Why do we act as though the learning standards are so nebulous? Does DCPS truly have absolutely no idea of what might appear on the CAS, to be getting completely blindsided by it? Or alternately, is the CAS really and truly so completely contrary to what DCPS would or should be teaching anyways?

Teaching basic math facts, teaching addition, subtraction, multiplication, division isn't "teaching to the test" - the stuff needed for demonstrating proficiency whether by CAS would and should be stuff that is needed regardless of tests or curricula.

And as for "fundamentals of probability" - what you gave as an example isn't even math based. "Because it shows up on the menu" - how do you relate that to your odds of getting hit by lightning or of winning the lottery? We've all heard of either of those things happening, so they have some likelihood, but it's all dependent on the number of instances relative to the size of the population, and you cannot gauge it effectively without dividing.

I have no idea how we keep going from BASIS discussions to DCPS and things that have nothing to do with BASIS, though I think it has to do with some posters' notions that somehow it is either upon BASIS to solve all the world's educational problems or for BASIS to go away if it cannot - neither of which are premises that I would agree with.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Are you really arguing that 4th and 5th graders in DCPS are actually just fine and the DC CAS is at fault for making it appear as if their are abysmal rates of students performing on grade level? You are perfectly happy with the level of teaching and learning in most upper elementary dcps classrooms?

different poster here. From what I see and hear, the problem is "teaching to the test" - i.e. lessons are overly aligned with the DC-CAS.

A competent teacher who is forced to teach limited content will not be as effective as she could be otherwise. and a less competent teacher can look pretty good at the end of the year if successful in getting her kids to bubble in the correct answers.

Of course that's a problem, but only if you put the test "cart" before the learning standards "horse". If you have clear learning standards, then test (meaningfully) whether students actually achieve them, then I have no issues with tests and also find the results (% proficient and all) useful. But if my child spends a chunk of the school year mastering long divisions and is then tested on probabilities, they're useless. And they're decidedly counter-productive if the teacher spends meaningful time on probabilities and then rushes through some long division sessions as a test-prep.
And, of course fundamentals of probabilities can be taught before mastering long divisions. If you don't believe me then try my first grader's attempt at it: How likely am I to see Cajun Talapia for lunch today? Quite likely - but by no means certain - because it appears once on every monthly menu. Although if I know that it's always on the menu on Friday and today is Friday, that definitely jacks up the odds and I better get my mom to prepare lunch for me.
While we still see way too much Cajun Talapia on the menu, we now at least see OSSE finally having established some clear learning standards that (let's hope) will the aligned with what kids are tested on (ANET is better aligned than the DC-BAS, which should be abolished).

But how did we get here from who attends Basis?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Are you really arguing that 4th and 5th graders in DCPS are actually just fine and the DC CAS is at fault for making it appear as if their are abysmal rates of students performing on grade level? You are perfectly happy with the level of teaching and learning in most upper elementary dcps classrooms?

different poster here. From what I see and hear, the problem is "teaching to the test" - i.e. lessons are overly aligned with the DC-CAS.

A competent teacher who is forced to teach limited content will not be as effective as she could be otherwise. and a less competent teacher can look pretty good at the end of the year if successful in getting her kids to bubble in the correct answers.

If the teacher is indeed capable and willing to work hard, then there is absolutely no problem. A few weeks of DC CAS preparation is quite sufficient, because it's not the content that is being taught but the way the test looks. Students will get familiarized with the format of the questionst. Besides, all public schools have to take the DC BAS or the ANET 3-4 times a year, which have the same format as the actual DC CAS test.

With below basic ranging from 500-534, and advanced from 578-599, scoring anything below proficient means the student is really low or has not learned anything in class.

And by the way, I have taught for 12 years.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Obama's girls attended private schools in Chicago when he was not the president and presumably not under threat.
I don't give a damn where his spoiled girls go to school. I do mind when he forbids poorer families to attend Sidwell (or other private schools) by taking away the vouchers/fellowship program in place and has the gall to make it sound like this decision is for the well-being of all.

Agree 100%! Obama is a hypocrite on this issue. If education is so important, other families should have the same choice and flexibility the Obamas enjoy. Well, unless Obama is just another rich guy who thinks his family deserves special treatment. Oh, but that can't be true, right, because the media tells us that he is "one of us" and "understands the needs of the middle class." B.S.

No one is stopping your child from taking the requisite test to enter Sidwell. Let your DC test, apply and interview for a seat in the next Sidwell class. Then pony up the $30,000.

A lot of BASIS 5th and 6th graders also come from Two Rivers. Though we decided not to attend (we're at Latin), I think BASIS will have a very diverse community of students, who all have varied needs. If BASIS meets these needs the first year, I'll consider the school a HUGE success. Other posters are right, it'll take time to see where the current 5th and 6th graders are in a few years.

Meanwhile, this was a very interesting article: "The newest problem with graduation rates" http://tinyurl.com/7yfdbrs

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:DC CAS is a cakewalk. Sickening that so many schools and students still struggle with just the basics.

