Anonymous
Post 01/28/2018 16:16     Subject: Asking how your kid compares to classmates
the teacher SHOULD tell in general how they are doing compared to classmates. This gives you a good idea of the differenentiation needed in the class. Something DCPS does not do a good job of so of course they don't want you to know that your grade level kid is in a class with kids who are 3 grades behind.
Anonymous
Post 01/28/2018 13:10     Subject: Asking how your kid compares to classmates
Anonymous wrote:Is it appropriate to ask how your second grader’s performance in reading & math compares to his classmates?
Or is that tacky? I am not suggesting asking about any classmates in particular, but the class as a whole.


If I were the teacher my first response would be "Why do you ask?". If you were "just curious" or trying to find out if he truly is the smartest as you imagine, I would find that odd (sad) and not even try to answer. If you had a real question in there, like "I'm wondering if he needs more math enrichment work at home" or "I'm wondering if I should get him a reading tutor this summer", I would do my best to help you.

Anonymous
Post 01/28/2018 13:07     Subject: Asking how your kid compares to classmates
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:So for parent engagement they are showing parents how the rest of the class is doing?


It's kind of a group parent conference where they talk about what is grade level expectation. You get an activity to take home and do with your child. There are some on the Flamboyan website that you can watch.

Personally I find it super awkward because our school is gentrifying and there is a big achievement gap, and it makes parents concerned that so many kids are far behind. I have to do an individual conference separately because of my DD's quirks. I really think there is a loss of privacy and losing the individual conferences is not a good idea. It seems to be intended for schools that are all low-income, does not mesh well with gentrifying communities.


Wow. My kid is in MCPS and I don't visit this forum often, but this seems so weird. At MCPS ES level, parent-teacher conferences are strictly one-on-one, and I have no official information where my third-grader stands in her class. For us, the unofficial 'measures' are MAP scores (she's share how she got this score, and her friends got those scores), and math/reading levels (the highest, the second highest, etc), but I wouldn't dream of directly asking the teacher who scored the highest and the lowers in MAP-R.

When I was a kid, grades and scores were out in the open, but those were different times.
Anonymous
Post 01/28/2018 13:01     Subject: Asking how your kid compares to classmates
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:Do the charts have kids names on them?

No


Then this seems much ado about nothing.


You can often tell by how people react, and it gives an overall picture of the class, which is not always a good thing to share. It can make parents like the school a lot less.


I have a kid with significant special needs.. When he was in elementary having this sort of snapshot would have been very helpful to me in advocating to get him appropriate services.

It can be jarring to see where your kid falls, but it isn't as if the school doesn't have this data already.

I also don't think 'parents liking the school' is a particularly relevant or measureable outcome.
Anonymous
Post 01/28/2018 12:52     Subject: Asking how your kid compares to classmates
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:Do the charts have kids names on them?

No


Then this seems much ado about nothing.


You can often tell by how people react, and it gives an overall picture of the class, which is not always a good thing to share. It can make parents like the school a lot less.
Anonymous
Post 01/28/2018 12:51     Subject: Asking how your kid compares to classmates
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:Do the charts have kids names on them?

No


Then this seems much ado about nothing.
Anonymous
Post 01/28/2018 12:48     Subject: Asking how your kid compares to classmates
Anonymous wrote:Do the charts have kids names on them?

No
Anonymous
Post 01/28/2018 12:42     Subject: Asking how your kid compares to classmates
Do the charts have kids names on them?
Anonymous
Post 01/28/2018 12:33     Subject: Asking how your kid compares to classmates
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:What’s a normal child? I’d rephrase that if I were you.


I think most people know what "normal" means. Don't you?


I’m a teacher and no, I do not use the word normal to describe children.
Anonymous
Post 01/28/2018 11:03     Subject: Asking how your kid compares to classmates
Anonymous wrote:What’s a normal child? I’d rephrase that if I were you.


I think most people know what "normal" means. Don't you?
Anonymous
Post 01/28/2018 10:57     Subject: Asking how your kid compares to classmates
What’s a normal child? I’d rephrase that if I were you.
Anonymous
Post 01/28/2018 10:45     Subject: Asking how your kid compares to classmates
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:Our Kindergarten teacher showed us bar charts to show exactly where our child stood in relation to the whole class!


