Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think it's also important to note that from this data we can't actually tell whether or not the achievement gap has narrowed.

PARCC has different standards than CAS did, as evidenced by the fact that scores at schools like Janney (scores for white students) fell from say 95% to 75%. It's a harder test and kids overall score lower.

So it could be (and we have no way of knowing this from this data because it's a different test) that the schools have narrowed the achievement gap by some measures (e.g., raised the kids in the middle somewhat), but that they have not yet brought African American and economically disadvantaged kids up to the higher standard of PARCC.

Note that I am not trying to argue that it's not a problem and that we shouldn't continue to work to improve scores across the board; merely pointing out that there are some statistical issues in just taking results from a year ago and comparing them to the current results and saying "the gap hasn't been narrowed."

Hogwash!!! The WTU posters on DCUM have spent minutes digging through the data and concluded that reform, Kaya, Rhee and everyone who ever suggested that schools and teachers could be improved and held to account are wrong. Let's get to work rehiring all the fired teachers and get back to the good old days of the days.

Yep, let's go back to 1950, those were the golden days!

Anonymous wrote:I think it's also important to note that from this data we can't actually tell whether or not the achievement gap has narrowed.

PARCC has different standards than CAS did, as evidenced by the fact that scores at schools like Janney (scores for white students) fell from say 95% to 75%. It's a harder test and kids overall score lower.

So it could be (and we have no way of knowing this from this data because it's a different test) that the schools have narrowed the achievement gap by some measures (e.g., raised the kids in the middle somewhat), but that they have not yet brought African American and economically disadvantaged kids up to the higher standard of PARCC.

Note that I am not trying to argue that it's not a problem and that we shouldn't continue to work to improve scores across the board; merely pointing out that there are some statistical issues in just taking results from a year ago and comparing them to the current results and saying "the gap hasn't been narrowed."

Hogwash!!! The WTU posters on DCUM have spent minutes digging through the data and concluded that reform, Kaya, Rhee and everyone who ever suggested that schools and teachers could be improved and held to account are wrong. Let's get to work rehiring all the fired teachers and get back to the good old days of the days.

I think it's also important to note that from this data we can't actually tell whether or not the achievement gap has narrowed.

PARCC has different standards than CAS did, as evidenced by the fact that scores at schools like Janney (scores for white students) fell from say 95% to 75%. It's a harder test and kids overall score lower.

So it could be (and we have no way of knowing this from this data because it's a different test) that the schools have narrowed the achievement gap by some measures (e.g., raised the kids in the middle somewhat), but that they have not yet brought African American and economically disadvantaged kids up to the higher standard of PARCC.

Note that I am not trying to argue that it's not a problem and that we shouldn't continue to work to improve scores across the board; merely pointing out that there are some statistical issues in just taking results from a year ago and comparing them to the current results and saying "the gap hasn't been narrowed."

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My primary reaction to these scores is concern - and dismay. DC/DCPS really needs to figure out how to help all the students in DCPS. There are so many schools with scores below 10%, the MS in Ward and have 1-2% of the students tested proficient at grade level in reading and math and I think none or almost none are advanced. That means less that less then 10 students in grades 6-8 enrolled in DCPS in Ward 8 tested as on grade level. We as a city are failing to educate these kids. The difference between white and black, white and Hispanic, the haves and the have nots in D.C. is staggering. I know this has been a focus of DCPS for some time but whatever they are doing is not working. I know this is nothing new (unfortunately) but it just makes me so mad and also sad. I know people who work in these schools who try so hard and are so frustrated and discouraged by these scores. I really want to know if there are urban school systems that managed to turn around a significant number of struggling schools. It just feels impossible yet we as community need all of our children to be educated.

I just think the schools that are really struggling should be of more concern.

That'a Michelle-RHee - phony school-reform talk. Forget it. Schools don't fail children. Parents do - and sometimes it's because that cards are stacked against them. Schools aren't
"turned around" -- society is. It takes a while, especially if you've wasted years punishing teachers and expecting miracles instead.

Jesus lady, give it up. These tests are not about the teachers, they are about testing the readiness of the kids! If anyone in my company talked like DCPS teachers and made the institution about the employee instead of the customer, they'd be terminated. But, or course, our employees are;t granted jobs for life and don't have the right to appeal terinations and stay on payroll as they work an administrative system designed to protect them.

Not about YOU!!!!!!!!!!!

