Anonymous
05/06/2024 07:36
Subject: Great Schools new “grades”
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Skills-based grading for school ratings?Artificially bringing down the top and bringing up the bottom.
That’s pretty much it. Everything is going to end up as like a 6-8/10.
That's actually pretty awesome. Greatschools has been directly responsible for the increased stratification/segregation of schools, neighborhoods, and cities. Making every school scored similarly will help reduce that.
The joke is on people who believe it. FCPS schools are pretty much the same. The difference is with the staff.....not the zip code.
The student population in each school is not the same. That makes a difference. The leadership is not the same --- and that makes a difference in the types of teachers that stay or how the deal (or don't deal) with the students in their classes. You can't say that a school that has a majority of needy kids who may not speak English as a first language is the same environment as a school where most of the kids speak English and are coming from families where they are expected to take AP classes and it's assumed they are going to a 4 yr college.
Of course, we don't need EVERYONE to go to a 4 yr college. It's good to have economic and academic diversity. But, it's just not true that every school environment is "the same." The resources that the kids have (be that financial, family-stability/support, academic, or even just their exprience of the world), makes a difference in the environment in the school. Likewise, administrations can be functional and supportive or disfuntional, punitive and confrontational. It can make a difference in who teaches and how much they are willing to do.
On the whole, a student population that brings less problems into the school, makes it easier on the administration, teachers and other students.
You are missing the big picture. FCPS does depend on admin and teachers not a zip code. I've taught at both if they are a "great" zip code but have a bad admin/staff...well then parents just carry the reputation on with their money and tutoring. Trust me FCPS is FCPS-it's the staff that changes the dynamic and especially in todays world the staff at every school changes quickly. I think we are saying the same but you need to realize that there are a lot of schools riding on the coat tails of old reputations.
Anonymous
05/06/2024 07:32
Subject: Great Schools new “grades”
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Skills-based grading for school ratings?Artificially bringing down the top and bringing up the bottom.
That’s pretty much it. Everything is going to end up as like a 6-8/10.
That's actually pretty awesome. Greatschools has been directly responsible for the increased stratification/segregation of schools, neighborhoods, and cities. Making every school scored similarly will help reduce that.
The joke is on people who believe it. FCPS schools are pretty much the same. The difference is with the staff.....not the zip code.
The student population in each school is not the same. That makes a difference. The leadership is not the same --- and that makes a difference in the types of teachers that stay or how the deal (or don't deal) with the students in their classes. You can't say that a school that has a majority of needy kids who may not speak English as a first language is the same environment as a school where most of the kids speak English and are coming from families where they are expected to take AP classes and it's assumed they are going to a 4 yr college.
Of course, we don't need EVERYONE to go to a 4 yr college. It's good to have economic and academic diversity. But, it's just not true that every school environment is "the same." The resources that the kids have (be that financial, family-stability/support, academic, or even just their exprience of the world), makes a difference in the environment in the school. Likewise, administrations can be functional and supportive or disfuntional, punitive and confrontational. It can make a difference in who teaches and how much they are willing to do.
On the whole, a student population that brings less problems into the school, makes it easier on the administration, teachers and other students.
Anonymous
05/06/2024 00:25
Subject: Great Schools new “grades”
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Tjs new ranking is an 8/10. What a joke.
Why is it a joke? Are these scores based on personal experiences?
Scores are based on arbitrary weights applied to different measures of test scores and demographics. Yet the scores are only deemed accurate when they fit someone's world view.
Herndon HS is a 2/10? That must be true, after all there is too much unwanted diversity there. McLean is a 6/10?! Absolutely not, that must be due to funky weighing of scores and should be a 9/10.
Both of those scores are unreasonably low b/c Great Schools' formula puts WAY Too much weight on not having much of a difference in the scores of different SES groups. Well, that's just contrary to reality. A school that has a small population of newly-arrived immigrants and a large population of high SES/high performing kids is going to get knocked down quite a bit by the GS's latest formula. Their formula pretends that every kid comes to school with the same set of resources and it must be the school's fault if they can't get the same results. News flash: kids who are just learning English and haven't had a lot of education in their home country aren't going to do really great on US History exams or Chemistry Exams! It's not a failure of the school. The students are starting at different points. It's kind of perverse incentive to have a school where EVERYONE is sort of mediocre so that there isn't any disparity between groups. That's what their formula rewards.
So, I don't think Herndon is a 2. And McLean isn't a 6. But, that's what happens when you prioritize uniform results.
Agreed
Anonymous
05/05/2024 20:33
Subject: Great Schools new “grades”
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Tjs new ranking is an 8/10. What a joke.
Why is it a joke? Are these scores based on personal experiences?
