Anonymous
Post 03/10/2023 11:57     Subject: Re:Stokes middle school rejected
Anonymous wrote:Do you think there are multiple sections of algebra that are tracked, like one for the kids who are actually ready to take algebra? Do you think the school is putting kids in Grade 8 math and then having them sit for the algebra PARCC? You're going to have a better sense of whether either of these are plausible.


I do not know. You'd have to ask each school what they do.
Anonymous
Post 03/10/2023 11:56     Subject: Stokes middle school rejected
Send Bancroft and oyster to MacFarland and there will be a bigger cohort on grade level.
Anonymous
Post 03/10/2023 11:55     Subject: Re:Stokes middle school rejected
Do you think there are multiple sections of algebra that are tracked, like one for the kids who are actually ready to take algebra? Do you think the school is putting kids in Grade 8 math and then having them sit for the algebra PARCC? You're going to have a better sense of whether either of these are plausible.
Anonymous
Post 03/10/2023 11:53     Subject: Re:Stokes middle school rejected
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:83 kids took the algebra PARCC last year at MacFarland. Ten tested proficient. Do you think the school is calling a class "algebra" but actually teaching it at a lower level (and maybe those 10 kids are teaching themselves or supplementing), or do you think they're putting a lot of kids in a class that's just way too hard for them?


I would think there is an Algebra class and it has 10 kids in it, or maybe like 15 and some didn't do as well on the test.

I don't think we should put kids in a class that's truly too hard, but if someone *almost* got a 4, it doesn't feel inappropriate that they had the opportunity to try.


23 got a 1.
29 got a 2.
21 got a 3.

You can also see that this is what they're doing by looking at the students in Grade 8 math, who overwhelmingly got 1s and 2s. So they're definitely putting all the kids who are close to grade level in algebra so that the kids in grade 8 math are overwhelmingly very behind.

So do you think that the algebra class is being taught in a way that's much too hard for most of the students, or do you think it's being taught in a way that's not really appropriate for the handful of kids who are ready to take algebra?


Well, that seems like so many kids that there is more than one class.

I think you need to be clear in your mind about taking a class with a certain content, the title of that class, and taking a certain PARCC test. Just because a certain amount of kids takes the same test doesn't mean that they are in the same classroom at the same time. I agree those scores are awful, but I have no clue what's actually happening in the day to day.
Anonymous
Post 03/10/2023 11:48     Subject: Re:Stokes middle school rejected
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:83 kids took the algebra PARCC last year at MacFarland. Ten tested proficient. Do you think the school is calling a class "algebra" but actually teaching it at a lower level (and maybe those 10 kids are teaching themselves or supplementing), or do you think they're putting a lot of kids in a class that's just way too hard for them?


I would think there is an Algebra class and it has 10 kids in it, or maybe like 15 and some didn't do as well on the test.

I don't think we should put kids in a class that's truly too hard, but if someone *almost* got a 4, it doesn't feel inappropriate that they had the opportunity to try.


23 got a 1.
29 got a 2.
21 got a 3.

You can also see that this is what they're doing by looking at the students in Grade 8 math, who overwhelmingly got 1s and 2s. So they're definitely putting all the kids who are close to grade level in algebra so that the kids in grade 8 math are overwhelmingly very behind.

So do you think that the algebra class is being taught in a way that's much too hard for most of the students, or do you think it's being taught in a way that's not really appropriate for the handful of kids who are ready to take algebra?
Anonymous
Post 03/10/2023 11:31     Subject: Re:Stokes middle school rejected
Anonymous wrote:83 kids took the algebra PARCC last year at MacFarland. Ten tested proficient. Do you think the school is calling a class "algebra" but actually teaching it at a lower level (and maybe those 10 kids are teaching themselves or supplementing), or do you think they're putting a lot of kids in a class that's just way too hard for them?


I would think there is an Algebra class and it has 10 kids in it, or maybe like 15 and some didn't do as well on the test.

I don't think we should put kids in a class that's truly too hard, but if someone *almost* got a 4, it doesn't feel inappropriate that they had the opportunity to try.
Anonymous
Post 03/10/2023 11:26     Subject: Re:Stokes middle school rejected
83 kids took the algebra PARCC last year at MacFarland. Ten tested proficient. Do you think the school is calling a class "algebra" but actually teaching it at a lower level (and maybe those 10 kids are teaching themselves or supplementing), or do you think they're putting a lot of kids in a class that's just way too hard for them?
Anonymous
Post 03/10/2023 11:09     Subject: Stokes middle school rejected
Child likes to read at a high level and is on track in math for Algebra on time. So no "supplementing."

And something about DC's expensive people has always turned me off. I'd rather have this child with immigrants and the less-privileged in DC than the expensive stroller/kumon/travel team/double-ivy 50-something with 12-year-olds helicopter parent families. Probably comes from my own background.
Anonymous
Post 03/10/2023 10:04     Subject: Re:Stokes middle school rejected
Are you supplementing?

Did you not consider Latin, which is 50% white, to be integrated enough? Did you specifically want your kid to experience being in a tiny minority, or would you have preferred something in between and you couldn't find it?
Anonymous
Post 03/10/2023 09:48     Subject: Stokes middle school rejected
Won’t out myself here but would generally say, commitment to integration, desire to work within system rather than vote with our feet, certitude about child’s academic and social abilities, and continuity with past academic programs all factor in.

Anonymous
Post 03/09/2023 18:57     Subject: Stokes middle school rejected
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:Our children are at MacFarland Ms "NoGo"


Are they among the 4% of students who are at grade level in math? Because it's those 22 kids whose parents I wonder about the most.


what do you wonder?


I wonder what they're thinking. You can dig into the data and it's clear most of them are also in a small racial minority in addition to an academic one. Is it a political commitment on the part of the parents? A convenience thing? Did they apply to Latin and not get in, or was this always the plan? Are they going to continue in to Roosevelt?
Anonymous
Post 03/09/2023 17:13     Subject: Stokes middle school rejected
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:Our children are at MacFarland Ms "NoGo"


Are they among the 4% of students who are at grade level in math? Because it's those 22 kids whose parents I wonder about the most.


I wonder the same thing!
Anonymous
Post 03/09/2023 17:06     Subject: Stokes middle school rejected
Anonymous wrote:Our children are at MacFarland Ms "NoGo"


and you are happy with the test scores, lack of more advanced tracks. I have personally spoken with several 6th grade families there now (from our bilingual feeder) and its a lot of a issues around disruptive classes, behavioral issues. fighting. I don't expect any of them to stick around.
Anonymous
Post 03/09/2023 16:57     Subject: Stokes middle school rejected
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:Our children are at MacFarland Ms "NoGo"


Are they among the 4% of students who are at grade level in math? Because it's those 22 kids whose parents I wonder about the most.


what do you wonder?
Anonymous
Post 03/09/2023 15:26     Subject: Re:Stokes middle school rejected
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:This is the explanation from the administration: “During our meeting with the DCPCSB, we discovered that the legislation and contractual agreements that helped to create DCI also currently prevent DCI feeder schools from expanding beyond elementary school. Because of this, Stokes School’s previous plans to expand to middle and high school are on hold”. Disappointing!


Shouldn't someone have known that earlier in the process?


I was wondering the same...