Jerry Weast's "cream of the crap"

The 2011 MSA results show that Montgomery County Public Schools has without a doubt achieved mediocrity amongst its neighbors in Maryland.   

So much for the talk of World Class this or that.  Our elementary and middle schools have become, as our former superintendent says, "the Cream of the Crap".

Rank ordering the 24  school sytems in Maryland using the MSA scores released today by the State Department of Education

Math
********
3rd Grade 11th of 24,  11th in 2010
4th Grade 17th of 24,  16th in 2010
5th Grade 12th of 24,  10th in 2010
6th Grade 14th of 24,  16th in 2010
7th Grade 11th of 24,  11th in 2010
8th Grade 12th of 24,  11th in 2010

Reading
********
3rd Grade 8th of 24,  7th in 2010
4th Grade 8th of 24,  9th in 2010
5th Grade 6th of 24,  8th in 2010
6th Grade 7th of 24,  6th in 2010
7th Grade 6th of 24,  6th in 2010
8th Grade 6th of 24,  6th in 2010

Last year when I shared these same rankings, MCPS responded that it is not fair to compare to other jurisdictions, some very small.  But I disagree.  It is the % of students achieving proficiency or better.  That takes size of the system out of the equation.  Furthermore, I'm comparing groups of students who are being educated under the same State standards and taking the same state wide assessment.  What could be more fair?

The data above also demonstrates that there has not been any appreciable net change in Montgomery County's ranking since last year.

The bottom line is that MCPS really is not doing very well at the elementary & middle school level.


Bob Astrove