Anonymous
Post 10/14/2012 09:38     Subject: New grading system in MCPS --why???
Anonymous wrote:OP here, as I said my DD is in K. She is reading at a 3rd or 4th grade level. Other kids in the class are still having trouble identifying letters.

Obviously the latter group of kids needs attention to become proficient, while my DD does not, since she is already proficient. So I am worried that with this new grading system, there does not seem to be any motivation to provide the more advanced kids with appropriate material since they are already "proficient."

As a teacher, why bother with ES when a third of your class isn't P yet?


Any chance your child could move up a grade? Does MCPS do that? Just wondering if that may be a solution for some.
Anonymous
Post 10/14/2012 09:14     Subject: New grading system in MCPS --why???
Anonymous wrote:The new report cars will also show if the child is reading above grade level or has been instructed in math above grade level. I have my own issues with the new report card, but it does show if a child is working above grade level.
23:32, your school's problem sounds like an implementation problem, not a curriculum problem. The teachers could be giving differentiated work. There are not supposed to be a lot of worksheets under this curriculum. So, for example, a math game involving number sense, which is part of the curriculum for second grade this marking period, could be made more complex by adding more and more places. If on grade level is ones, tens, hundreds, the teacher can add thousands, ten thousands, etc to the game.



Yeah, well, there's the ideal, and then there's reality. The reality is that the kids in my child's class who finish the math worksheets in the 1st few minutes of math class are given "enrichment" in the form of other worksheets to keep them busy for the rest of the class. DC's teacher suggested outside supplementation would be a good idea if the curriculum isn't challenging enough.

And the example of simply adding more places to go "deeper" into math -- which I've heard from a number of sources as proof that the curriculum can go "deep" -- isn't sufficient for many kids. It's like giving busy work.

DC gets all answers correct on math tests and worksheets and still comes home with P's. I asked DC about it, and was told no one got ES's unless you write out explanations of math answers in long sentence form. So math is turned into a verbal skill, great for kids who are good at both numbers and words, but a penalty for kids whose minds work better with numbers and who don't shine in writing. They might have the material down cold, know how to get the answer in their heads and in their sleep, understand it perfectly and well beyond the "proficient" range, but if they can't, in effect, be teachers themselves, turning problems and answers into coherent explanatory sentences (that are legible for the teacher to read), then they can't be excelling according to the standards of Curriculum 2.0 because they can't "prove" they understand. This is more than caring about grades at this elementary school level, which ultimately is not that big a deal. What I do care about is that it means someone like my DC who loves math more than any subject is growing to hate it because of all the emphasis on verbal accounting.
Anonymous
Post 10/11/2012 18:53     Subject: New grading system in MCPS --why???
Anonymous wrote:OP here. I don't know what to do either. I keep telling my DH I wish she was in an immersion school, b/c at least she would be learning a second language.

We moved to MoCo for the schools, so I am pretty bummed about this. I know it is only K, but seriously my DD tells me she is always sent to the rug to read independently because she has finished her work.

But what are the options?

I heard they might introduce "Junior Great Books" half-way through the year. That might be an improvement.


The Junior Great Book serious is terrible in my opinion. They take great literature and water it down. You would be better off going to your local library and finding classic books that are often ignored by MCPS. You can have the librarian help you. For example, E.B. White's books (Stuart Little, Charlotte's Web), Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, the Ralph The Mouse books, the Little House on the Prarie series, etc. Find things your daughter enjoys to read and just keep her reading. If the teacher will let her, have her bring her book to school so she has it to read there. Try to get the data the school has on her, if possible her Lexile score. That data will help the librarian help you find appropriate level books to read. The school will just try to put her in a grouping even if she is far beyond the other kids in that group.
Anonymous
Post 10/10/2012 22:03     Subject: New grading system in MCPS --why???
OP here. I don't know what to do either. I keep telling my DH I wish she was in an immersion school, b/c at least she would be learning a second language.