Wow. As a teacher I’d never do this.


At the schools with the Flamboyan grants for parent engagement this is standard.


We must be at the same school. It’s so weird. But indeed we know exactly where our kid registers.


I am so against this! At our school they handed it out and one mom started to cry because her kid was so far behind. And it caused some anxiety among the high-SES parents that there were so many kids so far behind. Made them want to leave the school even more than they alrrady do. Next year we are switching to a grade level comparison so people don't see how other kids are doing.


lol. reminds me of Arne Duncan's controversial comment that soccer moms don't want common core and assessments because then they'll see their kids aren't all that.

I admit I was surprised to see the bar chart, but it was really interesting and helpful to see how he was doing. It helped me understand his trajectory and actually be less worried about how he compares to other kids because I see how he is growing at his own pace. Otherwise I might have thought "all the other kids can read!" when it's really just 4-5 kids. I also appreciate the assessments because it identifies the kids who need extra intervention. Win win.
Anonymous
Post 01/28/2018 10:44     Subject: Asking how your kid compares to classmates
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:The "the teacher doesn't have to create a chart for every student" is ridiculous. It's so easy to filter information these days. A click of the button and I can pull up each of my students data individually.


Well then I have no idea, it was just a guess. I really can't figure out why they think this is a good idea. Personally I thought it was socially awkward and waste of time. It was nice to meet the other parents but I didn't get much out of it and felt bad that the teacher spent time creating a take-home activity that we both knew DD was far beyond. I'm happy to play along if it helps other parents, but I'm not sure it does, especially with the loss of the individual conferences.


Can you ask the teacher or admin why this is beneficial?


I did, and they basically told me to f*ck off-- actually they were quite rude about it. I'm a PTA board member and it really bothered me that we could not have a civil conversation about parent-teacher conferences. I think they have to do it to get the Flamboyan funding. But maybe after the feedback this year they will reconsider sharing so much information.



Yes this is a requirement to get the Flamboyan grant. The grant also supports home visits at the start of the school year.

The data shows that at schools where this is happening the weaker students parents are more engaged and support reading and homework out of school more than where the program isn’t in place. And some modest improvement in PARCC for those students as well.


Like most things at DCPS, mostly for show!
Anonymous
Post 01/28/2018 10:31     Subject: Asking how your kid compares to classmates
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:Our Kindergarten teacher showed us bar charts to show exactly where our child stood in relation to the whole class!


Wow. As a teacher I’d never do this.


There is a dark competitive side of me (who got a 173 on the LSAT.) who craves this kind of bar chart.


I got a 178.


You guys are sad, but I assume you knew that. Please tell me you are recent law school grads.
Anonymous
Post 01/28/2018 09:37     Subject: Asking how your kid compares to classmates
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:The "the teacher doesn't have to create a chart for every student" is ridiculous. It's so easy to filter information these days. A click of the button and I can pull up each of my students data individually.


Well then I have no idea, it was just a guess. I really can't figure out why they think this is a good idea. Personally I thought it was socially awkward and waste of time. It was nice to meet the other parents but I didn't get much out of it and felt bad that the teacher spent time creating a take-home activity that we both knew DD was far beyond. I'm happy to play along if it helps other parents, but I'm not sure it does, especially with the loss of the individual conferences.


Can you ask the teacher or admin why this is beneficial?


I did, and they basically told me to f*ck off-- actually they were quite rude about it. I'm a PTA board member and it really bothered me that we could not have a civil conversation about parent-teacher conferences. I think they have to do it to get the Flamboyan funding. But maybe after the feedback this year they will reconsider sharing so much information.



Yes this is a requirement to get the Flamboyan grant. The grant also supports home visits at the start of the school year.

The data shows that at schools where this is happening the weaker students parents are more engaged and support reading and homework out of school more than where the program isn’t in place. And some modest improvement in PARCC for those students as well.


I am fine with it if it really helps them. But does everyone need to see the other kids' scores, or would a grade level or model of a normal distribution be as good? Because it is basically a handout showing how badly the kids are doing, at our school.