Terminated -- that's rich -- teachers have been terminated by the dozens -- by the hundreds -- with no visible benefit to the kids. Meanwhile, I can't think of one DCPS administrator who been terminated for failing to follow through with their insane promises. What "customers" have they served?

OMG. You don't get it. Only DCPS teachers think this is about them vs administrators. The rest of us who are just trying to get our kids educated do not care about your noise. The students (and their parents) are the customers. And you simply can't say that the reform didn't work. Sorry, you can't know that. I think it did. I think Brent and Mary and other schools that are improving, and the fact that I'm still here and my friends are still here and people are willing to try to buy into the DC school system is directly correlated to the prior reforms. You are free to disagree, but you simply can't "know" what you stated as a fact. You, ma'am, are blinded by your self interest and anger and cannot get out of your own way or find perspective. I actually feel sorry for you.

And how can you know what "only DCPS teachers think" and that you're speaking for the "rest of us?" And any chance that YOU are blinded by self-interest? I'm happy that the school your kids are going to has improved -- don't assume it's because of "reform" and that reform has been a good thing overall. It hasn't -- it's failed in it's primary objective -- narrowing the achievement gap, which has widened instead. Not that narrowing it was ever possible, given DCPS limited understanding of how students learn.

Saying "it hasn't" and speaking in certainties doesn't make so. I don't think you understand that. I'm not "assuming", I'm expressing my informed opinion. But I find it interesting that your response to that is that somehow my expressed opinion is an "assumption" while your statement is a "fact".

Are you really incapable of understanding this concept? ANd where does your hatred come from? Were you or your spouse or mother or father one of the DCPS teachers let go? Seriously, you lack perspective. Why do you even bother to read or reply to anything when you "know" and everyone who doesn't agree with you is just wrong. And not because you are relying on data, just cause you simply know it?

I feel even worse for you now.

The thing is, the achievement gap hasn't narrowed. that is a fact. I have hopes for DCPS too and they are based on engaged parents and dedicated teachers and principals making a difference, in spite of the terrible management of the schools. Henderson and her programs have been a huge failure.

We disagree. I think the schools are much better than they were 10 or 15 years ago. There are many more schools that I'd want my kid attending. Some charters, some DCPS that weren't good options when I moved to DC. Perhaps you feel the system was just the same before Brent, Murch, Maury and the charters were viable options. I simply don't.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My primary reaction to these scores is concern - and dismay. DC/DCPS really needs to figure out how to help all the students in DCPS. There are so many schools with scores below 10%, the MS in Ward and have 1-2% of the students tested proficient at grade level in reading and math and I think none or almost none are advanced. That means less that less then 10 students in grades 6-8 enrolled in DCPS in Ward 8 tested as on grade level. We as a city are failing to educate these kids. The difference between white and black, white and Hispanic, the haves and the have nots in D.C. is staggering. I know this has been a focus of DCPS for some time but whatever they are doing is not working. I know this is nothing new (unfortunately) but it just makes me so mad and also sad. I know people who work in these schools who try so hard and are so frustrated and discouraged by these scores. I really want to know if there are urban school systems that managed to turn around a significant number of struggling schools. It just feels impossible yet we as community need all of our children to be educated.

I just think the schools that are really struggling should be of more concern.

That'a Michelle-RHee - phony school-reform talk. Forget it. Schools don't fail children. Parents do - and sometimes it's because that cards are stacked against them. Schools aren't
"turned around" -- society is. It takes a while, especially if you've wasted years punishing teachers and expecting miracles instead.

Jesus lady, give it up. These tests are not about the teachers, they are about testing the readiness of the kids! If anyone in my company talked like DCPS teachers and made the institution about the employee instead of the customer, they'd be terminated. But, or course, our employees are;t granted jobs for life and don't have the right to appeal terinations and stay on payroll as they work an administrative system designed to protect them.

Not about YOU!!!!!!!!!!!

Terminated -- that's rich -- teachers have been terminated by the dozens -- by the hundreds -- with no visible benefit to the kids. Meanwhile, I can't think of one DCPS administrator who been terminated for failing to follow through with their insane promises. What "customers" have they served?

OMG. You don't get it. Only DCPS teachers think this is about them vs administrators. The rest of us who are just trying to get our kids educated do not care about your noise. The students (and their parents) are the customers. And you simply can't say that the reform didn't work. Sorry, you can't know that. I think it did. I think Brent and Mary and other schools that are improving, and the fact that I'm still here and my friends are still here and people are willing to try to buy into the DC school system is directly correlated to the prior reforms. You are free to disagree, but you simply can't "know" what you stated as a fact. You, ma'am, are blinded by your self interest and anger and cannot get out of your own way or find perspective. I actually feel sorry for you.