Scores are based on arbitrary weights applied to different measures of test scores and demographics. Yet the scores are only deemed accurate when they fit someone's world view.
Herndon HS is a 2/10? That must be true, after all there is too much unwanted diversity there. McLean is a 6/10?! Absolutely not, that must be due to funky weighing of scores and should be a 9/10.
Both of those scores are unreasonably low b/c Great Schools' formula puts WAY Too much weight on not having much of a difference in the scores of different SES groups. Well, that's just contrary to reality. A school that has a small population of newly-arrived immigrants and a large population of high SES/high performing kids is going to get knocked down quite a bit by the GS's latest formula. Their formula pretends that every kid comes to school with the same set of resources and it must be the school's fault if they can't get the same results. News flash: kids who are just learning English and haven't had a lot of education in their home country aren't going to do really great on US History exams or Chemistry Exams! It's not a failure of the school. The students are starting at different points. It's kind of perverse incentive to have a school where EVERYONE is sort of mediocre so that there isn't any disparity between groups. That's what their formula rewards.
So, I don't think Herndon is a 2. And McLean isn't a 6. But, that's what happens when you prioritize uniform results.
Anonymous
05/05/2024 19:58
Subject: Great Schools new “grades”
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Tjs new ranking is an 8/10. What a joke.
Why is it a joke? Are these scores based on personal experiences?
Scores are based on arbitrary weights applied to different measures of test scores and demographics. Yet the scores are only deemed accurate when they fit someone's world view.
Herndon HS is a 2/10? That must be true, after all there is too much unwanted diversity there. McLean is a 6/10?! Absolutely not, that must be due to funky weighing of scores and should be a 9/10.
Anonymous
05/05/2024 19:40
Subject: Great Schools new “grades”
Anonymous wrote:Tjs new ranking is an 8/10. What a joke.
Why is it a joke? Are these scores based on personal experiences?
Anonymous
05/05/2024 15:11
Subject: Great Schools new “grades”
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Now that my kids are in HS- I wish I had believed the GS ratings for our elementary school. We spent 9 years in a terrible school and were filled by the “great school ratings don’t mean anything.” It was a shock to attend a well rated school and see the difference. Adults in the building really do matter!
This is code for a high SES school btw. Wealthy white kids do fine in GS 4 schools and you know it.
DP. The thing is, that isn't true.
I agree. If PP had said "wealthy white and asian kids who don't have any learning challenges", then perhaps they would be more accurate. My child was in what is now a GS4 school (it was a 7 when we moved there!) and was largely ignored, despite failing SOLs and doing terrible on iReady and other tests. If she had been an ESOL child, she probably would have received more support, but nope, she speaks English and has parents who can afford tutors so they ignored her. We pulled her out and put her in a private with small classes and she is thriving.
Anonymous
05/05/2024 14:06
Subject: Great Schools new “grades”
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Now that my kids are in HS- I wish I had believed the GS ratings for our elementary school. We spent 9 years in a terrible school and were filled by the “great school ratings don’t mean anything.” It was a shock to attend a well rated school and see the difference. Adults in the building really do matter!
This is code for a high SES school btw. Wealthy white kids do fine in GS 4 schools and you know it.
My child started his schooling at a low SES school, granted at the end of Covid, but he did not have a good experience. Kids yelling (even cursing) at teachers, he had to evacuate the classroom for disruptive students, and his snack was stolen daily for months. Now at a high SES school, he’s happy and content. Thank goodness.
In a nutshell, this is an example of how the tenor of the school changes with the student population.
If the administration is worn out from dealing with really big issues that students have, they don't have the bandwidth to deal with "smaller" issues that impact their peers, but maybe not the whole school. When admins have fewer dumpster fires to put out, they can turn their attention to the "nice to have" things.
On the opposite end of the spectrum, they have to deal with incessant whining for unimportant issues like those brought forth by the Woodson baseball moms.
Anonymous
05/05/2024 13:29
Subject: Great Schools new “grades”
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Now that my kids are in HS- I wish I had believed the GS ratings for our elementary school. We spent 9 years in a terrible school and were filled by the “great school ratings don’t mean anything.” It was a shock to attend a well rated school and see the difference. Adults in the building really do matter!
This is code for a high SES school btw. Wealthy white kids do fine in GS 4 schools and you know it.
My child started his schooling at a low SES school, granted at the end of Covid, but he did not have a good experience. Kids yelling (even cursing) at teachers, he had to evacuate the classroom for disruptive students, and his snack was stolen daily for months. Now at a high SES school, he’s happy and content. Thank goodness.
In a nutshell, this is an example of how the tenor of the school changes with the student population.
If the administration is worn out from dealing with really big issues that students have, they don't have the bandwidth to deal with "smaller" issues that impact their peers, but maybe not the whole school. When admins have fewer dumpster fires to put out, they can turn their attention to the "nice to have" things.
