Anonymous
Post 12/05/2018 10:03     Subject: MD report cards are out!
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:The math scores are abysmal because the new math they teach is abysmal. They don't teach basic math facts like multiplication tables. What is happening is that parents are not able to offer the support at home.


We moved to FCPS (MD), and my 4th grader, who knew his math facts from his MCPS school, is still working on them, as his teacher constantly reinforces the basics while teaching them new material. I love it.


My DS started when they rolled over to the 2.0 curriculum and they were not taught straight up multiplication table memorization. They taught groupings (which is another valid way) and other multi-step, round-about ways. Then they expected them to simply know 9x8. It didn't work and he is still catching up.

That's a teacher problem, not an mcps problem. Both my kids had to memorize their multiplication tables, including my now 8th grader. They would even have speed competitions. This was in 3rd grade. Again, it's a teacher problem. Sounds like your teachers at your school sucks.


It’s also a parent problem. I e got three kids that came up through 2.0 and each of them had a standard homework assignment to practice basic math facts for 10 minutes per day. I have big issues with the 2.0 math curriculum but this isn’t one of them.
Anonymous
Post 12/05/2018 09:49     Subject: MD report cards are out!
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:Shocked about Oakland terrace. ?

We moved from Oakland Terrace to Kensington Parkwood a number of years ago and regretted it. OT is a fantastic school with a Principal who really strives for academic excellence. Kids who are ready and thirsting for challenge are given those opportunities and supported and kids who need a lot of help are also supported. The Principal is aggressive and hard charging which might be tough for some of the staff but she really expects them to challenge and support children at every ability level.


You moved because of the caliber of kids which makes your kid middle of the pack because of the sheer competition. OT is a good school but it is now where as fantastic as Kensington Parkwood not its PTA. Have a seat and quit your whining. You are always free to make the switch back. Bye!
Anonymous
Post 12/05/2018 09:48     Subject: Re:MD report cards are out!
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:Looked at Poolesville HS, since it is supposed to have three test-in magnet programs, and one non-magnet program for local students who do not qualify for the Science, Humanities and GE programs.

It is a rural community with lower numbers of Hispanic population than Gaithersburg. There are more White rural students. Interesting to see the performance of White students in ELA. Majority of Asians are either bussed to the school or are high achieving and their families moved to poolesville for the magnet HS. Special Ed students typically are in non-magnet programs, though there are some twice gifted students in the magnet programs as well. Most Hispanic students are those who are in magnet programs and are high achieving.

PERCENT PROFICIENT
-- ---- ---- ---- -- MATH -- -- ELA
Asian-- ---- ---- ---- ---- --97.6 % -- -- 92.9 %
Black or African American-- ---- 70 % -- -- 52.2 %
Hispanic/Latino of any race -- -- 75 % -- -- 72.7 %
White-- ---- ---- ---- -- 81.9 % -- -- 54 %
Two or more races-- ---- -- 88.9 % -- -- 65 %
Special Education-- ---- -- 37.5 % -- -- 22.2 %
All Students-- ---- ---- -- 85.4 % -- -- 66.3 %

Interesting to see hispanics outscoring whites in ELA. And once again, Asian American students outscores everyone.


Statistics are BS.

Hispanics make up 7.7% of the population at PHS.
total pop - 1183

91 kids (many who are in the magnet b/c it's 75% magnet) vs. 600 white students . . .


But it's not BS when applied to low performing schools?


These stats do not show the real story. This is a high performing school because of selected high performing kids who are from by and large educated and at least middle class families. In such a population, it is easy to put in place a rigorous advanced curriculum and great teachers who enjoy teaching to these students. The social issues that other schools have is lacking here - very rare to hear of discipline problems in this population. As mentioned above the Hispanics are also those who are high performing and make up only 7.7 % of the population. However, what is very telling and interesting is that many of the local White students may not come from families where the parents are highly educated or affluent. As a result, even though they are in a magnet school, and the magnet courses of all the three houses are open for them, they are unable to avail of this opportunity because they are lagging behind significantly in academics. These White students are failing to achieve in the same way the Hispanics and Blacks are failing to succeed. There is a glaring case of achievement gap among these students that has nothing to do with race but for these White students it has everything to do with family education level, wealth, family culture - their SES.

