In light of the MSA results, the Eastern MS principal has decided to change the Eastern school schedule for the next 6 weeks to include 27 minutes a day of MSA test preparation for all students in the school. The MSA exams will be administered the middle two weeks of March.
Whole school MSA test preparation has been implemented at other MCPS schools around the county for the last few years.
Eastern is just one more example of this MCPS practice. Even though the data is available to enable administrators to target exactly which students are in need of academic support, all students in a school are required to prep for these standardized tests.
Below is the e-mail that was sent out by the Eastern MS principal addressing parent concerns on the focus of 27 minutes a day on MSA test preparation.
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January 24, 2010
Eastern Families,
I have read the many emails that have been sent directly to me or sent through this listserv over the past few days and I have spent a great deal of time carefully considering the feedback and suggestions that were included in these emails.
I do not disagree with any of the points that were made in these emails. The amount of energy and time that is dedicated to one single assessment - the MSA - can be extremely frustrating. It is the current state of public education in the US as mandated by NCLB that each state implement this type of test. The performance targets for these tests increase each year.
As you know, Eastern MS did not meet the targets for the 2009 MSA. It is my charge as principal to ensure that our instructional programs and MSA preparation and planning were reveiwed (sic) and modified in a effort to meet the 2010 targets. While some may feel that our the test preparations initiatives are not necessary for thier (sic) child I beleive (sic) that a whole school approach is appropriate for Eastern Middle School. The groupings and instructional strategies have been differentiated based on predicted MSA score and every effort will be made to make the time meaningful for every student.
I recognize that using any time for anything other than instruction may not be a desired state, however, there are activities, events, and opportunities that arise that require use of class time. These include guest speakers, field trips, required testing, and in this case MSA preparation.
There are students, humanities nad (sic) comprehensive, that have demonstrated advanced level academic ability. This being said I repeat that I beleive (sic) that a schoolwide MSA prep initiative is appropriate for EMS. Again, we are committed to making this MSA prep time beneficial for all. I ask this of you and your students.... give us two weeks to implement this plan. We will monitor the effectiveness carefully. If there is evidence after this two weeks that a test prep group has demonstrated advanced level abilities on the prep items then we will consider alternative use of this time for these students. Evidence will include performance data and student feedback.
If you would like to discuss this further please feel free to call me at 301-650-6650 or email me. Additionally, parents are invited to meet with me on Thursday morning at 8:10AM in the media center or Feb 3rd at 7pm in the media center.
Casey Crouse
Proud Principal
So much for differentiated instruction.
ReplyDeleteDoes anyone need anymore evidence that MCPS is moving towards a "one size fits all" system?
More like one size fits the "below grade level" students.
ReplyDeleteDid she really sign off as a "proud" principal?
ReplyDeleteHow do you sign off on an AYP advisory that way without inviting a deluge of scorn? Surely, it isn't entirely her fault, but the word "Chutzpah" might apply.
As for testing everybody... they do this in the Marines.
When a single soldier or a small group let the team down, the rest are punished.
Of course, in the Marines, the slackers can expect to be beaten with pillowcases full of bars of soap at 2 o' clock in the morning.
Is the principal unaware of the second component of this method of discipline she's chosen? Any parent with a child unable to avoid dedicating 10% of their school time on unnecessary drills of elementary skills and who has two nickels to rub together will get the heck outta Dodge. Expect a boost in the FARMs ratio and less demand for Honors classes. Hopefully, she'll start to notice the vertigo she's feeling as her school spirals the drain and rethink her concern about singling out students that really need some singling out.