Anonymous
05/05/2024 13:26
Subject: Great Schools new “grades”
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Skills-based grading for school ratings?Artificially bringing down the top and bringing up the bottom.
That’s pretty much it. Everything is going to end up as like a 6-8/10.
That's actually pretty awesome. Greatschools has been directly responsible for the increased stratification/segregation of schools, neighborhoods, and cities. Making every school scored similarly will help reduce that.
The joke is on people who believe it. FCPS schools are pretty much the same. The difference is with the staff.....not the zip code.
The student population in each school is not the same. That makes a difference. The leadership is not the same --- and that makes a difference in the types of teachers that stay or how the deal (or don't deal) with the students in their classes. You can't say that a school that has a majority of needy kids who may not speak English as a first language is the same environment as a school where most of the kids speak English and are coming from families where they are expected to take AP classes and it's assumed they are going to a 4 yr college.
Of course, we don't need EVERYONE to go to a 4 yr college. It's good to have economic and academic diversity. But, it's just not true that every school environment is "the same." The resources that the kids have (be that financial, family-stability/support, academic, or even just their exprience of the world), makes a difference in the environment in the school. Likewise, administrations can be functional and supportive or disfuntional, punitive and confrontational. It can make a difference in who teaches and how much they are willing to do.
On the whole, a student population that brings less problems into the school, makes it easier on the administration, teachers and other students.
Anonymous
05/05/2024 11:51
Subject: Great Schools new “grades”
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Skills-based grading for school ratings?Artificially bringing down the top and bringing up the bottom.
That’s pretty much it. Everything is going to end up as like a 6-8/10.
That's actually pretty awesome. Greatschools has been directly responsible for the increased stratification/segregation of schools, neighborhoods, and cities. Making every school scored similarly will help reduce that.
The joke is on people who believe it. FCPS schools are pretty much the same. The difference is with the staff.....not the zip code.
Anonymous
05/05/2024 09:13
Subject: Great Schools new “grades”
Just buy in the Langley pyramid and you’ll be fine regardless
Anonymous
08/26/2023 06:49
Subject: Great Schools new “grades”
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Now that my kids are in HS- I wish I had believed the GS ratings for our elementary school. We spent 9 years in a terrible school and were filled by the “great school ratings don’t mean anything.” It was a shock to attend a well rated school and see the difference. Adults in the building really do matter!
This is code for a high SES school btw. Wealthy white kids do fine in GS 4 schools and you know it.
My child started his schooling at a low SES school, granted at the end of Covid, but he did not have a good experience. Kids yelling (even cursing) at teachers, he had to evacuate the classroom for disruptive students, and his snack was stolen daily for months. Now at a high SES school, he’s happy and content. Thank goodness.
Anonymous
08/25/2023 22:31
Subject: Great Schools new “grades”
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Our elementary school is now a 4. We are in a “good” pyramid but the elementary school has been a pretty terrible experience. I feel like a 4 is generous
Marshall Pyramid?
NP, but I'm at a 4 in the Marshall pyramid (yes, Shrevewood, of course) and the school has been great for my kid. Shrevewood is the perfect example of a school that has the top-line rating killed by the equity score. Test scores for Whites and Asians are 9/10, but are 1/10 for Hispanics because most of the Hispanics are English learners. So, an equity score of 1.
My kids are also at this school, and it’s actually a 7/10 for whites and 4/10
Asian.
I think you might be looking at Academic Progress.
https://www.greatschools.org/virginia/falls-church/567-Shrevewood-Elementary-School/#Race_ethnicity*Test_scores*Overview
Shrevewood Test Scores Overview
White: 9/10
Asian: 9/10
Hispanic: 1/10
I am looking at the parent reviews for this school and I think I found OP:
"This school is completely unequipped to teach and challenge more advanced students. For three years in a row, my child has not been challenged and his math skills have not improved at all. Now, I learned that they restructured the ADP L IV program to make it a lot less selective. They qualified over 30% of students for Level IV, and less than 50% of students in the Level IV program will actually be Level IV students as they intermix a lot of other students. So in short, it's completely not selective. I strongly regret buying my house in the neighborhood I did."
Anonymous
08/25/2023 22:30
Subject: Great Schools new “grades”
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Now that my kids are in HS- I wish I had believed the GS ratings for our elementary school. We spent 9 years in a terrible school and were filled by the “great school ratings don’t mean anything.” It was a shock to attend a well rated school and see the difference. Adults in the building really do matter!
This is code for a high SES school btw. Wealthy white kids do fine in GS 4 schools and you know it.
DP. The thing is, that isn't true.
I mean, your great schools website tells a different story, LOL