Reply to basic question about CES

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]I think this was the report I was thinking of:

https://montgomeryschoolsmd.org/departments/sharedaccountability/reports/2019/Enriched%20and%20Accelerated%2028Jan2019%20FINAL.pdf

It says nothing about what scores were before the change in selection criteria, and I have no knowledge of what the scores were like under the prior selection criteria.[/quote]

It does say nothing about what existed prior to the change in selection criteria, but certainly two things jump out.  First, 715 students (excluding private) grade 3 students were invited during the 17-18 school year (i.e., for the past year's 4th grade), which is about 6% of all 3rd graders if you assume 12,000 3rd graders county wide (as the system has about 160K students total, but I don't know the grade breakdown).  An even larger percentage if you looked at only the pool that took the Cogat exam (but I have no idea what that number is.)  Even if you exclude the local centers, that's still far above the perceived size that people complain about when saying that the CES program should be expanded.  That doesn't mean it shouldn't be expanded, but it's a larger program than I suspect most realize.

But the other thing that jumps out is that if look at the test scores of invited 3rd graders, although many (but not most in all cases) scored at the 95 percentile or higher nationally, a very significant group scored below that level when each test is viewed separately:  37% on the Cogat, 60% on MAP math, and 42% on MAP reading.  The group within those percentages that scored below the 80 percentile, at least on the MAP test, is relatively minimal, but not zero.  Obviously, any given student could have done great on one or two tests, and not as well on the others, and this data doesn't show that at all.  It does indicate that the percentage of students classified as FARMS, special services and LEP (I assume a different measure of ESOL) is small.

Again, there is no comparison to what existed under the prior selection criteria, but perhaps the Metis report has those numbers and someone can fill those in.  But the information published in this report clearly indicates that the program is not limited to students who score in the top 2-3% nationwide.  Not even close.  You can debate whether or not that should be the purpose of the program, but that's a different question.

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We received an invitation letter at the end of the 2016-17 year, which was the last year parents submitted applications to the CPHG, and also coincided with the field test of universal screening limited to two centers. The letter includes this paragraph:

"This year, as a result of enhanced efforts, record numbers of students have participated in the process for the Center Program for the Highly Gifted (CPHG). These efforts resulted in 6,200 Grade 3 students being evaluated for one of the 576 seats in the CPHG. MCPS is pleased to increase the number of seats available in the CPHG. The increase in seats for 2017-2018 for rising Grade 4 students is one of the areas in which Montgomery County Public Schools is addressing the needs of highly qualified students in the county."

I believe the four local centers had not yet been announced at the time, so that may explain the difference in the number of seats.
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