Reply to APS Math & Reading Inventories- pandemic

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]If your kid is scoring way above grade level on these inventories in the fall, nothing taught in MS is going to increase it by much. Or at all. My kids always scored two or more years ahead.  It would vary over the course of the year, up and down. Pre pandemic.  If your kid comes into sixth grade over 1000 on math inventory, nothing they are teaching in math 6 extended is going to move him much. He’s already way ahead.  And for reading, the decrease probably reflects that your kid is doing less independent reading than over the summer.  The APS reading course or [b]English 7 isn’t going to move the readings score of a high achieving kid[/b].  That’s pretty pandemic truth. [/quote]

My kid's high reading score did increase, but she also is still reading as much as she did over the summer. Maybe even more over these cold months. Also, her English 7 teacher isn't as lax about grading as other teachers so she does take that one a little more seriously.

I think a lot depends on teachers - the 7th grade teachers have been great. Better than the pre-pandemic 6th grade teachers. Plus, there was practically zero new content in pre-pandemic 6th grade so it's tough to compare the years. 
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I agree with this. I guess my point is that mild declines in already high scores are not a sign of DL failure.  These inventories do go up (and my kids did over grades 6-8) but they are really only a measure of the schools “failure” if the kid doesn’t progress with grade level material.  They are useful for math placement and identifying need for interventions.  That’s about it. [/quote]

You are in complete and utter denial if you do not think DL for an ENTIRE year and going to a 4-day school week where the teacher only lectures a small portion of the class time has not had [b]a negative effect[/b].[/quote]

"Negative"? I don't think that is universally true. I think many kids aren't learning quite as much as if it were in-person school, but most kids aren't declining / net negative. At least the ones who are actually attending class. The kids who don't join at all certainly will decline.

And quite frankly even in a regular year there are a wide range of experiences with how much kids learn and outcomes.

But vaccines are here. Kids are going back. Your kid will be OK. He is still a high reading level and better off than the many kids who will never get to that level, pandemic or not. 
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DP. Not learning as much as kids in sane grade last year is a “negative effect”.  Yes- that applies across the board.  It’s tiresome to repeatedly hear that the lower standard is fine, acceptable.  They didn’t even introduce anything new after March last year so as not to disadvantage certain kids.  Sink to the lowest denominator -APS way.[/quote]

Yes, a lower standard is OK this year. There is a global pandemic FFS.

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So, I am one of the PPs.  My kid's inventory scores dipped, but I don't care about that.  However, his grades also took a significant nosedive, and when I asked his guidance counselor whether there was any discussion/coordination around "a lower standard," I was told no.  Actually she kind of chuckled at the question.  So, my kid (who is by most of these metrics above-average) might wind up taking a seat in an APS summer school program that really should go to kids who have historically struggled and are doing even worse this year.  APS is a train wreck on these issues, even pre-pandemic.  The stories I have heard about kids with IEPs and the alleged "interventions" they're getting make my head spin.  I believe my kid will be okay in the long term.  But this last year has shown me what APS really is--a system that has a reputation for great schools that is largely made up of kids whose parents are wealthy and highly educated.  Meaning their kids could live in a cave for a decade and wind up going to college because the parents have the resources to make that happen.  Meanwhile, for kids who are genuinely struggling for any number of reasons, APS is just a disaster.  In my opinion, you have to be pretty bad to have to pay the DOJ $25 million to settle on your poor treatment of kids and families who don't speak English.  But no one in N. Arlington cares about that.  [/quote]

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