Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Upper ES teacher here. While I don’t like benchmark, this year is way better. I am able to differentiate for my AAP kids. My students have an assigned novel for each fiction unit and I am using small group to select stronger articles about thematic topics. Vocabulary instruction is actually happening this year. No one is policing like last year. It also helps we are cutting down on the unit tests.

I still hate the writing. But things have improved now that we have flexibility To adapt.

I have a 4th grader (not in AAP) whose teacher encouraged the class to, for example, check out Because of Winn Dixie from the library after they read that excerpt. My daughter looked through it in the classroom library and then asked me if we could check it out from the public library, which we did, and now she has a book to read tomorrow. So I don't see how, as a PP earlier suggested, a child could totally lose all interest in reading anything because of Benchmark.

Seriously? Your experience is not universal. The 6th grade Benchmark curriculum was god awful last year. All the excerpts were non fiction and boring. There was one on Queen Elizabeth 1 and one on archaeology technology and they were painfully boring. On top of that maybe we just had a crappy LA teacher. Her classroom library sucked (think lots of anime) and she complained all year to the kids about Benchmark.

Jokes on you, PP because I HAD a 6th grader last year. She READ A LOT OF BOOKS because I found her a lot of books that were interesting and at an appropriate reading level for her, so nope, sorry, this is on you. You cannot blame your child not reading any books last year on Benchmark.

I said she lost interest, not that she didn’t read any. It was difficult to get her interested in any of the books I suggested. It’s wonderful that your DD continued to be engaged and accepted the books you found for her. My DD would not. Whatever I suggested was rejected. Perhaps my child is more independent than yours. By 6th grade, Mommy should not be picking out their books. Parenting fail. And yes, Benchmark still sucks.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Upper ES teacher here. While I don’t like benchmark, this year is way better. I am able to differentiate for my AAP kids. My students have an assigned novel for each fiction unit and I am using small group to select stronger articles about thematic topics. Vocabulary instruction is actually happening this year. No one is policing like last year. It also helps we are cutting down on the unit tests.

I still hate the writing. But things have improved now that we have flexibility To adapt.

I have a 4th grader (not in AAP) whose teacher encouraged the class to, for example, check out Because of Winn Dixie from the library after they read that excerpt. My daughter looked through it in the classroom library and then asked me if we could check it out from the public library, which we did, and now she has a book to read tomorrow. So I don't see how, as a PP earlier suggested, a child could totally lose all interest in reading anything because of Benchmark.

Seriously? Your experience is not universal. The 6th grade Benchmark curriculum was god awful last year. All the excerpts were non fiction and boring. There was one on Queen Elizabeth 1 and one on archaeology technology and they were painfully boring. On top of that maybe we just had a crappy LA teacher. Her classroom library sucked (think lots of anime) and she complained all year to the kids about Benchmark.

Jokes on you, PP because I HAD a 6th grader last year. She READ A LOT OF BOOKS because I found her a lot of books that were interesting and at an appropriate reading level for her, so nope, sorry, this is on you. You cannot blame your child not reading any books last year on Benchmark.

I said she lost interest, not that she didn’t read any. It was difficult to get her interested in any of the books I suggested. It’s wonderful that your DD continued to be engaged and accepted the books you found for her. My DD would not. Whatever I suggested was rejected. Perhaps my child is more independent than yours. By 6th grade, Mommy should not be picking out their books. Parenting fail. And yes, Benchmark still sucks.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Upper ES teacher here. While I don’t like benchmark, this year is way better. I am able to differentiate for my AAP kids. My students have an assigned novel for each fiction unit and I am using small group to select stronger articles about thematic topics. Vocabulary instruction is actually happening this year. No one is policing like last year. It also helps we are cutting down on the unit tests.

I still hate the writing. But things have improved now that we have flexibility To adapt.

I have a 4th grader (not in AAP) whose teacher encouraged the class to, for example, check out Because of Winn Dixie from the library after they read that excerpt. My daughter looked through it in the classroom library and then asked me if we could check it out from the public library, which we did, and now she has a book to read tomorrow. So I don't see how, as a PP earlier suggested, a child could totally lose all interest in reading anything because of Benchmark.

