<p>Sorry, but it doesn’t look to me that its only the top 15-20% of students who are represented in the many, impressive statistics cited on the school districts’ website.</p>
<p>ETA: By the way, here’s a link to the honor roll and other awards and recognitions from just one Montgomery county school. I’m sure there are many, many others.</p>
<p>p15 talks about an honor roll photo shoot. This one from a school at the middle school level. </p>
<p>I think you have to find some other basis for bashing this school district, HH. The notion that they don’t recognize achievement just doesn’t hold up.</p>
<p>conyat. I’m not going to argue with you on this. I know what I’m talking about. </p>
<p>And you are probably not aware that you are actually making the case that NCLB is working (a so-called “conservative” idea, according to you), so be careful.</p>
<p>Please don’t put words in my mouth: I referenced the Montgomery Schools website as a source of information about standards-based report cards. I did not “bash” any district.</p>
<p>I don’t really understand how MoCo comes into it, except for their whole standards based reports cards push. But I wouldn’t worry about this of all places (or it’s geographically close Va equivalent, Fairfax) not recognizing excellence. Believe me. MoCo and FFX both have intense magnet high schools that are very selective (Thomas Jefferson and Montgomery Blair). If you’ve heard of the book “The Achievers”, the school it’s based off of, Walt Whitman, is in Montgomery. BCC is a pretty competitive school as well. I don’t even know what their standards based issue is but either way IMO it’s not all that likely to change anything. The problem is, achievement in these areas can be a sketchy thing. Many families have highly educated parents who are well off. These people are going to make sure their children succeed. And that can skew statistics, with there being “super succeeders”, meanwhile those who aren’t succeeding can fly under the radar of “impressive statistics.” </p>
<p>There is somewhat of an achievement gap. These are good school systems, don’t get me wrong - they probably don’t have a lot of value for comparision simply because they’re two of the best in the nation and most districts simply don’t have the resources at hand like this. But like anywhere, there are problems, and unfortunately it can be almost as bad to be the problem in a high achieving district, because if enough people are passing there’s no real dire need for change and the interests of those who already have too many advantages are the loudest and most influential ones heard. More than 20% are in this position anyway though. It’s the bottom 20% you have to worry about but IMO our problem here is putting band aids on gaping wounds. Kids fall behind early (the big have vs have not issue: preschool or no preschool. Makes a big, big difference), and then it’s really hard to do anything to fix that. Standards based reporting is going to report the same thing as the yearly standardized tests (which admittedly in MD used to suck because they didn’t measure individual progress, may have been some of the reasoning behind the standards based reporting, but isn’t the case now), that the kid is behind. </p>
<p>The answer is really more that we need to not have them fall behind in the first place. But with NCLB exerting it’s influence, there is no kindegarten and preschool standardized test so nothing is allocated there. It’s all going to sometimes futile efforts after a kid is already demoralized, etc about being behind. This is major issue IMO that should be addressed. We need to work out a compromise between immediate help (remediation) and a long term solution to increase early education. The Post did an article on the first day of kindergarten at a Md school, can’t remember the county, where there were more than 30 kids to the one teacher who was completely overwhelmed (some did not speak english). The implications of that creating an achievement gap is obvious, but most attention is going to aggressively prepare for the 1-6 end of year assessments. </p>
<p>I’m sorry I mentioned MCPS. It’s probably been a year since I looked at their website. I checked and they’ve actually taken down most of the information about standards-based grading. They used to have transcripts of the actual committee meetings attempting to change the grading policy, as well as frequently asked questions, and parent surveys about the change (which provided a lot of information about the real philosophy behind the change). It also appears they’ve changed the 4-3-2-1 (advanced, proficient, basic, below basic or a similar designation) back to letter grades, and are calling it “traditional.” This tells me it wasn’t going down well with parents, and they have had to backtrack once again and use another slight-of-hand to push it through.</p>
<p>I don’t think you understand what I am talking about, conyat. Standards-based grading and NCLB state proficiency tests are two different things, as I said, even if you want them to be the same. In addition, I never said there was a vast liberal conspiracy. Is it possible for you to have a discussion without putting thoughts into people’s brains and words into people’s mouths.</p>
<p>I’m willing to admit I’m not an expert on every subject. You may want to take a step back and do the same.</p>
<p>conyat: Why don’t you read some of the people I mentioned above (Bloom, Guskey, etc.) and then you might be knowledgeable enough to comment on this subject. You can find much of the information by googling their names, or look for their books on Amazon. I look forward to having this discussion after you do so.</p>
<p>Hereshoping, this is what you said (perhaps you forgot):</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>I find this models NCLB philosophy pretty well. “Success for all” is even one of the names of the most popular curriculum models developed in response to NCLB. “Progressive” teachers hate it, because it takes away their ability to use their professional judgement and training. Teachers are to follow a script exactly, with no deviations (even hand gestures are spelled out), and are forbid to ask any thought induction questions.</p>
<p>One last time: State proficiency testing for NCLB and standards-based grading and reporting in the classroom which essentially does away with the concept of the bell curve are two different things. I’m sorry “progressive teachers” hate it NCLB; perhaps you can take that up with Ted Kennedy.</p>
<p>It’s OK, HH, conservative teachers hate it too. No one likes being put through a routine in the classroom like a machine, especially a routine whose results are debatable, after going through years of school to learn best practices.</p>
<p>You can thank the conflicts of interest in the Department of Education for that. People made millions off of pressuring school districts to adopt curricula that they had a financial stake in. The IG is considering criminal charges.</p>
<p>Back on the OP, a middle school near here discontinued 8th grade graduation and most awards as the demographic changed, and the school eventually became Title I. I’ve been told by faculty that this is to prevent the parents from feeling closure on their children’s education before the HS diploma.</p>
<p>I’m glad you finally realized you were wrong. It happens to the best of us. It’s encouraging to know that there are still some things you have yet to learn. Have a good day!</p>
<p>Bizzare. Nowhere did I say that “standards based education” and “success for all” are anything like what you say they are and not what the experts say.</p>
<p>But I’m not going to participate in your partisan lil thread jack anymore. Say whatever you want about me.</p>
<p>Perhaps this will help. Note that Guskey references Bloom, with whom he had worked at UChicago on mastery learning as far back as the 1970’s. National standards have been the goal of many for a long, long time. To try to blame GWB for NCLB is exceedingly simplistic. There are both liberals and conservatives wedded to the idea, as I said before. Ted Kennedy recently (April) delivered a long speech backing the reauthorization of NCLB–his only gripe seems to be that he wants more funding. </p>
<p>its about the money, and Bush hasn’t wanted to fund NCLB, so talk is big, but putting the $$ behind it is quite something else, and for the last several years, the republicans have igonored education, unless, of course its Christian based</p>
<p>The ideas may be fine, but unless you pay for HH, its all just talk</p>
<p>And if you think its a gripe to ask for money for education, ah, how bad of TK</p>
<p>Constance Weaver was way ahead of her time. She’s been writing for years about how Reading First officials have been pushing rote decoding programs in which they personally have a financial stake over the balanced literacy approaches that have better long term results. It’s good to know that now that there’s real oversight of the executive branch, criminal charges may finally result from all this.</p>
<p>In my entire school year I never got recognized for achievement. Of course, that may be because my achievements weren’t the kind a school would care to recognize unless in a yearbook in Kansas or Colorado.</p>