Anonymous
Post 04/08/2025 14:42     Subject: Mcap testing
I don't even have the cogat testing results from last year...
Anonymous
Post 04/08/2025 14:19     Subject: Mcap testing
What's the rationale for having both MCAP and MAP? I've googled around to try to understand what each test covers, but didn't find anything that compares the two?
Anonymous
Post 04/08/2025 09:39     Subject: Mcap testing
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:Are mcap testing for reading and math in April and May for 3rd graders used to decide for school enrichment factor in 4th grade or just an administrative test overall?


I am a teacher in a middle school and just last week we were looking at MCAP data for math placement decisions. It is just one data point, but we do look at it.



Why wouldn't MCPS want parents to look at it too? No reason they can't upload it to ParentVue the way they do with MAP tests rather than snail mailing it a year later. So bizarre. What good is testing if the outcomes aren't transparent?
Anonymous
Post 04/08/2025 09:29     Subject: Mcap testing
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:In no way are teachers evaluated by MCAP data. We don’t even get the results until well after the year ends. When we analyze data, we look at our current class. So if I’m a 4th grade teacher, the 5th grade teachers are the ones that get the results and look for trends for my current class.

MCAP is a complete waste of time and should just be traded in for something like MAP.


Evaluation can be done for the following year. If you didn't do well one year, fine, they'll give you a pass that year and transfer or let you go the following year.

State is required to assess students. Back in our day it was the Iowa state test or something. Now it's called this.


This is not how teacher evaluation happens. Teachers are evaluated based on observations. In my 25 year career, I’ve never had an administrator bring up past test scores. However, that might be because I am in a Title 1 school, so our goal is only growth as most of our kids have no chance of passing.


Depressing this is coming from an educator. Children rise to the level of their expectations.


If you’re not in a title 1 School, you probably shouldn’t comment. Growth is always the goal! These tests are written at a very high level, especially for children where English is not their first language. I have multiple kids in my fifth grade class who are still using their fingers to add five and four. If I can somehow get them from a pre-kindergarten level to a third grade level you better believe that is success! Will they do well on the test? No, of course not. But that’s OK. The children are growing and that’s the goal of education.

And it does not help to have ignorant people like you stating that teachers don’t have high enough expectations. The expectation that we somehow take children who have never had an education, cannot read in their home language, do not know how to read or speak English, and have not been exposed to any math and just be able to teach them at grade level just because we have high expectations is ridiculous. Oh, and of course, let’s not forget that the test is in English!


Thank you. I'm a parent in a cluster with many Title 1 schools and the toxic positivity of people who just parrot that we don't have enough expectations for our kids is not helpful.

Should we push beyond what our kids think they're capable of? Absolutely. But that's going to look DIFFERENT for each kid. Context matters. Their starting point matters!

Insisting "all kids should be able to access grade level content" when said children are 2 or 3 grade levels behind is UNREALISTIC and UNHELPFUL.

Your approach, which focuses on improvement, is much more logical.

However, what I think MCPS should be doing, which they don't do, is also develop meaningful and rigorous remedial supports that ensure kids who are behind don't stay behind forever. That could look like requiring summer sessions for kids who are 1-2 grade levels behind.
Anonymous
Post 04/08/2025 09:08     Subject: Mcap testing
If my kid has to miss the test because of an ortho appointment, do they reschedule it or just skip it?
Anonymous
Post 04/08/2025 08:42     Subject: Mcap testing
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:In no way are teachers evaluated by MCAP data. We don’t even get the results until well after the year ends. When we analyze data, we look at our current class. So if I’m a 4th grade teacher, the 5th grade teachers are the ones that get the results and look for trends for my current class.

MCAP is a complete waste of time and should just be traded in for something like MAP.


Evaluation can be done for the following year. If you didn't do well one year, fine, they'll give you a pass that year and transfer or let you go the following year.

State is required to assess students. Back in our day it was the Iowa state test or something. Now it's called this.


This is not how teacher evaluation happens. Teachers are evaluated based on observations. In my 25 year career, I’ve never had an administrator bring up past test scores. However, that might be because I am in a Title 1 school, so our goal is only growth as most of our kids have no chance of passing.


Depressing this is coming from an educator. Children rise to the level of their expectations.


If you’re not in a title 1 School, you probably shouldn’t comment. Growth is always the goal! These tests are written at a very high level, especially for children where English is not their first language. I have multiple kids in my fifth grade class who are still using their fingers to add five and four. If I can somehow get them from a pre-kindergarten level to a third grade level you better believe that is success! Will they do well on the test? No, of course not. But that’s OK. The children are growing and that’s the goal of education.

And it does not help to have ignorant people like you stating that teachers don’t have high enough expectations. The expectation that we somehow take children who have never had an education, cannot read in their home language, do not know how to read or speak English, and have not been exposed to any math and just be able to teach them at grade level just because we have high expectations is ridiculous. Oh, and of course, let’s not forget that the test is in English!
Anonymous
Post 04/08/2025 06:24     Subject: Mcap testing
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:In no way are teachers evaluated by MCAP data. We don’t even get the results until well after the year ends. When we analyze data, we look at our current class. So if I’m a 4th grade teacher, the 5th grade teachers are the ones that get the results and look for trends for my current class.

MCAP is a complete waste of time and should just be traded in for something like MAP.


Evaluation can be done for the following year. If you didn't do well one year, fine, they'll give you a pass that year and transfer or let you go the following year.

State is required to assess students. Back in our day it was the Iowa state test or something. Now it's called this.


