Thousands of students in Montgomery County failed final exams in high school math courses last semester, according to data that raise questions about how well students have learned the material and whether there is a disconnect between the test and the course work.
Recently released figures show failure rates of 62 percent for high school students taking the county’s geometry final and 57 percent for those taking the Algebra 2 exam. Among students taking the same courses on the honors level, 30 percent to 36 percent failed the end-of-semester tests in January, according to data from the school system.
[...]
Starr said that he did not know how long the problem has been going on [and] that he has requested historical data showing exam failure rates for the past five years.
Friday, May 10, 2013
Weast on Board of Institute for Educational Leadership
IEL's mission is to build the capacity of individuals, organizations, systems and communities to work together to prepare all children and youth for post-secondary education, careers, and citizenship.
Thursday, May 9, 2013
Why would Pearson, the world’s largest for-profit education business, include gratuitous references to trademarked products in its tests?
A New York student writes about the insertion of brand names in a Pearson Education, Inc. standardized test. The big question is why won't The Washington Post write about Pearson's curriculum and assessments in Montgomery County Public Schools? Remember Pearson is writing the assessments for all elementary school students in MCPS now. Assessments that are being given three times per year.
By Isaiah Schrader
By Isaiah Schrader
Students from Massena to Montauk, from Plattsburgh to Poughkeepsie just took the New York State English exam. The exam, created by the education giant, Pearson, featured passages and questions that required the test-taker to be able to comprehend and analyze them. This was no small feat. The passages, like one about a man fishing for a screwdriver with a magnet, and a story about a busboy cleaning up soda, challenged students throughout the state. But the test had one feature that shocked this test-taker and surely others who noticed it: product placement.
The “busboy” passage in the eighth grade test I took was fictional, written about a dishwasher at a pizza restaurant. In it, the busboy neglects to notice a large puddle of root beer under a table that he clears. His irate employer notifies him about the mess, and he cleans it up. It seems alright at first glace. However, the root beer was referred to at one point as Mug™ Root Beer. It was followed by a footnote, which informed test-takers that Mug™ was a registered trademark of PepsiCo. The brand of soda, the type of soda, and, come to think of it, the exact beverage was not necessary to the development of the story, nor was it mentioned in any of the confusing and analytical questions following the passage.
So why was the brand and trademark included?
Guerilla Gardening - Don't try this in MCPS!
When you watch this, remember that MCPS does not allow students to plant in the ground. They will only let students plant in containers, above the ground, and then, only with permission of some administrator.
Wednesday, May 8, 2013
R-word | Spread the Word to End the Word
R-word | Spread the Word to End the Word
Question: What is Spread the Word to End the Word?
Answer: Spread the Word to End the Word is an on-going effort to raise the consciousness of society about the dehumanizing and hurtful effects of the word "retard(ed)" and encourage people to pledge to stop using the R-word. The campaign is intended to get schools, communities and organizations to rally and pledge their support to help create communities of inclusion and acceptance for all people.
To learn more about the campaign, and how you can bring the message to your school, CLICK HERE.
Sligo Middle School principal resigns amid changes at school
Parents had been concerned about school environment, success
Sligo Middle School will have a new principal next year, as current principal Richard Rhodes announced his resignation to parents on Tuesday.continues:
Rhodes has accepted an administrative position for a national charter school organization in Michigan, and his resignation is effective July 1, according to a May 8 letter from community superintendent Bronda Mills to parents.
Rhodes and Mills have been working with parents this school year to address their concerns about the Silver Spring school’s atmosphere and student achievement.
A few parents had written to the superintendent at the beginning of the school year with concerns regarding the poor quality of the school grounds, teacher retention, a lack of discipline at the school and poor academic performance, said Alice Witt of Silver Spring, who has a seventh-grader at the school.
Since, the school system’s department of family and community partnerships hosted four meetings with the community related to the school’s improvement plan, according to a document on the school’s website.
A meeting was set for Wednesday night to discuss the feedback that Rhodes received at the community meetings.
Rhodes did not return a phone call to talk about his resignation.
http://www.gazette.net/article/20130508/NEWS/130508883/1124/sligo-middle-school-principal-resigns-amid-changes-at-school&template=gazette
Gazette Editorial: Scores on Montgomery math finals don’t add up
...What might be most disturbing is that the failure rate was revealed not by a superintendent committed to progress or a school board unsatisfied with the status quo, but by a concerned parent. A school system that strives for its students to be the best should have stepped forward and revealed, on its own, a problem in its math tests.
http://www.gazette.net/article/20130508/OPINION/130509002/1266/scores-on-montgomery-math-finals-don-x2019-t-add-up&template=gazette
Ed Week: School Board Transparency a Challenge in Digital Age
...Maryland is among several states that are taking other steps to bring such laws into the 21st century.
The legislature set up a joint committee on transparency and open government in 2011 to examine how Maryland can promote government transparency—in the state capital, Annapolis, and locally. Committee members evaluate current policies and practices on meetings and records and make recommendations on future legislation.
According to state Sen. Bill Ferguson, the chairman of the committee, it's hard for state governments to have laws that capture all the situations communities are facing today in complying with meetings and records regulations. But while the particulars of state laws vary, in general, he said, he thinks technology is making government more transparent than it was in the past.
