My child is in a classroom with a lot of differentiation in abilities, he is at the top (i was told, I didn’t ask but I saw his test results and he is like in the 98th percentile). I can’t say he is “not having an enriching experience”. He reads books at his level, is given quizzes at his level, math is no longer easy peasy (3 digit subtraction with borrowing), and he is learning to help those who need help and be patient and compassionate.

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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.

Just a 173?

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Anonymous wrote:Why do parents want to know this kind of information?

The important thing is for your child to be learning. Why so much interest in how other kids are doing? In what way does the rate at which other kids are learning affect your child?

Duh, you want to make sure your kid is doing OK. Not a big deal.

So that their child will have a peer reading group and generally peers on their level, or at least grade level. So that they know the teacher is not overburdened trying to catch up a ton of below-grade kids and no time for the kids who are above grade. That is our situation and it sucks.

Every school has kids below level, on level and above level. I taught in one of the wealthiest schools in the country and I had two groups of below grade level students in guided reading. I still did guided reading with my on level and above level groups and had extension centers for those above.

So I'm really trying to understand the point of showing every parent the chart of the class. Unless it's trying to create competition. Or trying to "motivate" lower students?

I think it's to spare the teachers the work of making a chart for every student. But I think it's a privacy violation still, and the high-performing kids' parents always get distressed when they realize that the bulk of the class is below grade level and therefore the group lessons are too.

I'm a parent of high performing kids in a school where many are not above grade level. There is a good set of differentiated learning combined with a small class size.

The charts tell me that my kid isn't alone as high performing, and instead there's a small but big enough cohort to support differentiated groups. Out of a class of 15, about a quarter is doing much better.

+1. I'm very glad to get a general report on the class as a whole and where my kid fits in for this reason exactly.

this is bs. differentiation in K would be educational malpractice

I'm the PPP you're commenting about, and I was talking about 1st&2nd grades EOTP DCPS. K didn't offer much differentiation and I was worried DC was getting bored. 1st and 2nd have been much better.

You all are making the argument on why the teacher should give parents the class comparison data. Parents should be able to decide if the gaps are too wide in the class for their kid to have an enriching experience.

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Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Why do parents want to know this kind of information?

The important thing is for your child to be learning. Why so much interest in how other kids are doing? In what way does the rate at which other kids are learning affect your child?

Duh, you want to make sure your kid is doing OK. Not a big deal.

So that their child will have a peer reading group and generally peers on their level, or at least grade level. So that they know the teacher is not overburdened trying to catch up a ton of below-grade kids and no time for the kids who are above grade. That is our situation and it sucks.

Every school has kids below level, on level and above level. I taught in one of the wealthiest schools in the country and I had two groups of below grade level students in guided reading. I still did guided reading with my on level and above level groups and had extension centers for those above.

So I'm really trying to understand the point of showing every parent the chart of the class. Unless it's trying to create competition. Or trying to "motivate" lower students?

I think it's to spare the teachers the work of making a chart for every student. But I think it's a privacy violation still, and the high-performing kids' parents always get distressed when they realize that the bulk of the class is below grade level and therefore the group lessons are too.

I'm a parent of high performing kids in a school where many are not above grade level. There is a good set of differentiated learning combined with a small class size.

The charts tell me that my kid isn't alone as high performing, and instead there's a small but big enough cohort to support differentiated groups. Out of a class of 15, about a quarter is doing much better.

+1. I'm very glad to get a general report on the class as a whole and where my kid fits in for this reason exactly.

this is bs. differentiation in K would be educational malpractice

On the contrary, it wouldbe 'malpractice' to give neither the advanced kids nor the struggling kids an education that helps them progress.

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Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

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Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Why do parents want to know this kind of information?

The important thing is for your child to be learning. Why so much interest in how other kids are doing? In what way does the rate at which other kids are learning affect your child?

Duh, you want to make sure your kid is doing OK. Not a big deal.

So that their child will have a peer reading group and generally peers on their level, or at least grade level. So that they know the teacher is not overburdened trying to catch up a ton of below-grade kids and no time for the kids who are above grade. That is our situation and it sucks.

Every school has kids below level, on level and above level. I taught in one of the wealthiest schools in the country and I had two groups of below grade level students in guided reading. I still did guided reading with my on level and above level groups and had extension centers for those above.

So I'm really trying to understand the point of showing every parent the chart of the class. Unless it's trying to create competition. Or trying to "motivate" lower students?

I think it's to spare the teachers the work of making a chart for every student. But I think it's a privacy violation still, and the high-performing kids' parents always get distressed when they realize that the bulk of the class is below grade level and therefore the group lessons are too.