And to the poster who wrote that everything is worse and watered down from yesteryear: I'd challenge you actually sit in a, say, DCPS (or charter) fifth grade classroom and take the DC-CAS and be evaluated on it. Then maybe you'll rethink that it's a cakewalk. The problem with "proficiency" is rather that, in DC, those tests have been poorly aligned with the learning objectives in class. So kids end up being tested on, say, long division, when they actually spent that time learning the basics of probability (certainly not something I had in 4th or 5th grade). Another concern, voiced in some circles, is that we've actually pushed ahead too fast, not leaving enough time for foundations to be acquired and consolidated. Pushing Algebra on everybody too early is bad they'd say. Not sure that's true but certainly illustrative of how flawed the "watered down", "failed", "not proficient", "barely the minimum" rhetoric is.

Anyway, this is besides the point of this thread but makes me wonder if there are some following Basis threads (maybe from private schools?) who's only aim is to discredit what the rest of is is getting for a lot less. Fortunately or hopefully, there are enough well educate parents in DCPS and DC charters at this point who can see through the brainwash.

What the... That makes little sense. You can't delve into probability without first having mastery of division. Putting the cart before the horse is no doubt going to lead to problems. If that's what DCPS is doing, then no wonder they are having so many problems. All in all it sounds like one hand not knowing what the other is doing, whether DCPS and the DC CAS folks not knowing which end is up, or even internally within DCPS where one class doesn't know what the next is doing, and isn't focusing on the appropriate prerequisites and things needed to be mastered at each level.

Complaining about any supposed misalignment between DCPS curriculum and the DC CAS doesn't seem to make a whole lot of sense given that DC sets their own standard for the CAS.

Anonymous wrote:Are you really arguing that 4th and 5th graders in DCPS are actually just fine and the DC CAS is at fault for making it appear as if their are abysmal rates of students performing on grade level? You are perfectly happy with the level of teaching and learning in most upper elementary dcps classrooms?

different poster here. From what I see and hear, the problem is "teaching to the test" - i.e. lessons are overly aligned with the DC-CAS.

A competent teacher who is forced to teach limited content will not be as effective as she could be otherwise. and a less competent teacher can look pretty good at the end of the year if successful in getting her kids to bubble in the correct answers.

Vouchers do nothing to level the playing field. There is nothing in the world that indicates that having a couple of kids eligible to attend catholic school will do anything to improve the quality of education in this country. And the vouchers go to so few people that I hardly see it as being useful to the low income.

Anonymous wrote:Obama's girls attended private schools in Chicago when he was not the president and presumably not under threat.
I don't give a damn where his spoiled girls go to school. I do mind when he forbids poorer families to attend Sidwell (or other private schools) by taking away the vouchers/fellowship program in place and has the gall to make it sound like this decision is for the well-being of all.

Agree 100%! Obama is a hypocrite on this issue. If education is so important, other families should have the same choice and flexibility the Obamas enjoy. Well, unless Obama is just another rich guy who thinks his family deserves special treatment. Oh, but that can't be true, right, because the media tells us that he is "one of us" and "understands the needs of the middle class." B.S.

Are you really arguing that 4th and 5th graders in DCPS are actually just fine and the DC CAS is at fault for making it appear as if their are abysmal rates of students performing on grade level? You are perfectly happy with the level of teaching and learning in most upper elementary dcps classrooms?

Anonymous wrote:DC CAS is a cakewalk. Sickening that so many schools and students still struggle with just the basics.

And to the poster who wrote that everything is worse and watered down from yesteryear: I'd challenge you actually sit in a, say, DCPS (or charter) fifth grade classroom and take the DC-CAS and be evaluated on it. Then maybe you'll rethink that it's a cakewalk. The problem with "proficiency" is rather that, in DC, those tests have been poorly aligned with the learning objectives in class. So kids end up being tested on, say, long division, when they actually spent that time learning the basics of probability (certainly not something I had in 4th or 5th grade). Another concern, voiced in some circles, is that we've actually pushed ahead too fast, not leaving enough time for foundations to be acquired and consolidated. Pushing Algebra on everybody too early is bad they'd say. Not sure that's true but certainly illustrative of how flawed the "watered down", "failed", "not proficient", "barely the minimum" rhetoric is.

Anyway, this is besides the point of this thread but makes me wonder if there are some following Basis threads (maybe from private schools?) who's only aim is to discredit what the rest of is is getting for a lot less. Fortunately or hopefully, there are enough well educate parents in DCPS and DC charters at this point who can see through the brainwash.

Anonymous wrote:Obama's girls attended private schools in Chicago when he was not the president and presumably not under threat.
I don't give a damn where his spoiled girls go to school. I do mind when he forbids poorer families to attend Sidwell (or other private schools) by taking away the vouchers/fellowship program in place and has the gall to make it sound like this decision is for the well-being of all.

The vouchers barely make a dent in tuition at Sidwell or other independent schools. Very few DC voucher recipients attend independent schools. It's only enough money to attend religious schools (which are cheaper because they're subsidized by the religious movements to which they are attached) and therefore is a roundabout way to force taxpayers to subsidize schools with a religious focus.

50 going to Harvard? That's funny. Really funny.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Around 20 from Brent.

around 50 GOING TO Harvard over the next 15 to 20 years.

There, I fixed it for you, PP.