Anonymous wrote:Math and foreign languages are the areas that are most impacted by learning gaps. Skills build from unit to unit and year to year. MCPS is ignoring this problem so some students are dropping foreign language or struggling in their current math placement.

MCPS needs to do something about this problem. Give assessments and in school tutoring services to target the students with learning losses. Sitting back and doing nothing shows lack of leadership. Universal testing is not being done because MCPS wants to hide a problem vs. fixing a problem. The Board of Ed flat out doesn’t care to require MCPS to address problems.

Why should MCPS have to do something about this? The entire problem only affects students who decided to drop out of school during DL. Maybe it's their parents fault but still why should all the kids who actually did the work be penalized and forced to go back over this material.

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Anonymous wrote:Get a tutor or Saturday school.

Nope, the school has an obligation to address these gaps.

You should’ve learned that public education in this country is a joke. We all saw that last year with online learning. Get your kid a tutor.

Public education here is excellent, but there are many hyper-privileged types that expect the county to raise their kids for them.

LMAO. Excellent? Not by a long shot. Especially not in MoCo. We do have some excellent teachers. But the school system as a whole is pretty subpar.

All the evidence suggests otherwise. When I was in MCPS 30 years ago the average SAT score was maybe 1000. Today it's more like 1400. It's pretty clear this dramatic increase in these standardized test scores is because the high-quality of education is just getting better and better with each year.

Stop contradicting our narrative about failing schools with facts!!

These tests have been revised several times since then. Its not the same test and the same scale for the past 30 years.

Nice try but that doesn't cut it since it accounts only for a small portion of the vast gains made.

Very true but facts aren't popular with this crowd.

Lol. It's sad how the MCPS crowd puff themselves up to look good.

If you look at the High School statistics, you also need to take into account the number of children who did not take the SAT (surprisingly high) or overall readiness for college according to UofM standards. If you use a zero for every child who didn't take the SAT, the numbers look very different.

And yet far more take it now than 20 years ago which contradicts your narrative. Scores today are higher and more kids take it today.

Math and foreign languages are the areas that are most impacted by learning gaps. Skills build from unit to unit and year to year. MCPS is ignoring this problem so some students are dropping foreign language or struggling in their current math placement.

MCPS needs to do something about this problem. Give assessments and in school tutoring services to target the students with learning losses. Sitting back and doing nothing shows lack of leadership. Universal testing is not being done because MCPS wants to hide a problem vs. fixing a problem. The Board of Ed flat out doesn’t care to require MCPS to address problems.

Anonymous wrote:

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Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Get a tutor or Saturday school.

Nope, the school has an obligation to address these gaps.

You should’ve learned that public education in this country is a joke. We all saw that last year with online learning. Get your kid a tutor.

Public education here is excellent, but there are many hyper-privileged types that expect the county to raise their kids for them.

LMAO. Excellent? Not by a long shot. Especially not in MoCo. We do have some excellent teachers. But the school system as a whole is pretty subpar.

All the evidence suggests otherwise. When I was in MCPS 30 years ago the average SAT score was maybe 1000. Today it's more like 1400. It's pretty clear this dramatic increase in these standardized test scores is because the high-quality of education is just getting better and better with each year.

Stop contradicting our narrative about failing schools with facts!!

These tests have been revised several times since then. Its not the same test and the same scale for the past 30 years.

Nice try but that doesn't cut it since it accounts only for a small portion of the vast gains made.

Very true but facts aren't popular with this crowd.

Lol. It's sad how the MCPS crowd puff themselves up to look good.

If you look at the High School statistics, you also need to take into account the number of children who did not take the SAT (surprisingly high) or overall readiness for college according to UofM standards. If you use a zero for every child who didn't take the SAT, the numbers look very different.

Why do some folks like to post false information?
It's usually in the mid 70's to 80 percent of MCPS seniors take the SAT; a much, much higher participation rate than any school district in the area.

Anonymous wrote:Besides being recalibrated, how many kids had SAT prep classes/ tutors to prepare them for the test 25 years ago? How many do now, especially at the wealthier MCPS schools?

How many kids took timed standardized tests on a regular basis 25 years ago as compared to kids today who are constantly tested since they are little? So all these students have also gotten additional practice in test taking and test taking strategies.

This along with the ubiquitous SAT prep of today’s students accounts for some of that increase in SAT scores. Not the excellent education that MCPS is providing.

I and almost all of my friends took SAT prep classes (not expensive one on one tutoring, but affordable group classes) in the 80s, and we were in a mostly blue collar, middle class school (real middle class, not DCUM $400K self-professed “middle class”). Our families understood how important SAT scores were for college, prioritized our education and didn’t just dig in their heels and demand that public schools be all things for their children.

