...STARR: The current standardized tests that every child has to take every year, those are worthless in helping teachers actually plan instruction. And the teachers see that and they're caught betwixt and between. And I've said to them, I do not care about Maryland's state assessment results, do not focus attention on it...
...The Maryland State Department of Education continues to resist dropping the Maryland School Assessment. MSDE officials say dropping the test will save little money and potentially jeopardize $289 million in federal funds.
“They’re going to be tested on standards that are not aligned with what they’re being taught,” Christopher Barclay of the Montgomery County Board of Education told the House Ways and Means Committee Wednesday.
Barclay was testifying on HB117 proposed by Del. Eric Luedtke, a Montgomery County Democrat and a teacher. The bill orders the state education department to seek a waiver from federal officials on the requirement for standardized tests under the federal No Child Left Behind law.
“It is educational malpractice,” said Tiferet Ani, a Montgomery County teacher. “This test has been meaningless” for some time, since it does not measure the progress of individual students, but schools as a whole.
School administrators “will not be looking at the results of these tests,” she said.
Ani had circulated a petition to drop the tests, and said it was a “dereliction” by the state education officials for not seeking a waiver from the federal mandate.
“They have not looked for a way to get out of this,” Ani said.
Jack Smith, chief academic officer for the State Department of Education, said dropping the test would save little money, since most of it had already been spent preparing the tests. And the move could potentially cause the state to lose $289 million in federal funds...
Parents and teachers who don’t want students to take the soon-to-be phased-out Maryland School Assessment tests this year have gained an ally in the state legislature.http://www.gazette.net/article/20131218/NEWS/131219295/1070/king-to-submit-bill-seeking-msa-waiver&template=gazette
State Sen. Nancy J. King (D-Dist. 39) of Montgomery Village said Monday she is drafting emergency legislation that would direct the Maryland State Department of Education to apply for a waiver from the federal government so schools can bypass the test this year.
The bill will be submitted the first day of the General Assembly’s session, King said.
The annual test has been used to assess elementary and middle school students’ performance but Maryland is now transitioning to the Partnership for Assessment of Readiness of College and Careers test, a new state assessment that aligns with the Common Core State Standards.
The PARCC test — which will be piloted in some Montgomery County schools this year — will not be fully implemented in Maryland until next school year.
King said she has heard from teachers, parents and others who are concerned that the MSA tests don’t align with schools’ curriculums — which are based on the Common Core standards — and will waste instructional time and won’t benefit the students.
“It’s exhausting for these kids to take these tests,” she said. “They take so much time preparing for it.”
| Grade 3 Reading 2013 | |
| Carderock Springs Elementary | 100 |
| Cashell Elementary | 100 |
| Cold Spring Elementary | 100 |
| Bradley Hills Elementary | 100 |
| Seven Locks Elementary | 98.18181818 |
| Farmland Elementary | 98.05825243 |
| Wayside Elementary | 97.84946237 |
| Thurgood Marshall Elementary | 97.64705882 |
| Wyngate Elementary | 97.45762712 |
| Kensington Parkwood Elementary | 97.19626168 |
| Bells Mill Elementary | 97 |
| Rachel Carson Elementary | 96.57534247 |
| Bannockburn Elementary | 96.36363636 |
| Westover Elementary | 96.2962963 |
| Cedar Grove Elementary | 96.19047619 |
| Westbrook Elementary | 95.83333333 |
| Chevy Chase Elementary | 95.79831933 |
| Darnestown Elementary | 95.52238806 |
| Diamond Elementary | 95.28301887 |
| College Gardens Elementary | 95.13888889 |
| Somerset Elementary | 95.04950495 |
| Spark M. Matsunaga Elementary School | 95.02762431 |
| Beall Elementary | 94.82758621 |
