Reply to MCPS plans to rate schools on #s of kids in advanced classes

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]Did you see the new strategic plan from MCPS?   https://drive.google.com/file/d/12Hdm1k6oUdCCzMYUguo1u79btxoF22MP/view?usp=drivesdk

There are some things I like about it but I'm concerned that one of the things they'll be measuring schools on with their new scorecard is "% of students enrolled in advanced, 
enriched, or accelerated courses and 
programming (e.g., honors, AP, IB, dual 
enrollment, centers for enriched studies) 
disaggregated by reporting groups."  In fact that is the only metric they have for the objective around enrichment.

Pushing schools to bulk up the numbers of kids in advanced classes seems like a terrible idea to me, especially if it is not mitigated by any other more appropriate measures around enrichment.  It feels like it will either lead to more and more classes that are called "advanced" but actually are at or below grade level and don't actually provide enrichment to kids that need it, or they will try to put below-level kids in advanced classes where they'll struggle and it will be harder on everyone (kids at all levels and teachers trying to serve them all at the same time.)

I got the impression from the Board meeting yesterday that while the strategic plan goals are now final, the metrics might not be-- not 100% sure that's true, but might be worth a try to weigh in and try to get the goal amended or replaced with something that's not so counterproductive, or at least to add some other goal to counterbalance it?  Who would be the right people to contact about this?[/quote]

+1
This is how we got honors for all. Everyone's advanced in MCPS, even if they are struggling to get basic skills.

Enrollment is not meaningful. They should use objective measures, like scoring a 4 or 5 on an AP exam.[/quote]

I don't disagree with you, but it's almost impossible to have these conversations without looking at past practice, and at the intersection of race and perceptions of success.

Right now, I think we can all agree that the standards for "Honors" classes are low, to the detriment of almost everyone. Kids who truly need remediation aren't getting it, and kids who need/want an academic challenge are also not getting it.

However, moving to a system where schools are "ranked" by percentage of kids who pass an AP exam also has issues, because it creates an incentive for schools to gatekeep who gets to take AP courses. I'm sure that sounds fine if you have a kid who teachers/administration tend to see as a "good student." If your kid is white/Asian, female, well-organized, listens well, and speaks up in class not too much and not too little, it's going to sound like a fine system. But if your kid is Black/Hispanic, a boy, has learning differences, or is marked as ELL even if they finished ELL programming in elementary school, you might start to think this is not the best system after all.  [/quote]

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