Seriously? Your experience is not universal. The 6th grade Benchmark curriculum was god awful last year. All the excerpts were non fiction and boring. There was one on Queen Elizabeth 1 and one on archaeology technology and they were painfully boring. On top of that maybe we just had a crappy LA teacher. Her classroom library sucked (think lots of anime) and she complained all year to the kids about Benchmark.

Jokes on you, PP because I HAD a 6th grader last year. She READ A LOT OF BOOKS because I found her a lot of books that were interesting and at an appropriate reading level for her, so nope, sorry, this is on you. You cannot blame your child not reading any books last year on Benchmark.

Anonymous wrote:I’m a teacher & the articles/stories in the Benchmark magazines aren’t bad. The scripted curriculum sucks and makes no sense, especially for writing. I am experienced enough that I aim to teach the kids what they need to know rather than following a script. I realize FCPS would say this isn’t following the program with integrity, but I don’t care and am pretty sure most parents agree with me.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Upper ES teacher here. While I don’t like benchmark, this year is way better. I am able to differentiate for my AAP kids. My students have an assigned novel for each fiction unit and I am using small group to select stronger articles about thematic topics. Vocabulary instruction is actually happening this year. No one is policing like last year. It also helps we are cutting down on the unit tests.

I still hate the writing. But things have improved now that we have flexibility To adapt.

I have a 4th grader (not in AAP) whose teacher encouraged the class to, for example, check out Because of Winn Dixie from the library after they read that excerpt. My daughter looked through it in the classroom library and then asked me if we could check it out from the public library, which we did, and now she has a book to read tomorrow. So I don't see how, as a PP earlier suggested, a child could totally lose all interest in reading anything because of Benchmark.

Seriously? Your experience is not universal. The 6th grade Benchmark curriculum was god awful last year. All the excerpts were non fiction and boring. There was one on Queen Elizabeth 1 and one on archaeology technology and they were painfully boring. On top of that maybe we just had a crappy LA teacher. Her classroom library sucked (think lots of anime) and she complained all year to the kids about Benchmark.

i

6th grade teacher here. It isn’t necessarily that the readings are all boring, it is the fact that the kids get bored reading the same thing for a week.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Upper ES teacher here. While I don’t like benchmark, this year is way better. I am able to differentiate for my AAP kids. My students have an assigned novel for each fiction unit and I am using small group to select stronger articles about thematic topics. Vocabulary instruction is actually happening this year. No one is policing like last year. It also helps we are cutting down on the unit tests.

I still hate the writing. But things have improved now that we have flexibility To adapt.

I have a 4th grader (not in AAP) whose teacher encouraged the class to, for example, check out Because of Winn Dixie from the library after they read that excerpt. My daughter looked through it in the classroom library and then asked me if we could check it out from the public library, which we did, and now she has a book to read tomorrow. So I don't see how, as a PP earlier suggested, a child could totally lose all interest in reading anything because of Benchmark.

Seriously? Your experience is not universal. The 6th grade Benchmark curriculum was god awful last year. All the excerpts were non fiction and boring. There was one on Queen Elizabeth 1 and one on archaeology technology and they were painfully boring. On top of that maybe we just had a crappy LA teacher. Her classroom library sucked (think lots of anime) and she complained all year to the kids about Benchmark.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Upper ES teacher here. While I don’t like benchmark, this year is way better. I am able to differentiate for my AAP kids. My students have an assigned novel for each fiction unit and I am using small group to select stronger articles about thematic topics. Vocabulary instruction is actually happening this year. No one is policing like last year. It also helps we are cutting down on the unit tests.

I still hate the writing. But things have improved now that we have flexibility To adapt.

I have a 4th grader (not in AAP) whose teacher encouraged the class to, for example, check out Because of Winn Dixie from the library after they read that excerpt. My daughter looked through it in the classroom library and then asked me if we could check it out from the public library, which we did, and now she has a book to read tomorrow. So I don't see how, as a PP earlier suggested, a child could totally lose all interest in reading anything because of Benchmark.