I'm a parent of high performing kids in a school where many are not above grade level. There is a good set of differentiated learning combined with a small class size.

The charts tell me that my kid isn't alone as high performing, and instead there's a small but big enough cohort to support differentiated groups. Out of a class of 15, about a quarter is doing much better.

+1. I'm very glad to get a general report on the class as a whole and where my kid fits in for this reason exactly.

this is bs. differentiation in K would be educational malpractice

That's funny, because every school I've looked at, public and private, does it. Some kids are not yet reading, some are starting to read, some are reading fluently, and some are reading above grade level. Differentiation is critical in K.

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Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Why do parents want to know this kind of information?

The important thing is for your child to be learning. Why so much interest in how other kids are doing? In what way does the rate at which other kids are learning affect your child?

Duh, you want to make sure your kid is doing OK. Not a big deal.

So that their child will have a peer reading group and generally peers on their level, or at least grade level. So that they know the teacher is not overburdened trying to catch up a ton of below-grade kids and no time for the kids who are above grade. That is our situation and it sucks.

Every school has kids below level, on level and above level. I taught in one of the wealthiest schools in the country and I had two groups of below grade level students in guided reading. I still did guided reading with my on level and above level groups and had extension centers for those above.

So I'm really trying to understand the point of showing every parent the chart of the class. Unless it's trying to create competition. Or trying to "motivate" lower students?

I think it's to spare the teachers the work of making a chart for every student. But I think it's a privacy violation still, and the high-performing kids' parents always get distressed when they realize that the bulk of the class is below grade level and therefore the group lessons are too.

I'm a parent of high performing kids in a school where many are not above grade level. There is a good set of differentiated learning combined with a small class size.

The charts tell me that my kid isn't alone as high performing, and instead there's a small but big enough cohort to support differentiated groups. Out of a class of 15, about a quarter is doing much better.

+1. I'm very glad to get a general report on the class as a whole and where my kid fits in for this reason exactly.

this is bs. differentiation in K would be educational malpractice

Why malpractice? If my kid knows 60 site words going into K and is interested in reading, why shouldnt the teacher work with her, expecially when there are kids who still don't know the alphabet in K.

conversely why shouldn't she spend all her time on the average kids?

I am sure all K teachers have ways to differentiate, but they do have to teach a class of kids, as a class.

This is why parent volunteers are unwelcome in many classrooms. Comparisons are odious.

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Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Why do parents want to know this kind of information?

The important thing is for your child to be learning. Why so much interest in how other kids are doing? In what way does the rate at which other kids are learning affect your child?

Duh, you want to make sure your kid is doing OK. Not a big deal.

So that their child will have a peer reading group and generally peers on their level, or at least grade level. So that they know the teacher is not overburdened trying to catch up a ton of below-grade kids and no time for the kids who are above grade. That is our situation and it sucks.

Every school has kids below level, on level and above level. I taught in one of the wealthiest schools in the country and I had two groups of below grade level students in guided reading. I still did guided reading with my on level and above level groups and had extension centers for those above.

So I'm really trying to understand the point of showing every parent the chart of the class. Unless it's trying to create competition. Or trying to "motivate" lower students?

I think it's to spare the teachers the work of making a chart for every student. But I think it's a privacy violation still, and the high-performing kids' parents always get distressed when they realize that the bulk of the class is below grade level and therefore the group lessons are too.

I'm a parent of high performing kids in a school where many are not above grade level. There is a good set of differentiated learning combined with a small class size.

The charts tell me that my kid isn't alone as high performing, and instead there's a small but big enough cohort to support differentiated groups. Out of a class of 15, about a quarter is doing much better.

+1. I'm very glad to get a general report on the class as a whole and where my kid fits in for this reason exactly.

this is bs. differentiation in K would be educational malpractice

Why malpractice? If my kid knows 60 site words going into K and is interested in reading, why shouldnt the teacher work with her, expecially when there are kids who still don't know the alphabet in K.

You all realize that this isn't just being done for kindergarteners, but up through 5th?

At which point should there be differentiation?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Why do parents want to know this kind of information?

The important thing is for your child to be learning. Why so much interest in how other kids are doing? In what way does the rate at which other kids are learning affect your child?

Duh, you want to make sure your kid is doing OK. Not a big deal.

So that their child will have a peer reading group and generally peers on their level, or at least grade level. So that they know the teacher is not overburdened trying to catch up a ton of below-grade kids and no time for the kids who are above grade. That is our situation and it sucks.

Every school has kids below level, on level and above level. I taught in one of the wealthiest schools in the country and I had two groups of below grade level students in guided reading. I still did guided reading with my on level and above level groups and had extension centers for those above.