We are so tuned to think of Hispanic students doing poorly in English because of the language barriers of their parents. It is equally interesting to see this population of White students who are English speakers doing poorly in English.

The point that I am trying to make is that PHS is a unique case that can be used to show that MCPS is not being able to help students at HS levels if they have significant educational deficits in their family structure and SES, even if they are given the best environment, teachers, curriculum, peer group, and support in HS.Significant cultural and social norms around valuing education and intervention to become experts rather than proficient in acadmics that is ingrained in Asian-American community in US is lacking in these students and this deficiency needs to be addressed at the pre-ES, ES and MS level by MCPS - regardless of a student's race or language fluency. Instead what MCPS tries to do is dumb down the curriculum, in effect hurting the bright students from lower SES homes.

It can also be used to show MCPS failure to make their early intervention efforts meaningful. All the headstarts and summer schooling is not making a dent by the time these kids are in MS and HS. This is a serious cause for concern because while the early intervention is essential to bridge the gap, MCPS has failed time and again to make it effective. They always end up lowering standards and doing away with clear quantitative data points like final exams etc.

At the same time, the magnet students are thriving and are able to take on the most rigorous curriculum because they are supported at school and home. They are coming from homes with very EDUCATED MOTHERS and FATHERS. How can MCPS replicate the advantage of highly educated parents for these students at ES and MS levels?

By the time these students are in MS they are pretty much on the path of academic success or stupendous academic failure. MCPS needs to do a lot more at the ES and MS levels and not put a ceiling on any child who is advanced. Why should they not put a ceiling on advanced students or magnet programs? Mainly because without these programs only the poor students of all races will suffer. The high achieving communities will continue to accelerate and enrich their children, especially now that they feel that they are being discriminated against in spite of they and their children doing everything right in terms of dedication, hard work, discipline and the focus that they bring to academics.

Of course, since we have the same old corrupt BOE members in power, I do not see how anyone can stop this decline of MCPS.


Um. Your gentle pity for our poor rural youth is misplaced. PHS feeder elementary and middle schools are all ranked 4 and 5s. The local kids are generally mid to high SES and the schools all have a very low FARMS rate. There are tons of lawyers and scientists living up here. Most households are professional, educated, and dual income. The difference in stats is because you are seeing what the current ELA education in MCPS produces for average kids. In the case of PHS, the lovely, bright, minority magnet kids who join our community from Germantown and Gaithersburg have higher scores because they are special, smarter kids, not because they are more SES advantaged. Also, parents here tend to want their kids to play outside or do sports and music after school and don’t tend to send their kids to academic prep classes unless their child is struggling to keep up with peers. So, in a way, you can very clearly see the EXACT effects of MCPS curriculum in the local PHS kids... if it is subpar results, it is NOT because a bunch of kids are poor and neglected at home. It is because a bunch of perfectly advantaged children with professional parents who largely trust the public school system are exposed to a chronically subpar ELA curriculum.
Anonymous
Post 12/05/2018 09:20     Subject: MD report cards are out!
Anonymous wrote:I can't believe the site is still down.


Idiocracy is not going to produce competent workers. Needs to be outsourced to another country and smarter people.
Anonymous
Post 12/05/2018 09:19     Subject: MD report cards are out!
I can't believe the site is still down.
Anonymous
Post 12/05/2018 09:19     Subject: MD report cards are out!
Is the site down for anyone else?
Anonymous
Post 12/05/2018 09:17     Subject: Re:MD report cards are out!
Can someone explain why Robert Frost got a 4 and Westland got a 5 and they have the same score?
Anonymous
Post 12/05/2018 09:15     Subject: MD report cards are out!
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:The math scores are abysmal because the new math they teach is abysmal. They don't teach basic math facts like multiplication tables. What is happening is that parents are not able to offer the support at home.


We moved to FCPS (MD), and my 4th grader, who knew his math facts from his MCPS school, is still working on them, as his teacher constantly reinforces the basics while teaching them new material. I love it.


