Reply to Another article about the magnet programs in Washington Post

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]I think the achievement gap is strongly linked to the deficiencies in MCPS's curriculum.  I think it is especially weak in elementary, failing to give kids the foundation they need.  (My kids are now in high school, so they were pre 2.0.  I would like to think things have changed for the better, but that is not my impression).  I think well-educated parents recognize that a student isn't where they need to be and fills in the gaps, either through tutoring or helping out at home.  When I was teaching my kids how to hold a pencil, or use a dictionary, or do 3rd grade math without a calculator, I wasn't considering it test prep.  I think my kids would have had a problem succeeding in the magnet program without these skills (and others), however.

Originally, I had expected the schools to educate my child and I would only need to help with the occasional homework problem, but that's not what I found.   I suspect that other parents may also rely on MCPS to educate their children.  Certainly parents who can't speak English, or who are busy working two jobs to put food on the table, or who don't have a solid academic background themselves, may not realize there are gaps they need to supplement, or may be unable to fill the gaps even if they do.

Strengthen elementary education.  Get a content-rich curriculum  (with textbooks) that has been proven to work.  Grade student work for correctness, not just completion.  Give students grades that mean something rather than the current I, P, E system that nobody seems to know how to interpret.  I think this would be your best shot at decreasing the racial/SES gap.[/quote]

Don't agree.

Its actually been proven that the achievement gap is primarily due to summer brain drain. Want to close the gap? Extend the school day and school year for lower performing kids. This would require the death of teacher's unions.[/quote]

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