Anonymous
05/22/2025 14:10
Subject: Compacted math eligibility grades 4/5
Anonymous wrote:It was defined in the document you were quoting:
tasks helped measure students’ understanding, computation, application, reasoning, and engagement (UCARE) in mathematics.
However, this is from an old curriculum that MCPS no longer uses. This may be why you’ve never seen this acronym and is likely not how they currently make decisions.
If you work for the Central Office and get your paycheck from MCPS, I suppose it's clear. But the metrics are used to "measure students’ understanding, computation, application, reasoning, and engagement (UCARE) in mathematics" are left completely undefined and untransparent to parents who have to deal with the consequences of MCPS decisions.
And the fact that MCPS with its billion dollar budget can't retire old webpages and replace them with current content shows how bad their communications are.
Anonymous
05/22/2025 14:06
Subject: Compacted math eligibility grades 4/5
It was defined in the document you were quoting:
tasks helped measure students’ understanding, computation, application, reasoning, and engagement (UCARE) in mathematics.
However, this is from an old curriculum that MCPS no longer uses. This may be why you’ve never seen this acronym and is likely not how they currently make decisions.
tasks helped measure students’ understanding, computation, application, reasoning, and engagement (UCARE) in mathematics.
However, this is from an old curriculum that MCPS no longer uses. This may be why you’ve never seen this acronym and is likely not how they currently make decisions.
Anonymous
05/22/2025 13:43
Subject: Compacted math eligibility grades 4/5
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:I have no idea what the below means with respect to the "UCARE Portfolio" but it's from the MCPS website. [i]Typical MCPS poor communications, in that they don't bother to define what UCARE is.[/i]
https://www.montgomeryschoolsmd.org/curriculum/math/compacted
How are students identified to participate in the Curriculum 2.0 Compacted Grades 4/5 course?
A two-step identification process was developed to determine which students, systemwide, would best be served by the compacted course. In the first step, schools reviewed a wide range of existing student performance data to help identify students that might be candidates for the compacted course. In the second step, teachers assessed these identified students on a series of tasks to provide more information on whether they would be best served in a compacted course. These tasks helped measure students’ understanding, computation, application, reasoning, and engagement (UCARE) in mathematics. To be considered for the compacted mathematics course, a student would need to demonstrate all of the following:
Independently and consistently demonstrates proficiency as defined by the five strands of UCARE, earlier than the end of instruction for concepts and/or topics.
Meets or exceeds the benchmark for enriched and accelerated mathematics within the UCARE Assessment Portfolio (See below).
Has needs that would best be met through a much quicker pace of instruction, while maintaining the depth of understanding.
Is among the highest performing students in the grade level and/or does not have a group of similarly situated peers in his or her grade-level class.
Schools completed the UCARE Assessment Portfolio for candidate students. These data were analyzed to establish a system benchmark for consideration of having met criterion 2 (above). Schools were provided the system benchmark information and then asked to make a final recommendation for each student. Schools notified Parents/guardians of students who are recommended for the compacted curriculum.
Not only you failed miserably at trolling, your reading skill is lacking. The link clearly defines what UCARE is.
Where are you posting from?
I'm posting from a beautiful place called Montgomery County. I don't care if you think my reading skills are lacking, because I've read that webpage several times and have no idea what constitutes UCARE, and I'm a native English speaker with a graduate degree, so if MCPS cares about equity for the diverse families it's supposed to be supporting, they'd explain things more clearly. UCARE has never been mentioned in a single communication from my kid's elementary school, so if my kid is being judged based upon that, you would think the school would explain it to parents.
Anonymous
05/22/2025 09:47
Subject: Compacted math eligibility grades 4/5
Can I assume that 99 percentile of MAP M consistency for 3rd grade fall/winter/fall can get in ? The score on MAP M spring has dipped a few points (score is still above 235), but it is still in 99 percentile. My child has anxiety issues, and he is worried that he screws up. I think his score is high enough to get in. We are not title I school.
Anonymous
05/22/2025 09:09
Subject: Compacted math eligibility grades 4/5
Anonymous wrote:I have no idea what the below means with respect to the "UCARE Portfolio" but it's from the MCPS website. [i]Typical MCPS poor communications, in that they don't bother to define what UCARE is.[/i]
https://www.montgomeryschoolsmd.org/curriculum/math/compacted
How are students identified to participate in the Curriculum 2.0 Compacted Grades 4/5 course?
