Anonymous wrote:Can someone force MCPS to disclose the overall scores through the freedom of information act like the Rockville parents did to revealed the failing math exams that had been be hidden?

Yes. But, MCPS is likely to respond to a FOIA with an expensive charge for the data, making it difficult for a lone parent to pay to get this. But, this would be an enterprising thing for an education reporter at the Washington Post to do (if we have any enterprising reporters left at the WaPo....)

Anonymous wrote: Interesting analogy. To students and their parents, the results are going to be the same, though. The tests will feel impossibly hard, most children will fail them. Just like a Ford or a Chrysler is transportation, the Common Core tests are the same animal because they are being devised by the same people.

I wish that my crystal ball worked as well as the crystal balls belonging to some of the people on DCUM.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Parents should brace themselves. In every state that has taken the PARCC tests, 70 percent of students have failed. The tests are very long, very complicated, and well beyond what kids are being taught in school.

Google the fiascos in New York and Kentucky where students are failing the tests in droves -- repeatedly.

No state has used the PARCC tests. The tests that students took in New York and Kentucky are not the PARCC tests.

They are indeed the 1.0 version of the PARCC tests.

Yes, we've had this discussion before.

The New York tests, the Kentucky tests, and the PARCC tests are all suposed to be aligned to the Common Core. Some of the same people were involved in their development. And they may (or may not) be similar.

But the New York tests and the Kentucky tests are not the PARCC tests.

You might as well say that a Ford car is a GM car is a Chrysler car, because they're all cars designed for the same purpose, by companies with headquarters in Detroit.

Interesting analogy. To students and their parents, the results are going to be the same, though. The tests will feel impossibly hard, most children will fail them. Just like a Ford or a Chrysler is transportation, the Common Core tests are the same animal because they are being devised by the same people.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Parents should brace themselves. In every state that has taken the PARCC tests, 70 percent of students have failed. The tests are very long, very complicated, and well beyond what kids are being taught in school.

Google the fiascos in New York and Kentucky where students are failing the tests in droves -- repeatedly.

No state has used the PARCC tests. The tests that students took in New York and Kentucky are not the PARCC tests.

They are indeed the 1.0 version of the PARCC tests.

Yes, we've had this discussion before.

The New York tests, the Kentucky tests, and the PARCC tests are all suposed to be aligned to the Common Core. Some of the same people were involved in their development. And they may (or may not) be similar.

But the New York tests and the Kentucky tests are not the PARCC tests.

You might as well say that a Ford car is a GM car is a Chrysler car, because they're all cars designed for the same purpose, by companies with headquarters in Detroit.

Anonymous wrote:Shouldn't you be able to force the school to provide the results? There is a federal law that students have a right to see anything that constitutes an educational record. If MCPS is recording the score, its an educational record.

If they are anonymizing the participants then its a research study and wouldn't they be violating IRB type ethics in compelling someone to take part of the study? I would assume that you can refuse to allow your child to participate at the least.

That's a big if. When the children at our school participate in NAEP, the school (charter, so it's own LEA) doesn't keep or get anything that could be considered an educational record. I would assume that PARCC field tests would be similar.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Parents should brace themselves. In every state that has taken the PARCC tests, 70 percent of students have failed. The tests are very long, very complicated, and well beyond what kids are being taught in school.

Google the fiascos in New York and Kentucky where students are failing the tests in droves -- repeatedly.

No state has used the PARCC tests. The tests that students took in New York and Kentucky are not the PARCC tests.

They are indeed the 1.0 version of the PARCC tests.

Anonymous wrote:

Parents should brace themselves. In every state that has taken the PARCC tests, 70 percent of students have failed. The tests are very long, very complicated, and well beyond what kids are being taught in school.

Google the fiascos in New York and Kentucky where students are failing the tests in droves -- repeatedly.

No state has used the PARCC tests. The tests that students took in New York and Kentucky are not the PARCC tests.

Anonymous wrote:

Parents should brace themselves. In every state that has taken the PARCC tests, 70 percent of students have failed. The tests are very long, very complicated, and well beyond what kids are being taught in school.


Google the fiascos in New York and Kentucky where students are failing the tests in droves -- repeatedly.

This is what happened when HSAs were phased into high schools. It took years before they could determine a numerical cut off. And HSAs are child's play compared to PARCC.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:No state has taken PARCC tests yet, but likely the other tests aligned to common core (such as KY and NY) have results that will be similar to PARCC. The intention of the common core is to raise the standard of what is expected to be taught.

Bullshit.

why bullshit?

I don't know how KY and NY have been testing, but CC standards are MUCH more rigorous than the CLGs. Each standard has multiple parts that can be turned into mastery objectives. From there, teachers need to scaffold carefully.

Anonymous wrote:Are you sure it said your child would be participating. I just received a general letter saying some children would be participating.

Our letter (not OP) said that my daughter's class would be piloting the PARCC reading and taking the math MSA.

whatever . . .

The PARCC is HARD! Look at the prototype questions. This is how ALL teachers should be teaching, tbh. Students should know how to tackle both informative and narrative texts, which means two different skill sets must be taught. But consistency in the public system is hard to enforce.

Anonymous wrote:I am also going to guess that MCPS made the decision that students would only do one or the other to minimize the loss of instructional time. If you are upset about not getting the MSA results, you may be able to request that your child take that also.

I will ask the school to see if my child can take the MSA for scores. What they sent home was a letter that my child's class was selected to take the PARCC Field Test. On days the other kids are taking the MSA's, my child has the option of coming in late or being assigned a quiet room with adult supervision while the other kids take the MSA's elsewhere in the building. Doesn't seem that there would be any additional loss of instruction if my child took the MSA. It is just with the PARCC field test that 5 instructional days would be used separate from the days designated for the MSA's. The letter was vague on how much time each day the children would be spending on the test and if it would interfere with other class periods.

It seems that there is no upside for my child to participate in the PARCC Field Testing because there will be no individualized scores. The downside is that the test is in an area of concern for our child. Past MSA scores have been vital data points that are red flags for intervention. If my child could take both tests (MSA's for a score and the PARCC Field Test to improve the test) I would not be as concerned.

Anonymous wrote:No state has taken PARCC tests yet, but likely the other tests aligned to common core (such as KY and NY) have results that will be similar to PARCC. The intention of the common core is to raise the standard of what is expected to be taught.

Bullshit.

No state has taken PARCC tests yet, but likely the other tests aligned to common core (such as KY and NY) have results that will be similar to PARCC. The intention of the common core is to raise the standard of what is expected to be taught.

I am also going to guess that MCPS made the decision that students would only do one or the other to minimize the loss of instructional time. If you are upset about not getting the MSA results, you may be able to request that your child take that also.

Parents should brace themselves. In every state that has taken the PARCC tests, 70 percent of students have failed. The tests are very long, very complicated, and well beyond what kids are being taught in school.


Google the fiascos in New York and Kentucky where students are failing the tests in droves -- repeatedly.