We moved to MoCo for the schools, so I am pretty bummed about this. I know it is only K, but seriously my DD tells me she is always sent to the rug to read independently because she has finished her work.

But what are the options?

I heard they might introduce "Junior Great Books" half-way through the year. That might be an improvement.
Anonymous
Post 10/10/2012 21:21     Subject: New grading system in MCPS --why???
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:OP here, as I said my DD is in K. She is reading at a 3rd or 4th grade level. Other kids in the class are still having trouble identifying letters.

Obviously the latter group of kids needs attention to become proficient, while my DD does not, since she is already proficient. So I am worried that with this new grading system, there does not seem to be any motivation to provide the more advanced kids with appropriate material since they are already "proficient."

As a teacher, why bother with ES when a third of your class isn't P yet?


BINGO - That is the main problem with 2.0. The aim is for "Proficiency". My son spends most of his day learning "independently" because he is already proficient. Differentiation in the classroom means he sits and does his worksheets without any instruction or feedback from the teacher. There is no longer a place for him with Curriculum 2.0. He is not being challenged or taught any new concepts. He just sits and does busy work because the teacher focuses on the kids who aren't proficient yet.



This is SO TRUE. This is the problem with 2.0. What do we do about this. My DC also spends all day working on sheets independently - that is not my idea of school.
Anonymous
Post 10/10/2012 11:55     Subject: New grading system in MCPS --why???
Anonymous wrote:OP here, as I said my DD is in K. She is reading at a 3rd or 4th grade level. Other kids in the class are still having trouble identifying letters.

Obviously the latter group of kids needs attention to become proficient, while my DD does not, since she is already proficient. So I am worried that with this new grading system, there does not seem to be any motivation to provide the more advanced kids with appropriate material since they are already "proficient."

As a teacher, why bother with ES when a third of your class isn't P yet?


BINGO - That is the main problem with 2.0. The aim is for "Proficiency". My son spends most of his day learning "independently" because he is already proficient. Differentiation in the classroom means he sits and does his worksheets without any instruction or feedback from the teacher. There is no longer a place for him with Curriculum 2.0. He is not being challenged or taught any new concepts. He just sits and does busy work because the teacher focuses on the kids who aren't proficient yet.
Anonymous
Post 10/10/2012 11:27     Subject: New grading system in MCPS --why???
OP here, as I said my DD is in K. She is reading at a 3rd or 4th grade level. Other kids in the class are still having trouble identifying letters.

Obviously the latter group of kids needs attention to become proficient, while my DD does not, since she is already proficient. So I am worried that with this new grading system, there does not seem to be any motivation to provide the more advanced kids with appropriate material since they are already "proficient."

As a teacher, why bother with ES when a third of your class isn't P yet?
Anonymous
Post 10/10/2012 10:29     Subject: New grading system in MCPS --why???
You are probably relatively comfortable with 2.0 b/c your kid is in 1st grade. This means you don't have a kid who thrived under the old (more rigorous) curriculum for a few years and, b/c of 2.0, is now forced to re-do simple concepts that were covered and mastered a years ago. Imagine if your 1st grader had to spend this year doing all the "work" that he did in his 1st year of pre-school. I bet you wouldn't be too happy about it. THAT is the experience of some 3rd graders this year. THAT is why parents are upset. (The issue with the new report card is that it seems to have been created/implemented in order to hide the lack of rigor of the new curriculum - i.e., everyone gets a P.)
Anonymous
Post 10/10/2012 08:44     Subject: New grading system in MCPS --why???
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:My child receives weekly progress reports but they use a different grading system. He does get work sent home each week with the new grade. Most are Ps some Es and completely unclear what the difference is.


Well, at least you have some communication and can see some of the work he is doing at school. At Beverly Farms, we get nothing. No clue what he is working on for the time he is there. No clue how he is doing and if he needs extra help and practice. No communication what so ever. It sucks.