"So much of open government is cultural habit; there are cultures within agencies—if the agency's day-to-day culture promotes transparency, new opportunities to increase openness are willingly adopted," said Mr. Ferguson, a Democrat.
"But as more modern communications and collaboration tools become cheaper and more accessible, public agencies will naturally become more transparent, and cultures will inevitably start to change," he said...
Tuesday, May 7, 2013
MCEA Seeks Compromise with Maryland on Teacher Evaluation Plan, Gazette Reports
Maryland school systems ask for more time to draft changes to teacher evaluations
Changes still take effect next school year
By Jen Bondeson Staff Writer
Gazette, Tuesday, May 7, 2013
(...)
To read the entire article in the Gazette, CLICK HERE.
Changes still take effect next school year
By Jen Bondeson Staff Writer
Gazette, Tuesday, May 7, 2013
(...)
"The Montgomery County Education Association, the county’s teachers union, is still hoping that Montgomery’s system can reach a compromise with the state, and has not yet started making revisions to its plan, said Doug Prouty, union president.
“We are trying to reach an agreement about what to do in the long term,” Prouty said by phone Tuesday.
The union has been talking to state and federal officials about what requirements the state has the authority to impose on Montgomery and Frederick counties regarding the evaluations, since the counties are the only two in the state that are not signed onto federal reform Race to the Top. Under the state’s Race to the Top agreement, half of teachers’ effectiveness must be rated based on student performance — 20 percent based on state test scores and the rest on other measures.
Montgomery and Frederick did not sign on for this reason. Despite that, now, the state has told the systems they have the same requirements as others. And unlike the other systems, Frederick and Montgomery will not receive financial backing to make the changes."
To read the entire article in the Gazette, CLICK HERE.
Exclusive Chart: All MCPS Math Final Grades
Even though The Washington Post had the grade distribution for 7 high school math classes they only chose to chart 2 of those classes for their recent article. (See the raw data on page 2 of their document.)
So we took all of the data that has been made public to date concerning the fall final exam grade distribution for MCPS high school students in 7 different math classes and created our own graph. Blue is A's, red is E's. The classes are Algebra I, Geometry, Honors Geometry, Bridge to Algebra 2, Algebra 2, Honors Algebra, and Pre-Calculus.
Is another MCPS "work group" really the answer or should this be a public discussion by our elected Board of Education members at the public Board table?
Breaking News: MD Disability Law Center Letter to Starr after Einstein HS Principal's letter
Monday, May 6, 2013
Bells Mill ES Parent: "I want to scream"
"most of the time marginalized...very disappointed...very difficult to have someone listen to you...it's my child's life and they are playing around with my child's life..."
Sunday, May 5, 2013
Washington Post: Thousands fail high school math finals in Montgomery
Read the entire story at:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/local/education/thousands-flunk-math-finals-in-montgomery/2013/05/04/88f807d4-b37e-11e2-9a98-4be1688d7d84_story.html
The Parents' Coalition is eager to learn the exam failure rates for the past five years. Where was the Board of Education during the past five years? Is the exam failure rate a total surprise to the BOE, or is it just another statistic that was swept under the rug under former Superintendent Weast's reign? What is the exam failure rate for other subjects?
High School Performance "Quotas"
Are some Montgomery County schools failing their students?
GIFTED AND TALENTED EDUCATION IN MONTGOMERY COUNTY PUBLIC SCHOOLS
MAY 5, 2013 Washington Examiner
By Kumar Singam
One of the best kept secrets of Montgomery County Public Schools (MCPS) is the existence of a quota system imposed on high schools. According to a slideshow presented by Montgomery Blair High School Principal Renay Johnson, the system imposes the following “quotas:”
Graduation rate the school “must have”: 81.5%
Percentage that must take SAT/ACT: 78.0%
Percentage that must score 1650/24, or better on SAT/ACT: 68.0%
Percentage that must score 3 or higher on AP courses: 73.0%
Academic ineligibility must be less than: 2.0%
According to Johnson, the previous superintendent, Jerry D. Weast, would make a personal phone call to the principal when the school failed to meet a benchmark. Johnson also provided statistics for her high school that were current through the second quarter.
To continue reading this article, CLICK HERE.
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Do different schools have different quotas? Just wondering. And what is the consequence if a school doesn't meet the quota?
GIFTED AND TALENTED EDUCATION IN MONTGOMERY COUNTY PUBLIC SCHOOLS
MAY 5, 2013 Washington Examiner
By Kumar Singam
One of the best kept secrets of Montgomery County Public Schools (MCPS) is the existence of a quota system imposed on high schools. According to a slideshow presented by Montgomery Blair High School Principal Renay Johnson, the system imposes the following “quotas:”
Graduation rate the school “must have”: 81.5%
Percentage that must take SAT/ACT: 78.0%
Percentage that must score 1650/24, or better on SAT/ACT: 68.0%
Percentage that must score 3 or higher on AP courses: 73.0%
Academic ineligibility must be less than: 2.0%
According to Johnson, the previous superintendent, Jerry D. Weast, would make a personal phone call to the principal when the school failed to meet a benchmark. Johnson also provided statistics for her high school that were current through the second quarter.
To continue reading this article, CLICK HERE.
*********************
Do different schools have different quotas? Just wondering. And what is the consequence if a school doesn't meet the quota?
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