Reply to When Did MCPS Stop Having Mid-Terms and Finals?

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Reply to "When Did MCPS Stop Having Mid-Terms and Finals?"

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]An AP test is basically a final. I don’t know what people mean by “mid-terms.”  When I was in MCPS we had a final exam in most classes (not most electives) at the end of each semester. But those were [b]semester final exams[/b], not mid-terms. I don’t think we had any mid-term exam as opposed to unit tests or whatever the teachers chose to give along the way. I do think HS final exams were useful experiences and we also got a week off of regular school because of the scheduling of finals - up to 2 per day but not more and often only had one. [/quote]

:roll: The semester final exams are the "mid terms".  I am sure the OP is an immigrant  and this is the vocabulary of someone who did not go to school here.

OP - There are two semesters in the school year.  And each semester has two quarters.   MCPS does all kinds of weird smoke and mirrors in testing and reporting so URM, FARMs and low performing students can also seem to be doing well. One thing they decided that if they do not have semester final exams...there will be no way to judge how poorly kids are being doing.  This was based on an expose by Washington Post (WaPo) that saw that A students (who got As due to turning in homework in time and unit tests that were take home etc) actually were failing the semester exam.

Let me explain it to you -
School year = Semester 1 + Semester 2
Semester 1 = Quarter 1 + Quarter 2
Semester 2 = Quarter 3 + Quarter 4

Grades calculated that goes on the transcript before they removed the semester final

Semester 1 grade = quarter 1  + quarter 2 + end of semester exam.

Now Semester 1 grade = quarter 1 + quarter 2

Also a grade in any quarter is rounded off not in percentages but by 100% of the next grade.

So, if a kid got 89.5% in quarter 1, it will be rounded off to not a 90% and thus an A, but rather it will be counted as an A which scored 100%.  This is called - GRADE INFLATION

URM = Under Represented Minorities  (Blacks and Hispanics)

FARMS = Free And Reduced Meals Students  = Poor students.

How are grades determined in each quarter? Turning in homework (Does not have to be correct or complete) gets you 10%.  Rest are projects and tests that can be repeated multiple times or even taken home to finish.  Kids are dumb enough to not even finish those tests.

[/quote]
This  person is only posting what she read on DCUM. 
Definitely a private school parent [/quote]

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