So I'm really trying to understand the point of showing every parent the chart of the class. Unless it's trying to create competition. Or trying to "motivate" lower students?

I think it's to spare the teachers the work of making a chart for every student. But I think it's a privacy violation still, and the high-performing kids' parents always get distressed when they realize that the bulk of the class is below grade level and therefore the group lessons are too.

I'm a parent of high performing kids in a school where many are not above grade level. There is a good set of differentiated learning combined with a small class size.

The charts tell me that my kid isn't alone as high performing, and instead there's a small but big enough cohort to support differentiated groups. Out of a class of 15, about a quarter is doing much better.

+1. I'm very glad to get a general report on the class as a whole and where my kid fits in for this reason exactly.

this is bs. differentiation in K would be educational malpractice

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Why do parents want to know this kind of information?

The important thing is for your child to be learning. Why so much interest in how other kids are doing? In what way does the rate at which other kids are learning affect your child?

Duh, you want to make sure your kid is doing OK. Not a big deal.

So that their child will have a peer reading group and generally peers on their level, or at least grade level. So that they know the teacher is not overburdened trying to catch up a ton of below-grade kids and no time for the kids who are above grade. That is our situation and it sucks.

Every school has kids below level, on level and above level. I taught in one of the wealthiest schools in the country and I had two groups of below grade level students in guided reading. I still did guided reading with my on level and above level groups and had extension centers for those above.

So I'm really trying to understand the point of showing every parent the chart of the class. Unless it's trying to create competition. Or trying to "motivate" lower students?

I think it's to spare the teachers the work of making a chart for every student. But I think it's a privacy violation still, and the high-performing kids' parents always get distressed when they realize that the bulk of the class is below grade level and therefore the group lessons are too.

I'm a parent of high performing kids in a school where many are not above grade level. There is a good set of differentiated learning combined with a small class size.

The charts tell me that my kid isn't alone as high performing, and instead there's a small but big enough cohort to support differentiated groups. Out of a class of 15, about a quarter is doing much better.

+1. I'm very glad to get a general report on the class as a whole and where my kid fits in for this reason exactly.

Anonymous wrote:Our Kindergarten teacher showed us bar charts to show exactly where our child stood in relation to the whole class!

Lot to process here, but this really stands out as misguided if it's taken the wrong way

There's an ENORMOUS range of normal development around this age, and it would be dead wrong to convey that a child on a normal development curve is somehow deficient in relation to peers, each of whom is on their own development path. It's one thing to share this information if it's like a child's growth chart but entirely questionable as a competitive measure. I'd want to know that my child is meeting age appropriate goals and where specific supports or even intervention are necessary. None of that has anything to do with where the peer cohort stands.

There is no prize for winning Kindergarten.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Why do parents want to know this kind of information?

The important thing is for your child to be learning. Why so much interest in how other kids are doing? In what way does the rate at which other kids are learning affect your child?

Duh, you want to make sure your kid is doing OK. Not a big deal.

So that their child will have a peer reading group and generally peers on their level, or at least grade level. So that they know the teacher is not overburdened trying to catch up a ton of below-grade kids and no time for the kids who are above grade. That is our situation and it sucks.

Every school has kids below level, on level and above level. I taught in one of the wealthiest schools in the country and I had two groups of below grade level students in guided reading. I still did guided reading with my on level and above level groups and had extension centers for those above.

So I'm really trying to understand the point of showing every parent the chart of the class. Unless it's trying to create competition. Or trying to "motivate" lower students?

I think it's to spare the teachers the work of making a chart for every student. But I think it's a privacy violation still, and the high-performing kids' parents always get distressed when they realize that the bulk of the class is below grade level and therefore the group lessons are too.

I'm a parent of high performing kids in a school where many are not above grade level. There is a good set of differentiated learning combined with a small class size.

The charts tell me that my kid isn't alone as high performing, and instead there's a small but big enough cohort to support differentiated groups. Out of a class of 15, about a quarter is doing much better.

To me, that's the only legit reason to know how other kids in the class are doing--is there a sufficiently large cohort of kids performing at a similar level to my kid, so that meaningful differentiation can be done. If she's the only kid reading above grade level, that's a problem. If 20 percent of the class is--that's a reading group.

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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.

It made me like my school more. All of the kids were higher than I thought they would be, teachers clearly explained how they would get everyone achieving more, explained how parents could help in that effort, etc.

Also, it confirmed my suspicions that DS was pretty good at Math and ok at reading compared to his peers. It also showed me that there were lots of kids just like him... and several that did even better.