Today, the Montgomery County Council's Office of Legislative Oversight released the report that we had previously learned Superintendent Joshua Starr tried to suppress.
THE ACHIEVEMENT GAP IN MONTGOMERY COUNTY –
A FY 2013 UPDATE
Finding 1: Eleven performance measures that encompass three levels of student performance form the basis for OLO’s current review of the achievement gaps that exist among MCPS students and how these gaps have changed over the past three to five years.
Finding 2: MCPS’ achievement gap is narrowest on grade level measures and widest on measures of above grade level and at-risk performance.
Finding 3: MCPS narrowed the achievement gap in school readiness, MSA proficiency, suspensions, academic ineligibility, and graduation rates although large gaps persist for suspensions and academic ineligibility rates by subgroup.
Finding 4: MCPS achieved mixed progress in narrowing the achievement gap on two measures – dropout rates, and completion of USM/CTE program requirements among graduates.
Finding 5: The MCPS achievement gap widened across four sets of measures - advanced MSA performance, Algebra 1 completion by Grade 8 with a C or better, AP/IB performance among graduates, and SAT/ACT performance among graduates.
Finding 6: Significant federal and state policy changes have weakened the policy imperative for closing the achievement gap. Locally, however, MCPS goals for narrowing the achievement gap continue to exceed federal and state policy mandates.
Finding 7: Challenges in narrowing the gap among above grade level measures suggest that the MCPS achievement gap on statewide assessments will widen with the full implementation of the Common Core State Standards.
Finding 8: The research base on best practices for narrowing the achievement gap is thin.
Finding 9: The socioeconomic correlates of the achievement gap suggest that coordination among MCPS, Montgomery County Government, and other agencies and community-based groups is necessary to make progress in narrowing the
achievement gap.
Thanks to the Council for directing OLO to complete this study.
ReplyDeleteWeast is gone for two years and decades of work are reversed!!! Unbelievable.
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