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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]Of course, MAP scores will vary every time the test is administered because the tests themselves are different, never mind the inherent uncertainties of student performance.  A student with (for example) a MAP-M of 225 could take the MAP again tomorrow and score 219 or 227.  So knowing what the exact numerical cutoff for the MS lottery was this year (whether for each FARMS band, for each ES, or for some other population segment) isn't going to help anyone plan for next year.  Same with percentages: that imaginary MAP-M of 225 could place a student at 73% or 62% or 98% depending on how the other test-takers scored on that individual test administration.

"Top 15%" is often kicked around as the lottery stat for MCPS, and that's probably not a bad ballpark just for thought-experiment purposes, but since everyone else's performance is an unknown, it's very hard to guess whether any given student (unless they are truly off the charts) is eligible for the lottery pool prior to notification.

The best advice I have is to feed DC a great breakfast on MAP days, make sure they earn those required A grades in the appropriate subjects, and then forget about the entire thing until the notifications come down.  There are appeals processes that you can use if you think a mistake has been made, so you can use the intervening time to learn about those.[/quote]

The score variation noted is true, along with the uncertainty about anything that might be termed planning, but that doesn't mean there is no value in MCPS providing detailed disclosure of the past & current criteria, including cutoffs resulting from local norming.  The appeals process would be truer to its presumed purpose of all of that was clearly understood by both appellant and potential reviewers, including the BOE.  Also of public interest would be the number of appeals, the proportion of those that were successful, the de-identified nature of successful & unsuccessful appeals, and the resulting measures taken by MCPS to support those successfully appealing.

Hiding the information suggests that MCPS wishes to quash both appeals and any critique that might be brought to the attention of oversight bodies (e.g., the BOE).  That seems to have been MCPS's modus operandi for many issues.  The most prominent, recently, brought down the Superintendent.  It's a shame that the nature of that, bad as it was, drew action where similarly handled issues (important, themselves, though of considerably different nature) remain unaddressed.[/quote]

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