Reply to I = Fail at end of year report card?

Forum Index » Montgomery County Public Schools (MCPS)

Reply to "I = Fail at end of year report card?"

Subject:

Emoticons





More smilies

Text Color: Font: Close Marks

[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]My big question for MCPS is "If your child wasn't Straight Ps, WHAT are we going to do about it?" ("We" refers to everyone in the learning process - parent, student, teacher, principal/staff, and MCPS.) 
[/quote]

Exactly. I've been to back to school night, PTA meeting on the new grading system, EMT meeting to evaluate IEP/504, and read the FAQ and I have yet to find the answer to PP question.  I think what gets me so wound up is the impression at the meetings that it is the parents that don't understand and we aren't used to change so that's why we are complaining. At work, there are times that I get in the weeds and all techno geek, but when my manager asks me to give him the bottom line impact and what needs to be done I don't insist it is his problem that he didn't read detailed emails chains and/or doesn't  speak techno geek and couldn't figure it out on his own with the information given.  Not only do I need to answer in a respectful, non-condescending manner if I enjoy being employed but I take that as a "my bad" and strive to anticipate that type of question the next time and proactively provide the information.

So PP, I had the same question.  If you ever get the official MCPS answer, please share the wealth.[/quote]

Hi, PP. I'm the person you quoted with the "big question." My child has a language-based learning disability and my attempts with IEP and 504 have been difficult. We made some progress from the end of the '11-'12 school year which continued into '12-'13, but they stymied mid-school year. He was "mostly" Ps in the various quarters, with the exception of 1 component under Reading and everything under Writing. It's all due to the LD. The end of year grading was an I for Writing but P for Reading (but I still remain very concerned about reading).

My guess is that your child was in a similar boat.

I am frustrated, and also very confused, about how "We" are going to "fix" it and am really debating contacting the principal to express my concerns. All year at every meeting, it was the same song and dance... don't worry about the grades in the individual quarters, just focus on being P at the end of year.

I'd love it if MCPS had some sort of focus group on this report card to get "Year 1 feedback" from parents but MCPS feels they have obviously done the Best Job in the Universe for a Fancy Report Card and would never listen to constructive feedback.[/quote]

NP here.  I also have a kid with a language-based learning disability.  I would be very concerned about an "I" in writing at the end of the year.  an "I" means that the child, at the end of the year, is "in progress" toward proficiency at ON GRADE level standards -- translation:  the child has not, by the end of the year, mastered to proficiency the ON GRADE level material, thus the child is now BELOW grade level.  Even P's are murky.  There is no apparent correlation between a P and the underlying work I have seen.  My DC did not make expected progress on the MAP-Rs, did not make expected progress in terms of advancing 4 reading levels in a school year.  Yet, DC is still "P".   Teacher listens to DC read and answer a few reading comp questions (with MUCH prompting) and then gives DC a "P".  There is no data to support the grades.

IMO, the new grading system makes it very difficult for parents of special ed kids to counter, with documentation, the school's constant contention that everything is OK.   We also had a principal who said let us have a chance to work during the year, pushing aside concerns expressed throughout the year, and in the end, not enough progress was made.

Call me cynical, but this will save the system a lot of money, because parents will have an increasingly hard time demonstrating the "adverse impact" prong of the IEP eligibility determination.  No adverse impact = no IEP = no special instruction = no need to spend money on additional instruction.  [/quote]

Options

	Disable HTML in this message
	Disable BB Code in this message
	Disable smilies in this message

Review message

Search Recent Topics Hottest Topics