basically allocates additional funding to the red zone schools.
http://webreprints.djreprints.com/2218431183300.html http://www.hbs.edu/pelp/docs/Weast070620Harvard.pdf http://www.ets.org/Media/Education_Topics/pdf/school%20finance/Lacey.pdf If you search online, you'll find several other articles and discussions about it: http://fwd4.me/PpB Also, here is a book on Montgomery County schools that seems interesting: http://www.montgomeryschoolsmd.org/leadingforequity/ |
Anonymous
I am married to a MCPS teacher and I can confirm that what the PP MCPS teacher said is correct; the teachers would like to do more interesting things in the classroom but are not allowed to do so. The testing has taken over. To the PP who asked, "who is going to stop this test prep madness," the answer is YOU. The school board is an elected body and they are doing what they think you want them to do. The truth is that people judge a school by its test scores (look at the thread re choosing between Bethesda ES and Sommerset ES). Please send emails to the the County Executive, the school board members, the school superintendent, etc. telling them what you want in your school. Teachers who stray from the county curriculum risk poor reviews from their principals. My wife told me that the focus on testing kills the amount of creativity she can bring into her classroom. Please, we all have the ability to create change. Send emails, write the Gazette, call your school's principal and, more importantly, folks at the administrative level and let them know you want change. Quite the opposite! The School Board is elected by the APPLE BALLOT! That's a creation of the TEACHERS union. Teachers hand out the APPLE Ballot at the polls and parents vote for the people they think the teachers support. Odd thing is, that is you actually look at the Apple Ballot funding not one single teacher has ever contributed a dime to that Political Action Committee. The PAC has each endorsed candidate contribute money to pay for the mailings and handouts. If the teachers would wake up and pay attention to what their Apple Ballot is doing THEY could be the change they seek! |
Anonymous
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As a MoCo voter and parent, I'm curious to learn more about this APPLE ballot. Thanks for bringing this to our attention!
Do you know how the PAC is related to the union? Where does the PAC's funding come from, since it's not from the teachers themselves? Do the teachers fund the union, which then funds the PAC? So that the PAC is funded indirectly by the teachers, at about two steps' remove? What criteria does the union use to pick candidates? Is it mostly a candidate's position on labor issues (hours, pensions). Or mostly on educational issues (testing, diversity issues, gifted and talented)? Or some combination of the above - in which case are some positions are weighted more heavily than others? Thanks for answering, if you know the answers. I'm genuinely curious, not looking to stir up trouble. I'm writing as a parent who gets that flyer at every election and generally uses it as a voting guide. |
Anonymous
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Here's an interesting blog I've come across:
A 21st Century Union - A teacher's effort to think critically about what is best for students, teachers and the future of education in Montgomery County. http://improvingmcps.blogspot.com/ Gives some insight to the teacher's union. |
Anonymous
We are making that move next year - for 9th grade. What school was your child in and what were the issues? |