7 Keys - Locksmith Needed

The following are statements submitted to the Board of Education and Superintendent Weast on the introduction of the MCPS' "7 Keys to College Readiness".
Note that the "7 Keys" website, roll out and plan was not formulated, or voted on, by the Board of Education.
The "7 Keys" were simply presented to the Board of Education on April 28, 2009, as a done deal. No information exists on how much this new initiative cost in development time by staff; brochure creation, production and distribution; website development; or roll out to local schools.
Despite telling the County Council that there would be no new initiatives in this "tight" budget year, Superintendent Weast managed to find the funds to roll out this new initiative.

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TESTIMONY OF GORDON BRENNE
Parent, AEHS/PTSA, VP for School Improvement et al

Seven Keys Testimony- MCPS BoE 4/28/09

Gordie Brenne

My name's Gordie Brenne and I am the parent of a junior at Albert
Einstein High School. I've got a Masters degree in Quantitative
Analysis, and recently wrote to Dr. Weast expressing concerns about the
Seven Keys (attached). My basic concern is that the Seven Keys could
widen the achievement gap because they ignore what works in Down County
Consortium (DCC) High Schools.

I. The Study Was Flawed - MCPS relied on a nationwide ACT study, "the
Forgotten Middle", which had data flaws, focused on Algebra 2 while
excluding important high school factors which prepare DCC students for
college and careers, and incorrectly assumed career and college success
factors were the same:

1. Minority Data- only 20% in the ACT study were minorities, while the
DCC minority population is over 70%. A separate DCC analysis would have
yielded different HS Keys since minorities are likely to have their own
statistical data distribution. Other studies show minority preparation
varies significantly due to discrimination and poverty factors, and the
standardized tests used to identify the Keys have cultural biases.
2. Algebra 2- Algebra 2s selection was not based on statistical
regression analysis, and is no more a Key than advanced English. Algebra
2 was not selected by the ACT study, which focused on Algebra 1, and
Algebra 2 is not in the MCPS strategic plan.
3. Interventions- the ACT study acknowledges it ignored the effect of HS
interventions which DCC kids depend upon to overcome poor preparation
due to high mobility.
4. Career vs. College- There is no statistical data linking the Seven
Keys to career success, just industry opinion surveys. Further, the
underlying ACT study only looked at kids who took a test to prepare for
college in the 8th grade. Consequently, according to the study, the
results "may not be representative of all high school students". Many
DCC kids are lucky to have college interests in eighth grade, and have
to work to pay for college.

II. What Works in the DCC- in addition to extracurriculars, DCC kids
benefit from interventions and Career & Technology Education (CTE)
courses ignored by the study:

1. Interventions- mostly in HSA subjects for English, math, biology and
government.
2. CTE- DCC kids seek out Edison programs to prepare for college and
careers. The few on campus CTE programs like our Finance Academy are
usually filled but under funded.

III. What Doesn't Work in the DCC

1. Double Math and English classes- in lieu of interventions, we have
kids taking 4 periods a day of this, which crowds out AP and CTE courses
(per Edison Principal Hamlin), and fun credits. Is it any wonder kids
drop out? Last fall, almost 1/3 of AEHS seniors who had been taking this
double dose still weren't on track for graduation and have required
heroic interventions to get ready.
2. CTE Courses That Follow the Money- resources continue to be
over-allocated to wealthier schools. The latest CTE course, Media and
Interactive Technologies, was announced this year for 5 schools, but
included only 1 in the DCC.

IV. A Study of DCC High Schools is Needed to get the Keys Right

1. Interim Keys- At a minimum, provide interim Keys for high schools to
prepare under performers while future high school students are being
prepared. Use DCC data to determine what helps our kids succeed.
2. CTE- Build on DCC successes with Edison and other CTE courses by
offering more CTE courses on campus to increase student reach.
3. Innovation Labs- Fund innovation labs to experiment with new
interventions like the all male honors English class at AEHS. Change the
focus from compliance to success.

