This has been going on for years in MCPS. The Board of Education has been complacent with MCPS trying to cover up problems instead of raising the bar of education.

MCPS used to have semester exams that were a large chunk of final grades. For high school courses, the exams prepared students to learn study skills for long cumulative tests. These tests also made students earn a semester grade vs. just be given the higher grade. For example, if you receive marking period grades of A and B, you needed an A for a semester grade of an A. Without an exam, if a student gets an A, the semester grade will be an A as long as a student earns a B.

Also, currently-

89.5 = A
79.5 = B
69.5 = C
59.5 = D

If MCPS students are struggling with digital learning, perhaps teach MORE. Students have a fraction of the instructional time that they had before COVID. Perhaps have a more normal schedule with an 8am start time, 3pm end time, and all class periods with normal lunch time 5 DAYS A WEEK. Wednesdays are waisted time. 15 minutes of “optional” office hours is not enough time to help a struggling student.

All students are falling behind in learning because MCPS has slowed down teaching.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:MCPS sucks!
Yes, some students are failing. Find a way to hide the problem by raising their grades. PLEASE DO NOT LOWER STANDARDS for kids who can keep up. Why does MCPS have to screw up every kid???

How are your kids harmed by additional flexibility in due dates and an optional (instead of required) winter MAP?

Some students clearly need firm deadlines. They will wait until the last week to throw together 7 of the 9 assignments allowed.

There will be firm deadlines in school again. Kids will not suffer permanent damage from flexible deadlines during distance learning during a pandemic.

Ha ha ha! Are you joking? Once kids get back in school, it will be catch-up time for the kids who didn't do any work.

How will this harm your child?

Relaxed deadlines WILL harm my child. He is barely motivated to do his schoolwork during DL. If he has until the end of the marking period, he will put off turning in assignments until the last minute (unless I literally sit with him and force him to do the work -- and since he is in middle school, and I have a full time job and another child, this "solution" doesn't work for me). That means he won't get feedback until after the marking period closes, and will have no opportunity for the "re-teaching and re-assessing" process that is actually working fairly well right now. His grades will suffer, as will his understanding of the topics he is supposed to be learning about.

I can't imagine teachers want to get hundreds of assignments right before grade books close either. This is just bad all around.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:just cancel school. screw the kids who are succeeding.

My kids are doing fine. Screw the ones who aren't.

-DCUM

My kids are not doing fine. Screw the ones who are.

How?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:just cancel school. screw the kids who are succeeding.

My kids are doing fine. Screw the ones who aren't.

-DCUM

My kids are not doing fine. Screw the ones who are.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:just cancel school. screw the kids who are succeeding.

My kids are doing fine. Screw the ones who aren't.

-DCUM

This is actually going to he the line in the sand for a lot of people. We've been very liberal and gung-ho about reaching down to help others up.

But we also work hard to make sure our children do well in school. Now that they are punishing our children for the lack of any effing effort whatsoever by the less educated, they can count me out as a friend.

Read your kid a god darn book once in a while. Its not that hard.

+100

Some kids thrive with a robust and rigorous curriculum and they shouldn’t be penalized. The middle school curriculum has already been reduced by 1/3, which is troubling, but add in even less curriculum and the cumulative result harms students. In a few short years these kids will be applying for colleges and competing for too few spots against kids who have been in school without dumbed down expectations.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:just cancel school. screw the kids who are succeeding.

My kids are doing fine. Screw the ones who aren't.

-DCUM

This is actually going to he the line in the sand for a lot of people. We've been very liberal and gung-ho about reaching down to help others up.

But we also work hard to make sure our children do well in school. Now that they are punishing our children for the lack of any effing effort whatsoever by the less educated, they can count me out as a friend.

Read your kid a god darn book once in a while. Its not that hard.

How are they punishing your children?

Also, how do you know what efforts "the less educated" are making?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:just cancel school. screw the kids who are succeeding.

My kids are doing fine. Screw the ones who aren't.

-DCUM

This is actually going to he the line in the sand for a lot of people. We've been very liberal and gung-ho about reaching down to help others up.

But we also work hard to make sure our children do well in school. Now that they are punishing our children for the lack of any effing effort whatsoever by the less educated, they can count me out as a friend.

Read your kid a god darn book once in a while. Its not that hard.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:MCPS sucks!
Yes, some students are failing. Find a way to hide the problem by raising their grades. PLEASE DO NOT LOWER STANDARDS for kids who can keep up. Why does MCPS have to screw up every kid???

How are your kids harmed by additional flexibility in due dates and an optional (instead of required) winter MAP?

Some students clearly need firm deadlines. They will wait until the last week to throw together 7 of the 9 assignments allowed.

There will be firm deadlines in school again. Kids will not suffer permanent damage from flexible deadlines during distance learning during a pandemic.

Maybe in 2021-2022 there will be a return to firm deadlines, but that 50% for nothing is here to stay. Mark my words. Zero is dead in MCPS. This was the chink in the armor MCPS has been waiting for.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:"Ongoing review of curriculum content and pacing, and reduction in number of lessons and content covered;

At the secondary level, reduction of required progress checks in mathematics, English and ESOL;

At the secondary level, adjustments to Grading and Reporting Guidance to include:
Removal of the required 10% grading category for district assessments (Progress Checks)
Reduction in the recommended range of graded assignments"

WTF? Why does MCPS have to lower the already very low standards for everyone?

What about academic honesty? How do I explain this to my kid when MCPS is openly cooking the numbers?

What about academic honesty?

Not to mention that it is not possible to "openly cook" numbers, unless you mean it literally, or like in The Phantom Tollbooth.

"More explicit guidance about implementation of the “50% Rule” to mark a grade of “E” in place of zero"

Brilliant! Fields medal to BOE for rediscovering zero!
What a bunch of cheats.

Anonymous wrote:"Ongoing review of curriculum content and pacing, and reduction in number of lessons and content covered;

At the secondary level, reduction of required progress checks in mathematics, English and ESOL;

At the secondary level, adjustments to Grading and Reporting Guidance to include:
Removal of the required 10% grading category for district assessments (Progress Checks)
Reduction in the recommended range of graded assignments"

WTF? Why does MCPS have to lower the already very low standards for everyone?

What about academic honesty? How do I explain this to my kid when MCPS is openly cooking the numbers?

Anonymous wrote:"Ongoing review of curriculum content and pacing, and reduction in number of lessons and content covered;

At the secondary level, reduction of required progress checks in mathematics, English and ESOL;

At the secondary level, adjustments to Grading and Reporting Guidance to include:
Removal of the required 10% grading category for district assessments (Progress Checks)
Reduction in the recommended range of graded assignments"

WTF? Why does MCPS have to lower the already very low standards for everyone?

How will this harm your child?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:MCPS sucks!
Yes, some students are failing. Find a way to hide the problem by raising their grades. PLEASE DO NOT LOWER STANDARDS for kids who can keep up. Why does MCPS have to screw up every kid???

How are your kids harmed by additional flexibility in due dates and an optional (instead of required) winter MAP?

Some students clearly need firm deadlines. They will wait until the last week to throw together 7 of the 9 assignments allowed.

There will be firm deadlines in school again. Kids will not suffer permanent damage from flexible deadlines during distance learning during a pandemic.

They already are

What permanent damage have kids suffered from flexible vs firm deadlines in Q1 of the 2020-2021 school year during distance learning?