Anonymous
Post 07/24/2013 21:57     Subject: Dr Starr puts his spin on falling test scores
Anonymous wrote:Maybe Starr should let us all know the percentage of third graders who achieved a final average of P in math and reading this year. That is a better measure of how well kids are learning what they are being taught than MSA.
The upcoming test, PARCC, will be much harder than MSA. So, there was already an expectation that scores would go down when those tests start. Should we expect declining test scores for the foreseeable future?


The report cards are a joke for Elementary school. With no Edline and no classroom tests coming home, are you sure the P on your child's report card means what it is supposed to mean? How easy is it for teachers to give their whole class Ps and say everyone is meeting state standards so they have no problems to deal with? Does anyone check to make sure the grades are valid?

That's the point of having points of measurement outside of the teacher's control. To measure a child's learning in a way that the teacher cannot manipulate. Is it any wonder the MSA's are lower than the county wants to acknowledge so now they have to change the test with the caveat they still expect test scores to go down for a while. WTF?
Anonymous
Post 07/24/2013 21:51     Subject: Dr Starr puts his spin on falling test scores
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:How is math under 2.0 "deeper"? I'm not trying to be a pain, just generally curious. I just don't really understand how concepts like arithmetic and fractions are made deeper. Is it just more repetition or something?


Pretty much.


No, it is not just more repetition, although it is also more repetition (i.e., practice).


Huh? It is repetition, while the teacher focuses on the poorly performing.
Anonymous
Post 07/24/2013 21:45     Subject: Re:Dr Starr puts his spin on falling test scores
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:MD officials are admitting that they rushed into a curriculum so fast that they did not have a chance to modify the tests to gauge if the children were successful in learning what they were taught. The new curriculum is unproven, and now MD educators don't think their own tests are valid points of measurements to gauge if the curriculum is successful.


No, this is inaccurate. Maryland (along with most other states) has switched to the Common Core. The MSAs were not designed for the Common Core. There are tests that are designed for the Common Core, which Maryland will start using soon. Starr wanted to stop using the MSAs, which were not designed for the Common Core, but was not allowed to.


Maryland used to have HIGHER standards than the 48 other states. We used to pride ourselves that we had a better public educational system than states like Florida and Mississippi. Given the amount of taxes we pay into public education as compared to these other states, we sure as hell expect more for the money.

2.0 was not developed and tested at a higher institution of learning. Montgomery County is still writing the curriculum. Who are the guinea pigs trying out the new curriculum? Our children. Is it any wonder their hit and miss approach is failing? No. Usually education is not developed in this fashion. MCPS methods are not considered best teaching practices.

Starr and MCPS can make up any excuses they want. Parents are fed up and not buying it. The Board of Education Members should stand up and listen or face ample turnaround come next election. All public officials should take notice because the decline in education will be one of the leading topics of discussion in Maryland and current elected officials should pay the price for the crap they have fed our state.
Anonymous
Post 07/24/2013 19:37     Subject: Dr Starr puts his spin on falling test scores
Obvious troll is obvious.
Anonymous
Post 07/24/2013 17:57     Subject: Re:Dr Starr puts his spin on falling test scores
Anonymous wrote:
I am and I do. I am global.



How nice for you. So why do you have your child(ren) in MCPS?


Socialization and baby sitting service while away.
Anonymous
Post 07/24/2013 17:44     Subject: Dr Starr puts his spin on falling test scores
Anonymous wrote:
I am sorry. The goal of math education really should not be explaining basic math operation in English. And I surely hope they don't teacher the alternative algorithm nonsense.


Are you the poster who is convinced that math in C2.0 is constructivist math in disguise?
Anonymous
Post 07/24/2013 17:10     Subject: Dr Starr puts his spin on falling test scores
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:How is math under 2.0 "deeper"? I'm not trying to be a pain, just generally curious. I just don't really understand how concepts like arithmetic and fractions are made deeper. Is it just more repetition or something?


Have you seen how your child needs to explain or solve math problems in multiple ways? I believe that is what is seen as deeper- going beyond being able to get the answer and understanding different ways to get there and why the answer is what it is.


I am sorry. The goal of math education really should not be explaining basic math operation in English. And I surely hope they don't teacher the alternative algorithm nonsense.
Anonymous
Post 07/24/2013 17:09     Subject: Re:Dr Starr puts his spin on falling test scores
Anonymous wrote:I am and I do. I am global.


How nice for you. So why do you have your child(ren) in MCPS?
Anonymous
Post 07/24/2013 16:57     Subject: Re:Dr Starr puts his spin on falling test scores
Anonymous wrote:
What comparable large school system do you think is better overall than MCPS, and what information do you base this on?[/quote
I may have to travel to South Korea, Japan, Vietnam, Hong Kong, Finland, Great Britain, ....


Huh. What parts of Vietnam have you been to. Certainly not the rural, poor areas.
Anonymous
Post 07/24/2013 16:44     Subject: Dr Starr puts his spin on falling test scores
Anonymous wrote:How is math under 2.0 "deeper"? I'm not trying to be a pain, just generally curious. I just don't really understand how concepts like arithmetic and fractions are made deeper. Is it just more repetition or something?


Have you seen how your child needs to explain or solve math problems in multiple ways? I believe that is what is seen as deeper- going beyond being able to get the answer and understanding different ways to get there and why the answer is what it is.
Anonymous
Post 07/24/2013 16:38     Subject: Re:Dr Starr puts his spin on falling test scores
I am and I do. I am global.
Anonymous
Post 07/24/2013 16:19     Subject: Re:Dr Starr puts his spin on falling test scores
Anonymous wrote:
What comparable large school system do you think is better overall than MCPS, and what information do you base this on?[/quote
I may have to travel to South Korea, Japan, Vietnam, Hong Kong, Finland, Great Britain, ....


then by all means please go -- so over all of this crap
Anonymous
Post 07/24/2013 15:23     Subject: Re:Dr Starr puts his spin on falling test scores
What comparable large school system do you think is better overall than MCPS, and what information do you base this on?[/quote
I may have to travel to South Korea, Japan, Vietnam, Hong Kong, Finland, Great Britain, ....
Anonymous
Post 07/24/2013 15:17     Subject: Re:Dr Starr puts his spin on falling test scores
Anonymous wrote:MSAs fell this year because of the overacceleration. MSAs fell for Grade 3 students in curriculum 2.0 because MSA does not measure grade 3 curriculum 2.0. How about some newly immigrant kids who school outside of America and come here and hit every local test out of the park even though MSA did not measure their "cheap and backwards" curriculum.

Holy cow! Holy feces! Enough with all the excuses. Simply admit the system sucks.


What comparable large school system do you think is better overall than MCPS, and what information do you base this on?
Anonymous
Post 07/24/2013 15:13     Subject: Re:Dr Starr puts his spin on falling test scores
MSAs fell this year because of the overacceleration. MSAs fell for Grade 3 students in curriculum 2.0 because MSA does not measure grade 3 curriculum 2.0. How about some newly immigrant kids who school outside of America and come here and hit every local test out of the park even though MSA did not measure their "cheap and backwards" curriculum.

Holy cow! Holy feces! Enough with all the excuses. Simply admit the system sucks.