And how can you know what "only DCPS teachers think" and that you're speaking for the "rest of us?" And any chance that YOU are blinded by self-interest? I'm happy that the school your kids are going to has improved -- don't assume it's because of "reform" and that reform has been a good thing overall. It hasn't -- it's failed in it's primary objective -- narrowing the achievement gap, which has widened instead. Not that narrowing it was ever possible, given DCPS limited understanding of how students learn.

Saying "it hasn't" and speaking in certainties doesn't make so. I don't think you understand that. I'm not "assuming", I'm expressing my informed opinion. But I find it interesting that your response to that is that somehow my expressed opinion is an "assumption" while your statement is a "fact".

Are you really incapable of understanding this concept? ANd where does your hatred come from? Were you or your spouse or mother or father one of the DCPS teachers let go? Seriously, you lack perspective. Why do you even bother to read or reply to anything when you "know" and everyone who doesn't agree with you is just wrong. And not because you are relying on data, just cause you simply know it?

I feel even worse for you now.

The thing is, the achievement gap hasn't narrowed. that is a fact. I have hopes for DCPS too and they are based on engaged parents and dedicated teachers and principals making a difference, in spite of the terrible management of the schools. Henderson and her programs have been a huge failure.

The ed reforms are unlikely to appreciate people like me because I don't care if the achievement gap narrows.

I care if DC kids at all points on the socioeconomic spectrum can grow up to earn decent livings, and enjoy productive lives, as adults. If the gap widens, yet most poor kids still gain the skills to enter the middle class (if as plumbers and electricians), and stay there, much will have been achieved.

If boatloads of white gentrifiers' kids become rich, fine, they'll pay taxes. The focus in public education should not be on narrowing the gap, but on raising standards and output across the board, with a view to bolstering our collective economic competitiveness.

I can't find the charter school scores. Can someone send me the link?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This presentation is pretty good:

http://osse.dc.gov/sites/default/files/dc/sites/osse/publication/attachments/OSSE%20PARCC%203-8%20ReleasePresentation_finalv14.pdf

What I find most interesting are the bar charts of aggregated test results by grade, which show a clear progression -- 3rd graders performed better than fourth-graders, fourth graders performed better than fifth-graders, etc. These results imply that DC's early childhood interventions *are working*, as well as improvements in elementary school education. It is expected that those younger students who have had more exposure to these changes would perform better.

Perhaps in the aggregate, but at my children's school, while this was true in math, the opposite progression occurred in ELA.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My primary reaction to these scores is concern - and dismay. DC/DCPS really needs to figure out how to help all the students in DCPS. There are so many schools with scores below 10%, the MS in Ward and have 1-2% of the students tested proficient at grade level in reading and math and I think none or almost none are advanced. That means less that less then 10 students in grades 6-8 enrolled in DCPS in Ward 8 tested as on grade level. We as a city are failing to educate these kids. The difference between white and black, white and Hispanic, the haves and the have nots in D.C. is staggering. I know this has been a focus of DCPS for some time but whatever they are doing is not working. I know this is nothing new (unfortunately) but it just makes me so mad and also sad. I know people who work in these schools who try so hard and are so frustrated and discouraged by these scores. I really want to know if there are urban school systems that managed to turn around a significant number of struggling schools. It just feels impossible yet we as community need all of our children to be educated.

I just think the schools that are really struggling should be of more concern.

That'a Michelle-RHee - phony school-reform talk. Forget it. Schools don't fail children. Parents do - and sometimes it's because that cards are stacked against them. Schools aren't
"turned around" -- society is. It takes a while, especially if you've wasted years punishing teachers and expecting miracles instead.

Jesus lady, give it up. These tests are not about the teachers, they are about testing the readiness of the kids! If anyone in my company talked like DCPS teachers and made the institution about the employee instead of the customer, they'd be terminated. But, or course, our employees are;t granted jobs for life and don't have the right to appeal terinations and stay on payroll as they work an administrative system designed to protect them.

Not about YOU!!!!!!!!!!!

Terminated -- that's rich -- teachers have been terminated by the dozens -- by the hundreds -- with no visible benefit to the kids. Meanwhile, I can't think of one DCPS administrator who been terminated for failing to follow through with their insane promises. What "customers" have they served?