| Travilah Elementary | 94.80519481 |
| Potomac Elementary | 94.44444444 |
| Greenwood Elementary | 94.31818182 |
| Stone Mill Elementary | 94.17475728 |
| Stonegate Elementary | 94.11764706 |
| Lakewood Elementary | 93.87755102 |
| Garrett Park Elementary | 93.57798165 |
| Ashburton Elementary | 93.38842975 |
| Ronald A. McNair Elementary | 93.38235294 |
| Lucy V. Barnsley Elementary | 93.33333333 |
| Wood Acres Elementary | 93.2885906 |
| Forest Knolls Elementary | 93.06930693 |
| Wheaton Woods Elementary | 92.95774648 |
| Lois P. Rockwell Elementary | 92.68292683 |
| Beverly Farms Elementary | 92.38095238 |
| Washington Grove Elementary | 92.30769231 |
| North Chevy Chase Elementary | 92.22222222 |
| Poolesville Elementary | 92.06349206 |
| Fallsmead Elementary | 92 |
| Woodfield Elementary | 91.52542373 |
| Goshen Elementary | 91.4893617 |
| Rock Creek Forest Elementary | 91.46341463 |
| Luxmanor Elementary | 91.42857143 |
| William Tyler Page Elementary | 91.22807018 |
| Bethesda Elementary | 91.01123596 |
| Candlewood Elementary | 90.32258065 |
| Germantown Elementary | 90.24390244 |
| Jones Lane Elementary | 90.2173913 |
| Little Bennett Elementary | 90.11627907 |
| Oakland Terrace Elementary | 90 |
| Viers Mill Elementary | 89.88764045 |
| Cloverly Elementary | 89.70588235 |
| Sequoyah Elementary | 89.47368421 |
| Burnt Mills Elementary | 89.41176471 |
| Damascus Elementary | 89.36170213 |
| Olney Elementary | 88.7755102 |
| Woodlin Elementary | 88.67924528 |
| Rock Creek Valley Elementary | 88.52459016 |
| Monocacy Elementary | 88.46153846 |
| Laytonsville Elementary | 87.80487805 |
| Maryvale Elementary | 87.65432099 |
| Strawberry Knoll Elementary | 87.34177215 |
| Burning Tree Elementary | 87.32394366 |
| William B. Gibbs, Jr. | 86.92307692 |
| Highland View Elementary | 86.76470588 |
| Sherwood Elementary | 86.66666667 |
| Rosemont Elementary | 86.30136986 |
| Clearspring Elementary | 86.07594937 |
| Piney Branch Elementary | 85.95505618 |
| Brooke Grove Elementary | 85.71428571 |
| Flower Valley Elementary | 85.52631579 |
| East Silver Spring Elementary | 85.18518519 |
| Flora M. Singer Elementary School | 84.84848485 |
| Rock View Elementary | 84.69387755 |
| Ritchie Park Elementary | 84.15841584 |
| Fairland Elementary | 83.87096774 |
| Judith A. Resnik Elementary | 83.82352941 |
| Burtonsville Elementary | 83.60655738 |
| Clarksburg Elementary | 83.33333333 |
| Belmont Elementary | 82.35294118 |
| Fox Chapel Elementary | 82.14285714 |
| Jackson Road Elementary | 81.91489362 |
| Lake Seneca Elementary | 81.63265306 |
| S. Christa McAuliffe Elementary | 80.41237113 |
| Waters Landing Elementary | 80.17241379 |
| Sargent Shriver Elementary | 80 |
| Great Seneca Creek Elementary | 79.6875 |
| Pine Crest Elementary | 79.66101695 |
| DuFief Elementary | 78.57142857 |
| Fields Road Elementary | 78.46153846 |
| Highland Elementary | 78.37837838 |
| Sligo Creek Elementary | 78.02197802 |
| Brookhaven Elementary | 77.77777778 |
| Meadow Hall Elementary | 76.5625 |
| Rolling Terrace Elementary | 76.36363636 |
| Glen Haven Elementary | 76.31578947 |
| Cannon Road Elementary | 76.27118644 |
| Georgian Forest Elementary | 75.90361446 |
| Dr. Charles R. Drew Elementary | 75.6097561 |
| Summit Hall Elementary | 75.55555556 |
| Brown Station Elementary | 74.66666667 |
| Stedwick Elementary | 74.41860465 |
| South Lake Elementary | 73.27586207 |
| Greencastle Elementary | 73.1092437 |
| Glenallan Elementary | 72.36842105 |
| Dr. Sally K. Ride Elementary | 71.11111111 |
| Cresthaven Elementary | 71.08433735 |
| Gaithersburg Elementary | 70.79646018 |
| Strathmore Elementary | 70.42253521 |
| Watkins Mill Elementary | 70.09345794 |
| Whetstone Elementary | 69.23076923 |
| Captain James E. Daly Elementary | 68.96551724 |
| Oak View Elementary | 68.80733945 |
| Kemp Mill Elementary | 68.75 |
| Harmony Hills Elementary | 68.04123711 |
| Flower Hill Elementary | 68 |
| Twinbrook Elementary | 67.94871795 |
| Galway Elementary | 67.15328467 |
| Mill Creek Towne Elementary | 66.66666667 |
| Broad Acres Elementary | 66.66666667 |
| Arcola Elementary | 66.03773585 |
| Weller Road Elementary | 60.46511628 |