Anonymous wrote:Online learning was a wake up call as to how low the educational standards have fallen in MCPS. No late penalty and 50% for not doing assignments.

MCPS is full of broken promises to make up for shuttering schools for 18 months. Dr. McKnight needs to focus less on PR stunts and focus more on effectively managing the school system.

As a parent, you can monitor your child's school work and make sure they turn it in on time and it is complete.

Online learning was a wake up call as to how low the educational standards have fallen in MCPS. No late penalty and 50% for not doing assignments.

MCPS is full of broken promises to make up for shuttering schools for 18 months. Dr. McKnight needs to focus less on PR stunts and focus more on effectively managing the school system.

It’s an honesty and transparency problem. If a school limits the data points and doesn’t show a child’s work examples, it’s easier to check the boxes that a child is making progress and provide passing report card grades when important skills are not being learned. MCPS pats it’s back and says good job while students are being left behind. It’s all PR instead of students first.

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Anonymous wrote:FERPA gives a parent the right to review any educational record for a child. Even assessments. The teacher (or Central Office) can write new tests if they have any concerns about the questions being public.

Not quite all assessing. They can also just ask, and view in person but not take pictures or make a copy. Just ask the teacher, but by HS I’m wondering without special needs, why are the parents so involved?

My child’s school doesn’t want me to come in person. They say it’s because of COVID. My child does have multiple disabilities and even IEP meetings are still online.

There is a serious breakdown in the educational process if work is kept under lock and key at school. Just send the work home with the student then parents won’t have to bother the teacher with an email or meeting. For my child, using coping strategies during tests (or any high anxiety situation) is a life skill. Seeing the types of mistakes is key in helping my child learn how to learn. It’s more than learning just the general education curriculum. We are supplementing with at home support to make up from the lack of special education services. The regular data points though would help guide the focus of private services.

Why are teachers reluctant to send work and assessments home with students anyway? Aren’t they tools for every child to learn from the feedback? Gaps are not being filled in at school so give parents some guidance on what needs to be worked on at home. We understand resources are limited even if a child’s services are supposed to be determined by his needs. Work with families instead of building walls for access so the child can make progress and learn.

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Anonymous wrote:Get a tutor or Saturday school.

Nope, the school has an obligation to address these gaps.

Haha. Our fcps schools never address gaps. We are completely on our own. OP, last year my freshman’s grades took a huge nose dive, and I didn’t realize how bad it was until final rolling grades came out and it was too late. I really hate the rolling grade book concept. We will now spend the next 3 years doing all we can with tutors to try to boost his gpa. Tutors help a lot. It is expensive, but it is the secret to success for most kids. All families I know that have kids in great colleges have extensively used tutors.

Anonymous wrote:

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Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Get a tutor or Saturday school.

Nope, the school has an obligation to address these gaps.

You should’ve learned that public education in this country is a joke. We all saw that last year with online learning. Get your kid a tutor.

Public education here is excellent, but there are many hyper-privileged types that expect the county to raise their kids for them.

LMAO. Excellent? Not by a long shot. Especially not in MoCo. We do have some excellent teachers. But the school system as a whole is pretty subpar.

All the evidence suggests otherwise. When I was in MCPS 30 years ago the average SAT score was maybe 1000. Today it's more like 1400. It's pretty clear this dramatic increase in these standardized test scores is because the high-quality of education is just getting better and better with each year.

Stop contradicting our narrative about failing schools with facts!!

These tests have been revised several times since then. Its not the same test and the same scale for the past 30 years.

Nice try but that doesn't cut it since it accounts only for a small portion of the vast gains made.

Very true but facts aren't popular with this crowd.

Lol. It's sad how the MCPS crowd puff themselves up to look good.

If you look at the High School statistics, you also need to take into account the number of children who did not take the SAT (surprisingly high) or overall readiness for college according to UofM standards. If you use a zero for every child who didn't take the SAT, the numbers look very different.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Get a tutor or Saturday school.

Nope, the school has an obligation to address these gaps.

You should’ve learned that public education in this country is a joke. We all saw that last year with online learning. Get your kid a tutor.

Public education here is excellent, but there are many hyper-privileged types that expect the county to raise their kids for them.

LMAO. Excellent? Not by a long shot. Especially not in MoCo. We do have some excellent teachers. But the school system as a whole is pretty subpar.

That's strange. I feel my kids are getting a much better education than I did at a W 30 years ago before attending an ivy.

You either have a bad memory or aren't very familiar with what's going on in the classroom now.

NP here, I disagree with you. I don’t feel my children have received a sub par education. You may be able to find a district with similar stats (ESOL, FARMS, etc) that has done better but MCPS overall prepares students quite well. What experiences and data do you have to support such statements?

