Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What would you make of a smart 8th grader who typically does well on MAP (80 or 90 percentiles) but got 2s on the PARCC exam?

He said the math was weird because the advanced math group is a year ahead of the exam they took, so maybe he forgot some things. But that seems like forgetting a lot. If anything, shouldn't it have been pretty easy? I asked if he just made up answers but he says he really tried.

What would you do as a parent to better assess if your child has serious gaps in knowledge or needs better test taking strategies? Does this test matter for anything?

The PARCC covers the curriculum for the grade that he is assigned to. If he spent the year in the grade level ahead and the teacher did not integrate his current grade level curriculum into the advanced curriculum, he did not get exposure to his current grade level curriculum, and there were likely many questions on the PARCC he could not accurately answer. Find out what the key concepts for his current grade level are test him on those things to make sure he doesn't have true gaps.

I don’t follow this claim. Are you seriously saying that a kid in 5th grade math should not be able to do 4th grade math anymore? That a student in 7th grade ELA should not be able to do 6th grade ELA? I thought these fundamentals were cumulative. What am I missing?

lol math fundamentals. You sweet summer child.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What would you make of a smart 8th grader who typically does well on MAP (80 or 90 percentiles) but got 2s on the PARCC exam?

He said the math was weird because the advanced math group is a year ahead of the exam they took, so maybe he forgot some things. But that seems like forgetting a lot. If anything, shouldn't it have been pretty easy? I asked if he just made up answers but he says he really tried.

What would you do as a parent to better assess if your child has serious gaps in knowledge or needs better test taking strategies? Does this test matter for anything?

The PARCC covers the curriculum for the grade that he is assigned to. If he spent the year in the grade level ahead and the teacher did not integrate his current grade level curriculum into the advanced curriculum, he did not get exposure to his current grade level curriculum, and there were likely many questions on the PARCC he could not accurately answer. Find out what the key concepts for his current grade level are test him on those things to make sure he doesn't have true gaps.

I don’t follow this claim. Are you seriously saying that a kid in 5th grade math should not be able to do 4th grade math anymore? That a student in 7th grade ELA should not be able to do 6th grade ELA? I thought these fundamentals were cumulative. What am I missing?

This is how rationalization works. Easier than acknowledging the possibility that your snowflake isn't perfect.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What would you make of a smart 8th grader who typically does well on MAP (80 or 90 percentiles) but got 2s on the PARCC exam?

He said the math was weird because the advanced math group is a year ahead of the exam they took, so maybe he forgot some things. But that seems like forgetting a lot. If anything, shouldn't it have been pretty easy? I asked if he just made up answers but he says he really tried.

What would you do as a parent to better assess if your child has serious gaps in knowledge or needs better test taking strategies? Does this test matter for anything?

The PARCC covers the curriculum for the grade that he is assigned to. If he spent the year in the grade level ahead and the teacher did not integrate his current grade level curriculum into the advanced curriculum, he did not get exposure to his current grade level curriculum, and there were likely many questions on the PARCC he could not accurately answer. Find out what the key concepts for his current grade level are test him on those things to make sure he doesn't have true gaps.

I don’t follow this claim. Are you seriously saying that a kid in 5th grade math should not be able to do 4th grade math anymore? That a student in 7th grade ELA should not be able to do 6th grade ELA? I thought these fundamentals were cumulative. What am I missing?

MAP tests are a joke so I wouldn’t use that to judge my kid’s aptitude.

Anonymous wrote:What would you make of a smart 8th grader who typically does well on MAP (80 or 90 percentiles) but got 2s on the PARCC exam?

He said the math was weird because the advanced math group is a year ahead of the exam they took, so maybe he forgot some things. But that seems like forgetting a lot. If anything, shouldn't it have been pretty easy? I asked if he just made up answers but he says he really tried.

What would you do as a parent to better assess if your child has serious gaps in knowledge or needs better test taking strategies? Does this test matter for anything?

The PARCC covers the curriculum for the grade that he is assigned to. If he spent the year in the grade level ahead and the teacher did not integrate his current grade level curriculum into the advanced curriculum, he did not get exposure to his current grade level curriculum, and there were likely many questions on the PARCC he could not accurately answer. Find out what the key concepts for his current grade level are test him on those things to make sure he doesn't have true gaps.

I don't know what you mean when you say "smart kid". The thing about standardized tests is they are designed to eliminate implicit bias about smart kids. You know, how loud and talkative "smart kids" are gregarious and precocious and "not smart" kids are troublemakers and disruptive?

80-90% on MAP is not an indication your kid has mastered math concepts. The PARCC score isn't really a leap from 80% on MAP. Not saying to be mean, but you seem unwilling to accept the possibility that your kid's PARCC score isn't an outlier or a bad day, but reflective of where they are. You can't help your kid if you hide behind how "smart" they are and don't at least allow that they need help.