A two-step identification process was developed to determine which students, systemwide, would best be served by the compacted course. In the first step, schools reviewed a wide range of existing student performance data to help identify students that might be candidates for the compacted course. In the second step, teachers assessed these identified students on a series of tasks to provide more information on whether they would be best served in a compacted course. These tasks helped measure students’ understanding, computation, application, reasoning, and engagement (UCARE) in mathematics. To be considered for the compacted mathematics course, a student would need to demonstrate all of the following:
Independently and consistently demonstrates proficiency as defined by the five strands of UCARE, earlier than the end of instruction for concepts and/or topics.
Meets or exceeds the benchmark for enriched and accelerated mathematics within the UCARE Assessment Portfolio (See below).
Has needs that would best be met through a much quicker pace of instruction, while maintaining the depth of understanding.
Is among the highest performing students in the grade level and/or does not have a group of similarly situated peers in his or her grade-level class.
Schools completed the UCARE Assessment Portfolio for candidate students. These data were analyzed to establish a system benchmark for consideration of having met criterion 2 (above). Schools were provided the system benchmark information and then asked to make a final recommendation for each student. Schools notified Parents/guardians of students who are recommended for the compacted curriculum.
Not only you failed miserably at trolling, your reading skill is lacking. The link clearly defines what UCARE is.
Where are you posting from?
Anonymous
05/22/2025 08:58
Subject: Compacted math eligibility grades 4/5
Anonymous wrote:You won't find anything about compacted math selection criteria because then parents might be able to hold the district accountable, and because selection criteria varies by school -- a school that needs to fill out a class will let students who, in another school, would never be let in because their scores are too low.
...and that applies whether it is a school with few centrally recommended aiming to create a single manageable class or a school with many centrally identified aiming to create two (or more). It's more about whether the school is near the next class-sized set and has reasonable candidates at the cusp to achieve completion without making terribly lopsided numbers in classes of Math 4 vs. classes of Math 4/5 or having to employ a shared virtual model with another school.
The current central recommendation criteria might be available from the MCPS Accelerated & Enriched Instruction (AEI) or Elementary Math Curriculum offices. If someone calls to ask or reviews related presentations to the BOE (main body or Committee on Special Populations), posting that information or a found link here might be appreciated.
The individual schools' decisions would come some time after the central recommendation. Speaking with the principal, math specialist andŕor GT Liaison might provide insight as to their preferred approach, but note that it would be difficult to provide anything concrete until they see the central recs.
Anonymous
05/22/2025 08:22
Subject: Compacted math eligibility grades 4/5
You won't find anything about compacted math selection criteria because then parents might be able to hold the district accountable, and because selection criteria varies by school -- a school that needs to fill out a class will let students who, in another school, would never be let in because their scores are too low.
Anonymous
05/22/2025 00:54
Subject: Compacted math eligibility grades 4/5
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:I have no idea what the below means with respect to the "UCARE Portfolio" but it's from the MCPS website. Typical MCPS poor communications, in that they don't bother to define what UCARE is.
https://www.montgomeryschoolsmd.org/curriculum/math/compacted
How are students identified to participate in the Curriculum 2.0 Compacted Grades 4/5 course?
A two-step identification process was developed to determine which students, systemwide, would best be served by the compacted course. In the first step, schools reviewed a wide range of existing student performance data to help identify students that might be candidates for the compacted course. In the second step, teachers assessed these identified students on a series of tasks to provide more information on whether they would be best served in a compacted course. These tasks helped measure students’ understanding, computation, application, reasoning, and engagement (UCARE) in mathematics. To be considered for the compacted mathematics course, a student would need to demonstrate all of the following:
Independently and consistently demonstrates proficiency as defined by the five strands of UCARE, earlier than the end of instruction for concepts and/or topics.
Meets or exceeds the benchmark for enriched and accelerated mathematics within the UCARE Assessment Portfolio (See below).
Has needs that would best be met through a much quicker pace of instruction, while maintaining the depth of understanding.
Is among the highest performing students in the grade level and/or does not have a group of similarly situated peers in his or her grade-level class.
Schools completed the UCARE Assessment Portfolio for candidate students. These data were analyzed to establish a system benchmark for consideration of having met criterion 2 (above). Schools were provided the system benchmark information and then asked to make a final recommendation for each student. Schools notified Parents/guardians of students who are recommended for the compacted curriculum.
You found a link to the now-long-deprecated Curriculum 2.0 version of "Compacted Math" and the equally-long-deprecated selection criteria. There are MCPS-hosted web pages from 20 years still up -- you have to be careful of what you find when using search engines, including the MCPS search bar.
They should offer some MS and HS kids SSL hours to fix the crappy MCPS website. And some of the school sites are awful and outdated too. My kid's ES still has info up from 2022.
