Reply to New grading system in MCPS --why???

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]The new report cars will also show if the child is reading above grade level or has been instructed in math above grade level. I have my own issues with the new report card, but it does show if a child is working above grade level.
23:32, your school's problem sounds like an implementation problem, not a curriculum problem.  The teachers could be giving differentiated work. [b]There are not supposed to be a lot of worksheets under this curriculum.[/b] So, for example, a math game involving number sense, which is part of the curriculum for second grade this marking period, could be made more complex by adding more and more places. If on grade level is ones, tens, hundreds, the teacher can add thousands, ten thousands, etc to the game.[/quote]

Yeah, well, there's the ideal, and then there's reality.   The reality is that the kids in my child's class who finish the math worksheets in the 1st few minutes of math class are given "enrichment" in the form of other worksheets to keep them busy for the rest of the class.  DC's teacher suggested outside supplementation would be a good idea if the curriculum isn't challenging enough.
 
And the example of simply adding more places to go "deeper" into math -- which I've heard from a number of sources as proof that the curriculum can go "deep" -- isn't sufficient for many kids.  It's like giving busy work.

DC gets all answers correct on math tests and worksheets and still comes home with P's.  I asked DC about it, and was told no one got ES's unless you write out explanations of math answers in long sentence form.  So math is turned into a verbal skill, great for kids who are good at both numbers and words, but a penalty for kids whose minds work better with numbers and who don't shine in writing.  They might have the material down cold, know how to get the answer in their heads and in their sleep, understand it perfectly and well beyond the "proficient" range, but if they can't, in effect, be teachers themselves, turning problems and answers into coherent explanatory sentences (that are legible for the teacher to read), then they can't be excelling according to the standards of Curriculum 2.0 because they can't "prove" they understand.  This is more than caring about grades at this elementary school level, which ultimately is not that big a deal.  What I do care about is that it means someone like my DC who loves math more than any subject is growing to hate it because of all the emphasis on verbal accounting. 
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This. And I may add the fact that with the material being so easy, it becomes even more boring to write on and on. Plus as you said, some kids are extremely good at math, but not necessarily in writing. The system should not penalize those kids. And don't tell me the kid should show her understanding crap. [b]The way you test a deep understanding is done through the use of interesting and deep material,[/b] not through the "tell me why 2+2=4 worksheets".

And how would you test a deep understanding besides, asking the child to explain her answer? 
I have heard this argument frequently  - the work is too easy, but OTOH, explaining the work is too hard for my child. WTH?

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There are roughly two different types of questions. The first one can be solved by a mechanical procedure: learn a method and apply it over and over. This is essentially the MCPS way, except with Curriculum 2.0 the students are now required to explain this mechanical procedure in length. 
The second type of questions, requires on the other hand some thinking. You must know all the mechanical procedure and yet it should not be immediately clear what to do. And then, all of a sudden, some students should be able to say "Aha !!". Because those are the sudents who have a deep understanding who deserve ES. But I'm yet to see such a question in my child's files.
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