OMG. You don't get it. Only DCPS teachers think this is about them vs administrators. The rest of us who are just trying to get our kids educated do not care about your noise. The students (and their parents) are the customers. And you simply can't say that the reform didn't work. Sorry, you can't know that. I think it did. I think Brent and Mary and other schools that are improving, and the fact that I'm still here and my friends are still here and people are willing to try to buy into the DC school system is directly correlated to the prior reforms. You are free to disagree, but you simply can't "know" what you stated as a fact. You, ma'am, are blinded by your self interest and anger and cannot get out of your own way or find perspective. I actually feel sorry for you.

And how can you know what "only DCPS teachers think" and that you're speaking for the "rest of us?" And any chance that YOU are blinded by self-interest? I'm happy that the school your kids are going to has improved -- don't assume it's because of "reform" and that reform has been a good thing overall. It hasn't -- it's failed in it's primary objective -- narrowing the achievement gap, which has widened instead. Not that narrowing it was ever possible, given DCPS limited understanding of how students learn.

Saying "it hasn't" and speaking in certainties doesn't make so. I don't think you understand that. I'm not "assuming", I'm expressing my informed opinion. But I find it interesting that your response to that is that somehow my expressed opinion is an "assumption" while your statement is a "fact".

Are you really incapable of understanding this concept? ANd where does your hatred come from? Were you or your spouse or mother or father one of the DCPS teachers let go? Seriously, you lack perspective. Why do you even bother to read or reply to anything when you "know" and everyone who doesn't agree with you is just wrong. And not because you are relying on data, just cause you simply know it?

I feel even worse for you now.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My primary reaction to these scores is concern - and dismay. DC/DCPS really needs to figure out how to help all the students in DCPS. There are so many schools with scores below 10%, the MS in Ward and have 1-2% of the students tested proficient at grade level in reading and math and I think none or almost none are advanced. That means less that less then 10 students in grades 6-8 enrolled in DCPS in Ward 8 tested as on grade level. We as a city are failing to educate these kids. The difference between white and black, white and Hispanic, the haves and the have nots in D.C. is staggering. I know this has been a focus of DCPS for some time but whatever they are doing is not working. I know this is nothing new (unfortunately) but it just makes me so mad and also sad. I know people who work in these schools who try so hard and are so frustrated and discouraged by these scores. I really want to know if there are urban school systems that managed to turn around a significant number of struggling schools. It just feels impossible yet we as community need all of our children to be educated.

I just think the schools that are really struggling should be of more concern.

That'a Michelle-RHee - phony school-reform talk. Forget it. Schools don't fail children. Parents do - and sometimes it's because that cards are stacked against them. Schools aren't
"turned around" -- society is. It takes a while, especially if you've wasted years punishing teachers and expecting miracles instead.

Jesus lady, give it up. These tests are not about the teachers, they are about testing the readiness of the kids! If anyone in my company talked like DCPS teachers and made the institution about the employee instead of the customer, they'd be terminated. But, or course, our employees are;t granted jobs for life and don't have the right to appeal terinations and stay on payroll as they work an administrative system designed to protect them.

Not about YOU!!!!!!!!!!!

Terminated -- that's rich -- teachers have been terminated by the dozens -- by the hundreds -- with no visible benefit to the kids. Meanwhile, I can't think of one DCPS administrator who been terminated for failing to follow through with their insane promises. What "customers" have they served?

OMG. You don't get it. Only DCPS teachers think this is about them vs administrators. The rest of us who are just trying to get our kids educated do not care about your noise. The students (and their parents) are the customers. And you simply can't say that the reform didn't work. Sorry, you can't know that. I think it did. I think Brent and Mary and other schools that are improving, and the fact that I'm still here and my friends are still here and people are willing to try to buy into the DC school system is directly correlated to the prior reforms. You are free to disagree, but you simply can't "know" what you stated as a fact. You, ma'am, are blinded by your self interest and anger and cannot get out of your own way or find perspective. I actually feel sorry for you.

And how can you know what "only DCPS teachers think" and that you're speaking for the "rest of us?" And any chance that YOU are blinded by self-interest? I'm happy that the school your kids are going to has improved -- don't assume it's because of "reform" and that reform has been a good thing overall. It hasn't -- it's failed in it's primary objective -- narrowing the achievement gap, which has widened instead. Not that narrowing it was ever possible, given DCPS limited understanding of how students learn.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What math curriculum does Janney use?