My DS started when they rolled over to the 2.0 curriculum and they were not taught straight up multiplication table memorization. They taught groupings (which is another valid way) and other multi-step, round-about ways. Then they expected them to simply know 9x8. It didn't work and he is still catching up.


My DS2 was the first group of kids that had 2.0 (current 9th graders). My DS1 was pre-2.0 and they were not teaching multiplication tables even then. I taught them both multiplication tables as well as have been using commercially available curriculum and textbooks for them for years.

I am very saddened to see how low quality the education in this country is. It is shocking when you realize how much the county spends per child. For the 5 star cost, we are getting a 1 star education. Most people are themselves ill educated and they don't care or understand what this all means. They are electing the same incompetent and corrupt people to BOE year after year.
Anonymous
Post 12/05/2018 09:07     Subject: MD report cards are out!
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:The math scores are abysmal because the new math they teach is abysmal. They don't teach basic math facts like multiplication tables. What is happening is that parents are not able to offer the support at home.


We moved to FCPS (MD), and my 4th grader, who knew his math facts from his MCPS school, is still working on them, as his teacher constantly reinforces the basics while teaching them new material. I love it.


My DS started when they rolled over to the 2.0 curriculum and they were not taught straight up multiplication table memorization. They taught groupings (which is another valid way) and other multi-step, round-about ways. Then they expected them to simply know 9x8. It didn't work and he is still catching up.

That's a teacher problem, not an mcps problem. Both my kids had to memorize their multiplication tables, including my now 8th grader. They would even have speed competitions. This was in 3rd grade. Again, it's a teacher problem. Sounds like your teachers at your school sucks.
Anonymous
Post 12/05/2018 09:05     Subject: Re:MD report cards are out!
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:Looked at Poolesville HS, since it is supposed to have three test-in magnet programs, and one non-magnet program for local students who do not qualify for the Science, Humanities and GE programs.

It is a rural community with lower numbers of Hispanic population than Gaithersburg. There are more White rural students. Interesting to see the performance of White students in ELA. Majority of Asians are either bussed to the school or are high achieving and their families moved to poolesville for the magnet HS. Special Ed students typically are in non-magnet programs, though there are some twice gifted students in the magnet programs as well. Most Hispanic students are those who are in magnet programs and are high achieving.

PERCENT PROFICIENT
-- ---- ---- ---- -- MATH -- -- ELA
Asian-- ---- ---- ---- ---- --97.6 % -- -- 92.9 %
Black or African American-- ---- 70 % -- -- 52.2 %
Hispanic/Latino of any race -- -- 75 % -- -- 72.7 %
White-- ---- ---- ---- -- 81.9 % -- -- 54 %
Two or more races-- ---- -- 88.9 % -- -- 65 %
Special Education-- ---- -- 37.5 % -- -- 22.2 %
All Students-- ---- ---- -- 85.4 % -- -- 66.3 %


Tell me why any busy overachiever high school student would prioritize studying for a state standardized test when s/he has AP tests, papers, psats, sat/acts, debate team, sports practices and games, college applications and interviews, etc.

I sure wouldn’t. I’d be conserving my brain cells, short term memory and long term memory for those other things.

And don’t say it’s now 10% or 20% of one’s subject grade in math or English lit. With only THREE grades even possible in each subject and for your gpa calculation (A, B, or C, no + or -) and rampant liberal rounding up, half a$$ing the state test makes sense on all levels. Not to mention doesn’t detract from one’s real goals and higher pressure tests.


You really don't understand how the brain works, do you? NO ONE studies for the state standardized tests because it tests at a very basic level of curriculum. You do not conserve and preserve your brain cells by choosing to not use it when you are taking these mandatory tests. Also, either you have mastered the content of these exams in your cumulative years of K-12 education or not. The truth is that the rural White students with low SES are not doing that great in even schools like PHS. The people who are recent transplants to Poolesville because of the magnet HS on the other hand are doing great as they are higher SES. The sad part is that the students who are performing poorly and being left behind will remain hidden and largely forgotten by the data of the high achievers and probably will never get the intervention and help they need to catch up.

