Reply to MCPS Teachers: Why cling to grade inflation and disregard MAP?

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Reply to "MCPS Teachers: Why cling to grade inflation and disregard MAP?"

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[quote=Anonymous]So my DD is a 5th grader and math has never been her strongest subject. But she's always done well academically overall.

I understand in elementary school that the bar for As and Bs is not as high as it is in middle and elementary, but my DD has gotten nothing but As and Bs in math throughout her elementary schooling. However, I looked at her latest MAP-M score and she's in the 39th percentile and below the district average. At our parent-teacher conference, I raised this point to her teacher and specifically asked how she would adjust my daughter's math instruction to get her to either meeting the MCPS average or above.

The teacher basically argued that I don't need to worry about the MAP-M score because it tests things that they either brush over in the curriculum quickly or that they just haven't gotten to yet. That answer didn't really square with me because my daughter has struggled with some of the math homework at home. So I know there are some gaps that make independent math work challenging for her. And yet, she consistently gets As and Bs in math each marking period.

I did see she got a C and a D on one quiz each this school year, which was a first for her, but the teacher didn't use those quizzes as evidence of any kind of problem. She basically thought my daughter was fine and that I shouldn't worry about the MAP-M score being in the 39th percentile.

I decided to get my daughter evaluated at Mathnasium and guess what? Their assessment matched what she'd gotten on the MAP-M score: That she was just below grade level. The good news is, I have the resources to invest in the enrichment at Mathnasium to get her back on grade level, but it's a shame that's the only way to get my daughter back on track. Even worse, the classroom grades my daughter is receiving on report cards don't even accurately flag the severity of the issue to allow me as a parent to understand that she needs support. Only the MAP-M score flagged this for me. And when I brought it up with the teacher, she basically made it clear she didn't put too much weight into them.

I don't understand why a teacher would grade in a way that doesn't accurately denote the deficiencies in the student's performance AND simultaneously dismiss what MAP is saying. Teachers, can you explain why this happens? I suspect it's due to pushes from admin to keep grades at a certain level (yes, me and my daughter are non-white and the majority of kids at my daughter's school are non-white too), so I can probably surmise why the grade inflation is happening, but I don't understand ignoring the MAP data.[/quote]

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