Apparently Enron math if the parents think white students scoring in 60s is good, or as most Janney boosters say "best and only option in the city"....Ha! Watkins killed them!

Maury parent with absolutely no dog in this fight, you're wrong.

Why is OP wrong?

Anonymous wrote:This presentation is pretty good:

http://osse.dc.gov/sites/default/files/dc/sites/osse/publication/attachments/OSSE%20PARCC%203-8%20ReleasePresentation_finalv14.pdf

What I find most interesting are the bar charts of aggregated test results by grade, which show a clear progression -- 3rd graders performed better than fourth-graders, fourth graders performed better than fifth-graders, etc. These results imply that DC's early childhood interventions *are working*, as well as improvements in elementary school education. It is expected that those younger students who have had more exposure to these changes would perform better.

My child attends a Title I preschool, where she is one of two white children in her class. And at this stage, honestly, all the kids are about the same. At three years-old, they are all writing their names, telling stories, counting objects, etc. I would not be surprised at all if that by the time this class takes the 3rd grade PARCC, their scores would be on par not just with the rest of the country, but that the gap between races would merge as well.

As for the PARCC itself -- The presentation also has a nice comparison between a DC CAS math question and a PARCC question. It is just so obvious why the PARCC exam is superior and why teaching to this kind of test would be very different than teaching to the kinds of tests we grew up with. I have taken some of the practice exams to see what all the fuss is about and have been very pleasantly surprised by the level of critical thinking and skills that would be required to do well. We know that previous standardized exam systems have been failing our students -- and maybe even our own generation. I agree with the administration that this is a good baseline upon which to measure students' progress, rather than the CAS. Using the PARCC also frees up resources that had been devoted to the DC exam's design to more useful purposes. Maybe states can afford their own bureaucracies for designing their own unique standards and exams, but DC cannot.

So. (1) Results show that DC actions to improve early childhood and elementary education are working, and that the more exposure students have to these changes, the better they perform; and (2) The PARCC is not just a more meaningful exam than the DC CAS, its adoption frees up District resources for other uses.

Parents, please stop trying to tear this down. My family is willing to give this system a shot, and we hope you do, too.

These are really nice thoughts and I hope you are right. I do think that the achievement gap will narrow over time in DC.

But the economically disadvantaged 3 year olds are not the same, as a group, as those with higher incomes: not in terms of the number of the words they hear and the percentage of things said to them that are positive/instructional vs. scolding; how much they're read to; how much screen time they get and what they watch; access to creative toys like blocks and crayons; whether they're exposed to traumatic experiences like eviction, witnessing violence, involvement in the child welfare system, or absence/incarceration of a parent; how much sleep they get; risk of asthma, lead poisoning, and mental illness; nutrition and obesity; and probably a million other factors that are all compounded by racism (stereotype threat, disparate suspension rates, etc.). Those things are not as obvious at age 3 as they will be at 6 or 12 or 17 but they exist now and the effects, and thus the gap, grows over time. Not for all kids, but comparing groups to groups.

Also, you assume that the 30ish kids in your kid's PK3 class will be the same 30 in their 3rd grade class. This isn't true. Some kids will move out, with higher-income kids more likely to move to wealthy suburbs and private schools and higher-ranked charters and DCPS. Some kids will move in, including kids whose family sees your school as an improvement over a lower-performing DC schools or kids who didn't do any PK anywhere. The fact that 3rd grade performance is better than 4th which is better than 5th is not just because younger kids have had more early childhood interventions. It's because the trend is that higher-performing kids leave and lower-performing ones stay or join the school.

Most "improvements" schools saw under the DC CAS were demographic changes--the school went from 98% poor to 90% poor and proficiency rates went from 32% to 40%. Few schools actually seem to be good at reaching kids who are academically behind, and those that are seem either to be too punitive and regimented for most middle-class families (Achievement Prep, KIPP) or very focused on low achievers with little focus on kids who are on target or ahead.

So I hope things work out for your family, and for all the families who are taking a chance with kids in early grades at Title I schools. Diversity is good. Increasing neighborhood support for neighborhood schools is good (for the schools themselves, for property values, and to reduce traffic as fewer people drive their kids across town). But only time will tell whether kids who scored a 1 on the PARCC this year will ever move up to 3s and 4s, and which schools are good at getting them there.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This presentation is pretty good:

http://osse.dc.gov/sites/default/files/dc/sites/osse/publication/attachments/OSSE%20PARCC%203-8%20ReleasePresentation_finalv14.pdf

What I find most interesting are the bar charts of aggregated test results by grade, which show a clear progression -- 3rd graders performed better than fourth-graders, fourth graders performed better than fifth-graders, etc. These results imply that DC's early childhood interventions *are working*, as well as improvements in elementary school education. It is expected that those younger students who have had more exposure to these changes would perform better.

