Last year we applied our 3rd grader to competitive privates (big 3 - 5) coming out of MCPS. Her grade was the guinea pig grade for 2.0 so she had 2.0 for second and third, and the new report card for 3rd. I made an appointment with the admissions offices to discuss the new report card and talked about the inconsistencies in use of Ps, ES, etc. across our school. The privates definitely got that the new report card was a hot mess. My daughter had almost all Ps, but strong WISC IV testing and recommendations. She was accepted into several top privates for 4th. And, YES, she had major gaps going into her 4th grade private math, as did several other MCPS 2.0 students. The school has been very supportive in getting her caught up, but there definitely was catch up required (even though she had been receiving enrichment in the 2.0 curriculum).

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP here, it's not so much the lack of letter grades that concerns me. It's the unlikelihood of getting the highest grade. When we were in school, if you got the answers right, you got an A. Now, if your kid forgets to show their work, even if they got the answer right, it's an I. That's just an example, but one that illustrates how I fear it may tank chances to get into selective privates.

If a "selective" private school can't figure out that a child is intelligent, then do you really want to send your kid there? Our (probably not what is considered "selective") private school does their own testing when kids come to visit. But of course there is more to getting accepted anywhere than just a child being smart enough.

Yes, I hope that the private schools are savvy/open/flexible enough to figure out that the MCPS grades are silly, but I can't really count on that when they have lots of other kids to pick and choose from. The testing, then, becomes SUPER important, which is kind of scary when it's one day and you can't retake it if you just had a bad day.

Although I agree that the selective school should be able to evaluate the kids transferring from MCPS, I do think this new system is a great disadvantage. Yes, the grading system is only one of the problems. My child who seemed to be a math whiz has been doing the same level math since 2nd grade. (His school advanced him in 2nd grade (to do 4th grade work), in 3rd grade, he did 3rd grade math as commanded under 2.0, now in 4th grade, he's doing compacted 4/5 math which is easier and more basic that the work he did in 2nd grade. To say he is demoralized and is losing interest in math is an understatement. It isn't just the grading system that is the problem, it is the content of what these kids are learning.

Anonymous wrote:OP here, it's not so much the lack of letter grades that concerns me. It's the unlikelihood of getting the highest grade. When we were in school, if you got the answers right, you got an A. Now, if your kid forgets to show their work, even if they got the answer right, it's an I. That's just an example, but one that illustrates how I fear it may tank chances to get into selective privates.

If a "selective" private school can't figure out that a child is intelligent, then do you really want to send your kid there? Our (probably not what is considered "selective") private school does their own testing when kids come to visit. But of course there is more to getting accepted anywhere than just a child being smart enough.

Anonymous wrote:Most privates use Saxa or Everyday Math. These programs cover more concepts than MCPS and get there faster. MCPS students have a lot of holes. They'll have 4 or 5 ways to do a simple equation but they have never seen more complex equations. They also don't have strong calculation skills anymore so they can't do the more complex problems very quickly.

Its not just that MCPS is behind which is an issue for student transferring in but its that MCPS is completely skipping different types of problems and equations. Most privates will help you connect with tutoring groups that you can use over the summer and throughout the school year. I would advise that you budget for tutoring if you haven't had your child in some type of outside math program or if your child is not naturally a math whiz.

Is that so.

And Everyday Math is your model of a better math program? Really?

Most privates use Saxa or Everyday Math. These programs cover more concepts than MCPS and get there faster. MCPS students have a lot of holes. They'll have 4 or 5 ways to do a simple equation but they have never seen more complex equations. They also don't have strong calculation skills anymore so they can't do the more complex problems very quickly.

Its not just that MCPS is behind which is an issue for student transferring in but its that MCPS is completely skipping different types of problems and equations. Most privates will help you connect with tutoring groups that you can use over the summer and throughout the school year. I would advise that you budget for tutoring if you haven't had your child in some type of outside math program or if your child is not naturally a math whiz.

OP here, it's not so much the lack of letter grades that concerns me. It's the unlikelihood of getting the highest grade. When we were in school, if you got the answers right, you got an A. Now, if your kid forgets to show their work, even if they got the answer right, it's an I. That's just an example, but one that illustrates how I fear it may tank chances to get into selective privates.

Many independent schools don't start letter grades until late elementary/middle school. Our school had a 2.0 style grading approach a decade ago, through 5th grade. So they will be quite familiar with it.

Anonymous wrote:One thing to guard against is your child being behind in math. MCPS is now tracking far behind the privates. If you want to transfer its a good idea to understand what math programs the schools you want use and where they place their grade level bar. It can be 1-2 years above 2.0 now for the bottom. There are tutoring and other programs out there that you can use to keep up and have some separate reporting scoring available outside of MCPS.

Specifics, please.

One thing to guard against is your child being behind in math. MCPS is now tracking far behind the privates. If you want to transfer its a good idea to understand what math programs the schools you want use and where they place their grade level bar. It can be 1-2 years above 2.0 now for the bottom. There are tutoring and other programs out there that you can use to keep up and have some separate reporting scoring available outside of MCPS.

Private schools are very aware of the nonsense going on in MCPS. They know that one applicant with an ES in something is not necessarily stronger than another applicant with a P in the same subject because there is so much inconsistency in the grades. They also know which schools get pissy about kids transferring out of MCPS. Scores will be important but the interviews also play a larger role.

If private schools can't figure out how to assess students coming from MCPS, that doesn't say much for private schools.

I agree. I think the private schools will rely more on their own observations, test scores, interesting talents, and teacher reports. It is a negative for kids applying out of MCPS.

Yes. Yes. Yes. I am worried about this. How will any school be able to make sense of this ridiculous report card. It will have to come down to test scores (and probably to a lesser degree, teacher recs).
I think this will be a big problem for kids trying to transfer out. I think only kids in the magnets (HGC, or magnet middle school) will be able to differentiate themselves in any way.
If you kid is young enough, try to get into an HGC/magnet before transferring out in middle or high school.

Is anyone else worried about this? With the P's (and in our school it seems like all kids get some I's as a way of saying what they need to focus on), i worry about getting into private in 3 rd grade. Is it all based on test scores?