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Dr. Jerry Weast, Superintendent MCPS

March 25, 2009

Carver Educational Services Center

850 Hungerford Dr., Room 122

Rockville, Md 20850

Re: Seven Key to College Readiness

Dear Dr. Weast:

For some, the seven keys may sound intuitive, but they are a very tough
message for most Down County Consortium parents and kids. I did a little
research on the data that supports the Seven Keys and learned that some
of the keys are not supported by data, and they are at best incomplete
for current DCC high school students, ignoring critical strategies that
work.

½ x ½= ¼. Some estimate that as few as half of the starting
Freshmen in the DCC graduate, and that only half of those go on to
college. That means that about one-quarter of current DCC Freshmen are
going to benefit from the Seven Keys. We all want to change this, but
how we do that is a strategic issue.

MCPS is rolling out the Seven Keys to Middle and High School parents and
students next month. The key message is that English and math
preparation by the end of Middle School, and more math, AP and SAT
success are needed to prepare for college and careers. The primary
statistical research comes from a recent study by the ACT testing folks
("The Forgotten Middle") which concludes that students who haven't
prepared by the end of 8th grade won't do well in college or careers.
But, the ACT study says it:

· Assumed that the conclusions were relevant to career readiness and
admits career success wasn't studied with any data

· Studied mostly white kids, only 20% of the students studied were
from minorities (pg. 6)

· Collected data from students planning to go to college and
conclusions "may not be representative of all high school students" (pgs
6 and 7)

· Selected factors and "did not study the impact of targeted high
school interventions" (pg 11).

Makes you wonder how this could be relevant to most DCC kids who go
directly into careers from high school, are from minorities, don't have
college plans before the end of 8th grade, and are subjected to numerous
interventions in high school? Had the study looked at the correlation of
poverty with college and career success, it probably would have
concluded that overcoming those barriers is critical. We all want to
change this so we can say poverty is no longer a factor, but this won't
happen overnight.

Today, as you know, we deal with poor preparation and weak family
support in high school with lots of interventions, double math and
English classes, Career and Technology Education courses, and by
encouraging participation in extracurriculars. But the study didn't look
at these factors. That's why they aren't among the seven keys. And, some
of our current strategies conflict, like scheduling electives and CTE
courses with the grind of double math and English.

Please do a statistically based study of what DCC kids need to succeed
in college and careers. DCC students deserve more than a one size fits
all solution. It's time we target scarce MCPS resources at strategies
that work in the DCC and help kids that need the most help.

Sincerely,

Gordie Brenne, Parent, Albert Einstein HS

cc: MCPS School Board, Jim Fernandez AEHS Principal

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Testimony of Mary and Tom Peterson
Parents, Co-Chair of AEHS/PTSA Black/African- American Parent Council et
al

Board of Ed Testimony
Re Seven Keys For College Readiness

At a time when Montgomery County Schools are becoming increasingly
diverse, the Seven Keys for College Readiness program is not a pathway.
It's a one-size-fits- all retreat. It's a retreat to days when
Montgomery County was an affluent, educated subset of Leave it to Beaver
America. It further stratifies and isolates the vocal "achievement at
all costs" segment of our population from the growing group of those for
whom this system does not work. Our child, a mixed race 10th grader, is
one of them .

Our PTSA presented a Power Point Presentation last Tuesday about Seven
Keys. MCPS's Power Point presentation used scare tactics and
condescension so parents will be frightened their kids can't attend
college without attaining the Keys. I wish I had thought to ask that we
take a mini-poll of the PTSA members present about the keys their
children have attained. Not how they felt about Seven Keys, but just
what keys their kids have attained. I think we would have seen a
breakdown in starkly racial terms. I believe you would have found that,
based on the people who showed up at the meeting (5 Black parents, 5
Hispanic parents, and approximately 20 White parents), that most of the
minority kids have not done very well with the keys. Most of the white
children of the parents (judging from those present) are probably on
schedule with their keys as they have moved through the system.
Presumably all these parents care equally deeply about their kids'
educations
and their futures.