My child attends a Title I preschool, where she is one of two white children in her class. And at this stage, honestly, all the kids are about the same. At three years-old, they are all writing their names, telling stories, counting objects, etc. I would not be surprised at all if that by the time this class takes the 3rd grade PARCC, their scores would be on par not just with the rest of the country, but that the gap between races would merge as well.

As for the PARCC itself -- The presentation also has a nice comparison between a DC CAS math question and a PARCC question. It is just so obvious why the PARCC exam is superior and why teaching to this kind of test would be very different than teaching to the kinds of tests we grew up with. I have taken some of the practice exams to see what all the fuss is about and have been very pleasantly surprised by the level of critical thinking and skills that would be required to do well. We know that previous standardized exam systems have been failing our students -- and maybe even our own generation. I agree with the administration that this is a good baseline upon which to measure students' progress, rather than the CAS. Using the PARCC also frees up resources that had been devoted to the DC exam's design to more useful purposes. Maybe states can afford their own bureaucracies for designing their own unique standards and exams, but DC cannot.

So. (1) Results show that DC actions to improve early childhood and elementary education are working, and that the more exposure students have to these changes, the better they perform; and (2) The PARCC is not just a more meaningful exam than the DC CAS, its adoption frees up District resources for other uses.

Parents, please stop trying to tear this down. My family is willing to give this system a shot, and we hope you do, too.

That's a bold assumption. It often feels like there are more DCPS teacher and their associates on DCUM than there are parents. You can usually differentiate by whether the response is focused on the kids' education or on teacher evaluations inside baseball DCPS admin crap.

Hello -- yes, I am a parent. What, if someone says something positive about DCPS, they cannot possibly be a parent? Here's a suggestion -- if you find something that I wrote to be provocative or debatable, then let's be constructive and debate. Maybe you'll teach me something new and change my perspective. Or vice versa.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Only because Deal's algebra scores were horrendous. Hardy's were merely bad.

VA, here we come !

Bye!

Anonymous wrote:This presentation is pretty good:

http://osse.dc.gov/sites/default/files/dc/sites/osse/publication/attachments/OSSE%20PARCC%203-8%20ReleasePresentation_finalv14.pdf

What I find most interesting are the bar charts of aggregated test results by grade, which show a clear progression -- 3rd graders performed better than fourth-graders, fourth graders performed better than fifth-graders, etc. These results imply that DC's early childhood interventions *are working*, as well as improvements in elementary school education. It is expected that those younger students who have had more exposure to these changes would perform better.

My child attends a Title I preschool, where she is one of two white children in her class. And at this stage, honestly, all the kids are about the same. At three years-old, they are all writing their names, telling stories, counting objects, etc. I would not be surprised at all if that by the time this class takes the 3rd grade PARCC, their scores would be on par not just with the rest of the country, but that the gap between races would merge as well.

As for the PARCC itself -- The presentation also has a nice comparison between a DC CAS math question and a PARCC question. It is just so obvious why the PARCC exam is superior and why teaching to this kind of test would be very different than teaching to the kinds of tests we grew up with. I have taken some of the practice exams to see what all the fuss is about and have been very pleasantly surprised by the level of critical thinking and skills that would be required to do well. We know that previous standardized exam systems have been failing our students -- and maybe even our own generation. I agree with the administration that this is a good baseline upon which to measure students' progress, rather than the CAS. Using the PARCC also frees up resources that had been devoted to the DC exam's design to more useful purposes. Maybe states can afford their own bureaucracies for designing their own unique standards and exams, but DC cannot.

So. (1) Results show that DC actions to improve early childhood and elementary education are working, and that the more exposure students have to these changes, the better they perform; and (2) The PARCC is not just a more meaningful exam than the DC CAS, its adoption frees up District resources for other uses.

Parents, please stop trying to tear this down. My family is willing to give this system a shot, and we hope you do, too.

That's a bold assumption. It often feels like there are more DCPS teacher and their associates on DCUM than there are parents. You can usually differentiate by whether the response is focused on the kids' education or on teacher evaluations inside baseball DCPS admin crap.