Anonymous wrote:More about the strand ratings:

http://articles.baltimoresun.com/2013-08-27/news/bs-md-school-index-20130827_1_elementary-schools-highest-performing-schools-state-tests

They are not something I would worry about. It seems like an iffy measure at best, and currently meaningless if based on the MSAs.

No OP, but thanks for posting this. Very interesting. Of note:

"In many elementary schools in the state, 95 percent of children are passing state tests, so it is difficult for the schools to improve further. Therefore, a school that has a lower percentage of students passing but made good progress from last year might be rated higher than the perennial top performers.

In some cases, Smith said, the highest-performing schools might have trouble raising achievement of special education students or those learning English as a second language. The new system shines a light, he said, on those kinds of differences."

Additionally, as stated by another PP, the change to 2.0 impacted the test scores for the MSA tests, which is not based on the 2.0 curriculum. I read that a lot of schools just didn't bother with prepping kids for the MSAs since they knew it wasn't going to count going forwards. But even with this, I looked at my DC's MSA results which shows RP results compared to MoCo and MD overall, and I thought RP did pretty well in terms of % of kids who tested in Proficient and Advanced.

I think you have to wait a few years to see the PARCC test results, which is the state wide test based on 2.0, to see how RP is fairing.

I have friends with kids at 8 or 9 ESs in MoCo. never heard one of them reference the Strand rating. And some of these people would if it was something that mattered.

The strand ratings don't seem to reflect what I hear about our local schools at all. I wouldn't worry about it.

More about the strand ratings:

http://articles.baltimoresun.com/2013-08-27/news/bs-md-school-index-20130827_1_elementary-schools-highest-performing-schools-state-tests

They are not something I would worry about. It seems like an iffy measure at best, and currently meaningless if based on the MSAs.

Strand rankings? Meaningless. Never heard of them or heard anyone discuss them.

LOL! So this rating is meaningless because you have not heard about it.

Thanks for the insight. I'll search the forum.

I don't think the strand rating is meaningless. I think it's very telling and something's not right. I looked at all of the surrounding elementary schools and they are mostly rated 1 and 2. None rated a 5. I'll have to contact MCPS to find out more.

Strand rankings? Meaningless. Never heard of them or heard anyone discuss them.

We have really enjoyed our experience at RP, despite the "mean lunch lady" (who is a lunchroom monitor) and mediocre principal.

I honestly don't know much about the Strand rating, but I think some kids at RP do very well, and obviously some don't. My DC was in K last year, and DC had a great experience. Every school has issues, and just looking at the ratings and scores won't always give you the whole pix. I would talk to current parents of RP kids (they're not all on the forum, BTW) to get a better picture of the school.

Yes, it is overcrowded, so are most of the ESs around here, except maybe some in the Wootton and Churchill clusters.

Yes, there are some issues with the Principal, but I haven't had that pleasure yet.

Do a search in this forum, and you will find several posts about RP, the Principal, the "mean lunch lady", and the overcrowding.

DD is supposed to attend RP next year. After doing some research, I have some concerns. Does anyone know about the strand ratings and why RP is rated a 5 (lowest rating)? I also have concerns about the overcrowding and the principal. Any constructive insight is appreciated. Click link for the report.

http://www.montgomeryschoolsmd.org/departments/regulatoryaccountability/glance/currentyear/schools/02227.pdf