MCPS giving students students unearned grades just to keep passing students through without basic skills. No late penalties and a minimum 50% is part of that problem. Keeping work examples at school so parents can’t see the real results is another factor. Same is true for all the 100% grades for completion or test corrections.

Work samples? Ask your child- they are probably in canvas. Assessments will not be sent home, for obvious reasons.

I don’t think either of those are examples of a terrible education. I don’t agree with the 50% policy but I’m not sure it’s still in place this year. Most teachers I know were opposed to it, but it doesn’t mean the instruction is terrible. Just a bad policy.

My child’s written work and assessments are kept by teachers at school. It’s a struggle of repeated asks to see them because they are not returned to students.

Logical ways to allow parents to see what is done in school is to scan or send the work home with a student. I like to see my child’s work so I can review the mistakes with my child so my child digests the graded feedback and fills in skills that were missed. This obviously is a task teachers are not doing at school. Teachers give an assignment or an assessment then move on to the next unit.

This is high school. Canvas gives no feedback whatsoever except a grade. Work and assessments from class shows the process and steps that a child understood or needs to relearn. Learning from mistakes is a cornerstone of the educational process.

+1. No assessments are sent home and DC can’t learn from mistakes in elementary school. Also, all writing is kept in the classroom until June when it is finally sent home.

My daughter gets her work sent home all the time. If the teacher kept all the papers in the classroom they would have a mountain of paper the size of Mount Everest judging by the amount of worksheets and activities and crafts that she brings home on a weekly basis.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Get a tutor or Saturday school.

Nope, the school has an obligation to address these gaps.

You should’ve learned that public education in this country is a joke. We all saw that last year with online learning. Get your kid a tutor.

Public education here is excellent, but there are many hyper-privileged types that expect the county to raise their kids for them.

LMAO. Excellent? Not by a long shot. Especially not in MoCo. We do have some excellent teachers. But the school system as a whole is pretty subpar.

That's strange. I feel my kids are getting a much better education than I did at a W 30 years ago before attending an ivy.

You either have a bad memory or aren't very familiar with what's going on in the classroom now.

NP here, I disagree with you. I don’t feel my children have received a sub par education. You may be able to find a district with similar stats (ESOL, FARMS, etc) that has done better but MCPS overall prepares students quite well. What experiences and data do you have to support such statements?

MCPS giving students students unearned grades just to keep passing students through without basic skills. No late penalties and a minimum 50% is part of that problem. Keeping work examples at school so parents can’t see the real results is another factor. Same is true for all the 100% grades for completion or test corrections.

Work samples? Ask your child- they are probably in canvas. Assessments will not be sent home, for obvious reasons.

I don’t think either of those are examples of a terrible education. I don’t agree with the 50% policy but I’m not sure it’s still in place this year. Most teachers I know were opposed to it, but it doesn’t mean the instruction is terrible. Just a bad policy.

My child’s written work and assessments are kept by teachers at school. It’s a struggle of repeated asks to see them because they are not returned to students.

Logical ways to allow parents to see what is done in school is to scan or send the work home with a student. I like to see my child’s work so I can review the mistakes with my child so my child digests the graded feedback and fills in skills that were missed. This obviously is a task teachers are not doing at school. Teachers give an assignment or an assessment then move on to the next unit.

This is high school. Canvas gives no feedback whatsoever except a grade. Work and assessments from class shows the process and steps that a child understood or needs to relearn. Learning from mistakes is a cornerstone of the educational process.

+1. No assessments are sent home and DC can’t learn from mistakes in elementary school. Also, all writing is kept in the classroom until June when it is finally sent home.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Besides being recalibrated, how many kids had SAT prep classes/ tutors to prepare them for the test 25 years ago? How many do now, especially at the wealthier MCPS schools?

How many kids took timed standardized tests on a regular basis 25 years ago as compared to kids today who are constantly tested since they are little? So all these students have also gotten additional practice in test taking and test taking strategies.

This along with the ubiquitous SAT prep of today’s students accounts for some of that increase in SAT scores. Not the excellent education that MCPS is providing.

Sounds like a bunch of excuses. Bottom line kids today score much higher than in the past. This is a clear indication that things are much better now.

They are better at taking tests because they are tested all of the time! Teacher here. I teach kindergarten in MD (not MCPS) and I feel like all we do is test students. It's constant.

Anonymous wrote:FERPA gives a parent the right to review any educational record for a child. Even assessments. The teacher (or Central Office) can write new tests if they have any concerns about the questions being public.

Not quite all assessing. They can also just ask, and view in person but not take pictures or make a copy. Just ask the teacher, but by HS I’m wondering without special needs, why are the parents so involved?