Does the different rate of accelerated learning mean that the minority
kids are ineligible for higher education? Or does it reinforce our
understanding that developmentally, academically, for whatever reason,
many of those kids are moving at a slower pace. And that's OK. High
school is high school, not college, despite MCPS' tendency to confuse
the two. And please don't read this as our saying we need to rid
ourselves of IB and AP. We don't believe that. I think if kids can do
work at that level and want to do it, that's a good thing. But we don't
like what we are hearing from teachers and parents about minority kids
being put into AP classes with no escape hatch. They are not for every
child. We would like to hear specifics in our high schools about how
teachers will support intellectual excellence in the non-accelerated
academic curriculum.

One parent remarked that "all Montgomery County parents" want their
children to be taught at well above grade level. When I remarked that I
didn't, I was told I was the only one. After 11 years trying to get my
kid through the system, I've noticed that it's mostly white parents who
want their children taught at a very high level , with some Black
parents acquiescing to that same MCPS pressure. We don't know what the
Hispanic community believes, but we're sure it's not monolithic either.

As members of our Black/African- American Parent Council have written to
the School Improvement VP, there is so much more that goes into
education than good grades and "rigorous" classes. There is motivation,
there is parenting the children to believe in their futures and not
limit themselves, there is a desire to see our kids have the same shot
at life as white kids. But we have an achievement gap that only gets
wider. We have racism in our classrooms. Many minority kids are taught
culturally inappropriately. Blaming the kids and then the parents is
usually the tack MCPS takes when it can't resolve an intractable issue.
That's how we see the 7 Keys. You'll be blaming the kids who can't
attain them, and then blaming the parents for not being better parents .

I also ask that members of the Board think back to their own pre-college
days and their family history regarding college. Had you obtained the
Seven Keys before heading off to college? Did all of your family
members? In both our families, the best students academically were not
the kids who made it through college. In both our cases, it was the kids
who were the most internally motivated. In fact one child was a National
Merit Scholar -- he dropped out of the best private college in his state
and is now an unemployed laborer. So much for the Seven Keys.

We need to impress upon our kids that post-secondary education is
important, but that there are lots of ways to go about it. There are
second chances in life. Education is one of them. We should be preaching
resilience, and the chance to learn from mistakes, and to pick yourself
up after life knocks you down and start over again. MCPS also needs to
re-think its view of success. Why do we assume being a doctor, lawyer,
or college professor is the ultimate success? Can't we be just as proud
of our plumbers, mechanics, and construction workers? They are the ones
who keep the world ticking along. MCPS needs to broaden its view of just
who is successful in American society.

Here's another thought to ponder: a couple of years ago, 55% of white
students tested as GT; 12% of blacks and 11% of Hispanic kids did so.
The kids who will obtain the seven keys are those same kids who are
being labeled gifted. If you are a kid who learns well auditorally and
has a good memory, you will do well in MCPS. Kids with any glitches in
those two learning systems are being labeled failures. We've already
stratified the system by geography and educational programs. We in the
DCC see that the most capable students (by MCPS standards) are in AP/IB.
The second tier is Honors and the amusingly named "on-level" classes are
peopled with some on-level and many below level students. Many of our LD
kids are warehoused there because we can't get teachers to provide
accommodations in the higher level classes. Somehow MCPS needs to get
its teachers interested in teaching those kids who don't excel.

The Seven Keys ideology will just make things worse for minority kids
unless and until MCPS resolves some of its racial conundrums. MCPS is
headed down the proverbial slippery slope.

Tom & Mary Peterson
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UPDATE: 5/18/09 Washington Post article "Montgomery Co. Touts "Seven Keys to College Readiness as an Academic Pathway".