Since Math is very dumbed down across US, students needed a much lower level of knowledge for testing purposes as opposed to English. The English scores were lower even for Asian-Americans. However, both Asians and Hispanics (mostly magnet kids)had only a slight dip in English scores and did well by and large. The scores of both Blacks and Whites (a mix of magnet and zoned school population) is very telling here. It shows a direct connection between the SES of the students, the level of their parents education and their achievement. I am not surprised.

Parents feel so happy that their child is attending a magnet school, a high scoring school in GS, a W school etc. The truth is that it is utterly meaningless if your own kid is not excelling in these great schools. Great SAT scores, great AP and IB scores, great ACT scores...they are the great equalizers and signifies the same things regardless of where your kid goes to school. There are a shocking %age of low performing Black and White students in Poolesville and that has become clear in this report card. Don't look at how great the magnet kids are doing at this test that is basically measuring the floor because their achievements is not the reality of the kids who are not proficient at grade level education. This is after spending years in public schools with all the facilities our taxes are used for providing them!

Anonymous
Post 12/05/2018 09:04     Subject: MD report cards are out!
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:The math scores are abysmal because the new math they teach is abysmal. They don't teach basic math facts like multiplication tables. What is happening is that parents are not able to offer the support at home.


We moved to FCPS (MD), and my 4th grader, who knew his math facts from his MCPS school, is still working on them, as his teacher constantly reinforces the basics while teaching them new material. I love it.


My DS started when they rolled over to the 2.0 curriculum and they were not taught straight up multiplication table memorization. They taught groupings (which is another valid way) and other multi-step, round-about ways. Then they expected them to simply know 9x8. It didn't work and he is still catching up.
Anonymous
Post 12/05/2018 08:57     Subject: MD report cards are out!
Anonymous wrote:The math scores are abysmal because the new math they teach is abysmal. They don't teach basic math facts like multiplication tables. What is happening is that parents are not able to offer the support at home.


We moved to FCPS (MD), and my 4th grader, who knew his math facts from his MCPS school, is still working on them, as his teacher constantly reinforces the basics while teaching them new material. I love it.
Anonymous
Post 12/05/2018 08:56     Subject: MD report cards are out!
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:Shocked about Oakland terrace. ?

We moved from Oakland Terrace to Kensington Parkwood a number of years ago and regretted it. OT is a fantastic school with a Principal who really strives for academic excellence. Kids who are ready and thirsting for challenge are given those opportunities and supported and kids who need a lot of help are also supported. The Principal is aggressive and hard charging which might be tough for some of the staff but she really expects them to challenge and support children at every ability level.


I posted the climate survey. While the return is pretty good, others either didn't respond b/c 1) they've given up or 2) they are happy and simply don't care.

One question I ask, however, is this: Can a school sustain this momentum? While the academic achievement is impressive, given its obstacles (1/3 FARMs and 13% ESOL), how much can teachers continue to give of themselves?

On another note, I can compare it to Highland, also a DCC feeder, with its 500+ enrollment in a pre-K through 5 setting. HES, however, has over 80% of its children categorized as FARMs, with over half of its population in ESOL. So OT looks like a walk in the park compared to Highland's stats. Don't you think that the teachers who are at HES WANT to be there? I'm sure that's their choice, too.

But again, how do you motivate teachers to continue to work with students facing obstacles when the state believes that a 5-star rating is the end all? So to expect staff to ". . . challenge and support children at every ability level" is unreasonable for long stretches of time, as we all have lives outside of work. I certainly would never put my own children in second place. So feeling supported is one thing, but once a school loses its 5-star rating (the bar is low, folks), will the staff still feel supported?

I don't know the turnover. Perhaps someone on this thread does. Trends tell a story, too.

Anonymous
Post 12/05/2018 08:53     Subject: MD report cards are out!
Anonymous wrote:The math scores are abysmal because the new math they teach is abysmal. They don't teach basic math facts like multiplication tables. What is happening is that parents are not able to offer the support at home.

My 8th and 5th grader have learned the multiplication tables in mcps.
Anonymous
Post 12/05/2018 08:52     Subject: MD report cards are out!
The math scores are abysmal because the new math they teach is abysmal. They don't teach basic math facts like multiplication tables. What is happening is that parents are not able to offer the support at home.