A little more than half of Montgomery County’s 25 high schools had failure rates of more than 70 percent for the final exam in Algebra 1 in June, even after the district added 15 percentage points to exam grades, according to newly released district data.
The figures also show that eight middle schools, including six in the Silver Spring area, had Algebra 1 exam failure rates from 20 percent to 43 percent after the points were added. By contrast, 18 other middle schools recorded failure rates of 5 percent or less.
The new numbers provide a more detailed picture of June’s poor exam results, which led to a mass grade recalculation and the delay of student report cards districtwide.
So where is the school-by-school breakdown? I saw no link to that in the article.
ReplyDeleteIn other words Starr lied again. There was no "lost instructional time amid preparation for state exams that were not aligned with Montgomery’s new Common Core-based curriculum." Guaranteed the the failing scores are in schools with high minority rates. Great job closing the achievement gap Starr.
ReplyDeleteWe need honest information from the school system about the purpose of these final exams, and the purpose of the countywide formatives, too. It seems like they are really being given to measure schools' and teachers' performance. Students are pawns in the process of the system trying and failing to ensure that the high-FARMS (high-minority) schools receive the same curriculum and quality education as more affluent schools. First, the students at "consortium and consortium-like schools" receive inadequate instruction. Then, they are compared and graded against their peers at more the affluent schools who have received full-curriculum instruction. When it's time to apply to colleges, the high-FARMS (high-minority) school students' GPAs have been tarnished by the lower grades received from being unfairly compared to peers with favorable and more complete instructional experiences.
ReplyDeleteI am convinced that the more highly qualified, experienced teachers are not at the neediest schools. Classroom instruction is not a priority for Starr.
DeleteHe has wasted taxpayer money on gimmicky programs and his incompetent administration. The board has no interest in holding him accountable. He is not data driven. MCPS students used to be top in the state. MCPS used to be a nationally recognized school system. We continue to sink because Starr thinks that exams and scores don't matter. He thinks hiring the best and the brightest leaders isn't important. Accountability means nothing to this big spender.