But isn't that a teacher/school culture issue more so than a Curriculum 2.0/new grading scale issue?

My 1st grader brings home all the sheets they've been doing in school during the week with grades (mostly P's, a few ES's and a couple N's). On the back of a few of her writing assignments even had the guidelines on what to write/what the teacher should be looking for in order to get an ES, a P, etc.

Her homework packet this week even had an extension exercise.

I just don't see all these problems concerning Curriculum 2.0/the new grading scale that everyone is up in arms about. Is it perfect? No. But was the previous curriculum perfect? Was the previous grading scale perfect?

You are probably relatively comfortable with 2.0 b/c your kid is in 1st grade. This means you don't have a kid who thrived under the old (more rigorous) curriculum for a few years and, b/c of 2.0, is now forced to re-do simple concepts that were covered and mastered a years ago. Imagine if your 1st grader had to spend this year doing all the "work" that he did in his 1st year of pre-school. I bet you wouldn't be too happy about it. THAT is the experience of some 3rd graders this year. THAT is why parents are upset. (The issue with the new report card is that it seems to have been created/implemented in order to hide the lack of rigor of the new curriculum - i.e., everyone gets a P.)

Anonymous
Post 10/07/2012 12:03     Subject: New grading system in MCPS --why???
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:My child receives weekly progress reports but they use a different grading system. He does get work sent home each week with the new grade. Most are Ps some Es and completely unclear what the difference is.


Well, at least you have some communication and can see some of the work he is doing at school. At Beverly Farms, we get nothing. No clue what he is working on for the time he is there. No clue how he is doing and if he needs extra help and practice. No communication what so ever. It sucks.

But isn't that a teacher/school culture issue more so than a Curriculum 2.0/new grading scale issue?

My 1st grader brings home all the sheets they've been doing in school during the week with grades (mostly P's, a few ES's and a couple N's). On the back of a few of her writing assignments even had the guidelines on what to write/what the teacher should be looking for in order to get an ES, a P, etc.

Her homework packet this week even had an extension exercise.

I just don't see all these problems concerning Curriculum 2.0/the new grading scale that everyone is up in arms about. Is it perfect? No. But was the previous curriculum perfect? Was the previous grading scale perfect?

Anonymous
Post 10/07/2012 10:57     Subject: New grading system in MCPS --why???
Anonymous wrote:My child receives weekly progress reports but they use a different grading system. He does get work sent home each week with the new grade. Most are Ps some Es and completely unclear what the difference is.


Well, at least you have some communication and can see some of the work he is doing at school. At Beverly Farms, we get nothing. No clue what he is working on for the time he is there. No clue how he is doing and if he needs extra help and practice. No communication what so ever. It sucks.
Anonymous
Post 10/06/2012 21:45     Subject: New grading system in MCPS --why???
We are not getting interim reports, no weekly progress reports, and none of the work that comes home has any letters on it.
Anonymous
Post 10/06/2012 21:24     Subject: New grading system in MCPS --why???
My child receives weekly progress reports but they use a different grading system. He does get work sent home each week with the new grade. Most are Ps some Es and completely unclear what the difference is.
Anonymous
Post 10/06/2012 20:42     Subject: Re:New grading system in MCPS --why???
Agreed- I am jealous of all of the PP's that have received grades and interim reports. My first grader has not received A SINGLE PAPER that has a grade on it. Nothing indicating whether she is proficient in any skill or not getting anything. The report card will be interesting in November. This is at Beverly Farms ES.
Anonymous
Post 10/06/2012 19:41     Subject: New grading system in MCPS --why???
Anonymous wrote:OK, so interim reports came out yesterday. Any ES's? One of my elementary school age kids was all P's and one I; the other elementary kid all P's and 6 ES's.


Be thankful you get interim reports. My child attends Beverly Farms Elementary. I don't know how he is doing till the report card comes home. It's always a mystery how the grades are determined and what they will be. That will be on what, November 14th?