Seriously? Your experience is not universal. The 6th grade Benchmark curriculum was god awful last year. All the excerpts were non fiction and boring. There was one on Queen Elizabeth 1 and one on archaeology technology and they were painfully boring. On top of that maybe we just had a crappy LA teacher. Her classroom library sucked (think lots of anime) and she complained all year to the kids about Benchmark.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:FCPS needs to replace this awful tool. Students and teachers alike hate it. Students find the readings uninteresting and are not at all inspired. There is no independent reading time in class anymore which students also hate. Students feel they have to interpret readings in the exact same manner, no room for diversity of thought. Students find the questions really confusing. In conclusion, benchmark really really sucks. FCPS do better.

I said this last year and was pilloried for it here. The defenders jumped into action, screaming how their child’s reading scores actually improved. Thankfully we moved on the middle school where they are not using Benchmark. My child’s love of reading has finally - her class did a book club. And my child is finally reading independently again after a whole year off.

\

Anyone who describes those of us who said that Benchmark helped our children as "screaming" and who claims that a school curriculum is the reason their child didn't read outside of school is just not credible.

It's YOUR job as a parent to make sure your child is reading outside of school, not the school's. Weren't you buying her books, taking her to the library, etc.? There are a TON of resources out there to help you find the perfect books for your child's interests. I subscribed to a middle school librarian's substack and get great recommendations from her. There is BookTok if you're a TikTok person, librarian influencers on Instagram, even Barnes & Noble has lists of the most popular middle grade books out there. You're doing your children a great disservice if you're not helping them find great books to read.

My child lost interest in reading outside of school the one year they did Benchmark. This year is the first year since then that they have expressed an interest in a book outside of school, despite everything I tried.

I don't see how your child could lose interest in reading because of the language arts unit at school. You were NOT doing anything to encourage them to read. Parenting fail.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Upper ES teacher here. While I don’t like benchmark, this year is way better. I am able to differentiate for my AAP kids. My students have an assigned novel for each fiction unit and I am using small group to select stronger articles about thematic topics. Vocabulary instruction is actually happening this year. No one is policing like last year. It also helps we are cutting down on the unit tests.

I still hate the writing. But things have improved now that we have flexibility To adapt.

I have a 4th grader (not in AAP) whose teacher encouraged the class to, for example, check out Because of Winn Dixie from the library after they read that excerpt. My daughter looked through it in the classroom library and then asked me if we could check it out from the public library, which we did, and now she has a book to read tomorrow. So I don't see how, as a PP earlier suggested, a child could totally lose all interest in reading anything because of Benchmark.

Anonymous wrote:Upper ES teacher here. While I don’t like benchmark, this year is way better. I am able to differentiate for my AAP kids. My students have an assigned novel for each fiction unit and I am using small group to select stronger articles about thematic topics. Vocabulary instruction is actually happening this year. No one is policing like last year. It also helps we are cutting down on the unit tests.

I still hate the writing. But things have improved now that we have flexibility To adapt.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:FCPS needs to replace this awful tool. Students and teachers alike hate it. Students find the readings uninteresting and are not at all inspired. There is no independent reading time in class anymore which students also hate. Students feel they have to interpret readings in the exact same manner, no room for diversity of thought. Students find the questions really confusing. In conclusion, benchmark really really sucks. FCPS do better.

I said this last year and was pilloried for it here. The defenders jumped into action, screaming how their child’s reading scores actually improved. Thankfully we moved on the middle school where they are not using Benchmark. My child’s love of reading has finally - her class did a book club. And my child is finally reading independently again after a whole year off.

\

Anyone who describes those of us who said that Benchmark helped our children as "screaming" and who claims that a school curriculum is the reason their child didn't read outside of school is just not credible.

It's YOUR job as a parent to make sure your child is reading outside of school, not the school's. Weren't you buying her books, taking her to the library, etc.? There are a TON of resources out there to help you find the perfect books for your child's interests. I subscribed to a middle school librarian's substack and get great recommendations from her. There is BookTok if you're a TikTok person, librarian influencers on Instagram, even Barnes & Noble has lists of the most popular middle grade books out there. You're doing your children a great disservice if you're not helping them find great books to read.

My child lost interest in reading outside of school the one year they did Benchmark. This year is the first year since then that they have expressed an interest in a book outside of school, despite everything I tried.