This is not how teacher evaluation happens. Teachers are evaluated based on observations. In my 25 year career, I’ve never had an administrator bring up past test scores. However, that might be because I am in a Title 1 school, so our goal is only growth as most of our kids have no chance of passing.


Depressing this is coming from an educator. Children rise to the level of their expectations.
Anonymous
Post 04/08/2025 06:16     Subject: Mcap testing
Anonymous wrote:Are mcap testing for reading and math in April and May for 3rd graders used to decide for school enrichment factor in 4th grade or just an administrative test overall?


I am a teacher in a middle school and just last week we were looking at MCAP data for math placement decisions. It is just one data point, but we do look at it.

Anonymous
Post 04/07/2025 23:36     Subject: Mcap testing
MCAP is Maryland's own take on what used to be PARCC, right?

MCPS is really doubling down on MCAP I think. Seems like so many schools are fixated on the "school report card" rating which heavily uses MCAP. I work in a building where our admin isn't event pretending like anything else in school matters besides her own optics.
Anonymous
Post 04/07/2025 23:32     Subject: Mcap testing
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:They are used also to check teacher's performance. Oops...elephant in the room.


As a teacher, this is incorrect. I am not evaluated in any capacity on how my students perform on the MCAP. The MCAP is used as a cumulative assessment to demonstrate a child's, and the schools, overall performance for the given grade level. The scores are used in various capacities. For a child, it is one factor that shows a student's performance for the year. We can use the MCAP scores over various years, to help a child get into TAG, as it shows continued mastery of being above grade level. It can also help a student with an IEP if a student is consistently below grade level. It is not the sole factor for either one but it can help. As a teacher, I have access to each child's MCAP store and it helps with showing a historical trend. For the school, it is a factor in the schools overall rating.


This is an MCPS forum, not PGCPS.
Anonymous
Post 04/07/2025 23:18     Subject: Mcap testing
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:In no way are teachers evaluated by MCAP data. We don’t even get the results until well after the year ends. When we analyze data, we look at our current class. So if I’m a 4th grade teacher, the 5th grade teachers are the ones that get the results and look for trends for my current class.

MCAP is a complete waste of time and should just be traded in for something like MAP.


Evaluation can be done for the following year. If you didn't do well one year, fine, they'll give you a pass that year and transfer or let you go the following year.

State is required to assess students. Back in our day it was the Iowa state test or something. Now it's called this.


Aren't MAP tests a form of assessing students?


All assessments are in some way or another
Anonymous
Post 04/07/2025 23:03     Subject: Mcap testing
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:In no way are teachers evaluated by MCAP data. We don’t even get the results until well after the year ends. When we analyze data, we look at our current class. So if I’m a 4th grade teacher, the 5th grade teachers are the ones that get the results and look for trends for my current class.

MCAP is a complete waste of time and should just be traded in for something like MAP.


Evaluation can be done for the following year. If you didn't do well one year, fine, they'll give you a pass that year and transfer or let you go the following year.

State is required to assess students. Back in our day it was the Iowa state test or something. Now it's called this.


Aren't MAP tests a form of assessing students?
Anonymous
Post 04/07/2025 22:44     Subject: Mcap testing
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:In no way are teachers evaluated by MCAP data. We don’t even get the results until well after the year ends. When we analyze data, we look at our current class. So if I’m a 4th grade teacher, the 5th grade teachers are the ones that get the results and look for trends for my current class.

MCAP is a complete waste of time and should just be traded in for something like MAP.


Evaluation can be done for the following year. If you didn't do well one year, fine, they'll give you a pass that year and transfer or let you go the following year.

State is required to assess students. Back in our day it was the Iowa state test or something. Now it's called this.


This is not how teacher evaluation happens. Teachers are evaluated based on observations. In my 25 year career, I’ve never had an administrator bring up past test scores. However, that might be because I am in a Title 1 school, so our goal is only growth as most of our kids have no chance of passing.
Anonymous
Post 04/07/2025 22:40     Subject: Mcap testing
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:In no way are teachers evaluated by MCAP data. We don’t even get the results until well after the year ends. When we analyze data, we look at our current class. So if I’m a 4th grade teacher, the 5th grade teachers are the ones that get the results and look for trends for my current class.

MCAP is a complete waste of time and should just be traded in for something like MAP.


But the kids take MAP too. Can the parents see the MCAP results anywhere? All I see in Parentvue is MAP test scores.


Starting this school year, schools were supposed to be sending in the mCAP results home with students, instead of Central office mailing score reports home to families. In previous years, families received report mailings one year after taking the current year's MCAP (spring 2023 results in mail only in spring 2024) which didn't help anyone that needed assistance.


Interesting. I've never received anything. Was MCPS mailing the MCAP results from Antarctica? That's ridiculous for parents to receive scores 1 year later.


I agree.
Anonymous
Post 04/07/2025 22:30     Subject: Mcap testing
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:In no way are teachers evaluated by MCAP data. We don’t even get the results until well after the year ends. When we analyze data, we look at our current class. So if I’m a 4th grade teacher, the 5th grade teachers are the ones that get the results and look for trends for my current class.

MCAP is a complete waste of time and should just be traded in for something like MAP.


But the kids take MAP too. Can the parents see the MCAP results anywhere? All I see in Parentvue is MAP test scores.


Starting this school year, schools were supposed to be sending in the mCAP results home with students, instead of Central office mailing score reports home to families. In previous years, families received report mailings one year after taking the current year's MCAP (spring 2023 results in mail only in spring 2024) which didn't help anyone that needed assistance.


Interesting. I've never received anything. Was MCPS mailing the MCAP results from Antarctica? That's ridiculous for parents to receive scores 1 year later.