Wide disparity in HSA performance not mentioned by MCPS Superintendent - Washington DC gifted education | Examiner.com

Wide disparity in HSA performance not mentioned by MCPS Superintendent - Washington DC gifted education | Examiner.com

WOW!!  It sounds a lot like Lee's Summit to me.  Focus on the positive.   Ignore or lie about the negative.

On November 11, the Superintendent of Montgomery County Public Schools (MCPS) Joshua Starr delivered the 2013 State of the Schools address.
Starr began the second State of the School address of his tenure by stating that more than 151,000 children receive a “world-class education each and every day,” in Maryland’s largest school system.
Among the achievements of the district that he singled out for mention was that more than 90 percent of the district’s students were reading at grade level by the end of kindergarten. He did not mention that in the 2013 state administered High School Assessments (HSAs) in English, more than 50% of students in schools clustered in the wealthier parts of the county scored “Advanced” while only approximately 10% of students at Wheaton High School scored at the same level.
Starr asserted that “More than half of our graduates earned a college-ready score on at least one Advanced Placement exam,” while neglecting to mentioning the fact that the percentages of students scoring “advanced” on the Algebra HSAs in the county high schools ranged from nearly 80% to a low of less than 10%. The range in the scores of students scoring “Advanced” in English and in Algebra spanned nearly seventy percentage points.
Touching on a familiar theme in the county, Starr told the audience of about 750 that hope is “the engine of innovation.” He insisted that MCPS “set clear expectations for our students and staff, create a supportive environment that allows for success, and then hold ourselves accountable for that success.” There was scant detail on how the school system with a budget of $2.23 billion for the 2014 fiscal year holds itself accountable.
The superintendent also touted the embrace of project based learning, without mentioning the fact that the new curriculum being developed by the school system and marketed through Pearson shows little clear evidence of embedded project based learning.
Touching on technology, Starr asserted “If you want to know how to calculate the circumference of a circle or study the Battle of Baltimore, the answers are right at your fingertips, on your phone or tablet!” That did not mean, he cautioned, that he was “saying that technology replaces a teacher—far from it—but the democratization of information is fundamentally shifting the relationship between the teacher, the student, and the content.” He failed to mention tangible examples of the changing relationships.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Missouri Schools - The Washington Post

Missouri Schools - The Washington Post Some schools brag about their high passing rates on AP or IB, meaning the percentage of test-takers who scored 3, 4 or 5 on the 5-point AP exam or 4, 5, 6 or 7 on the 7-point IB exam. Passing scores make students eligible for credit at many colleges and universities. I decided not to count passing rates in this way because I found that many high schools kept those rates artificially high by allowing only top students to take the courses. AP, IB and AICE are important because they give average students a chance to experience the trauma of heavy college reading lists and long, analytical college examinations. Research has found that even low-performing students who got a 2 on an AP test did significantly better in college than similar students who did not take AP. On the list, we also give readers a sense of how well each school’s students are doing on the tests by posting the Equity and Excellence rate, which is the percentage of all graduating s
Read more

My Letter Requesting To Become A Board Member

Sherri R. Tucker 1200 SE London Way Lee’s Summit, MO   64081 816-554-3017 autism@kc.rr.com Lee’s Summit R-7 School District C/o Linda Ismert, Board Secretary Stansberry Leadership Center 301 NE Tudor Road Lee’s Summit, MO   64086 Ms Ismert I would like to submit my name for the position on the Lee’s Summit R-7 School Board.   As you know, I have expressed an interest in being on the school board in the past.   On my first attempt I only lost by 2% which would indicate that the voters have an interest in me being on the board as well.   I would think that the voters’ wishes would be taken into consideration. I have a strong relationship with many of the districts’ families and I can help to bridge the gap between them and the district.   I understand the commitment to the time and energy required each week for meetings, phone calls, conversations, visits to schools, and professional development seminars and workshops.   I already do that with the families that I work with and can c
Read more

School Board Candidates

I am attempting to find information on the school board candidates.  It has been much easier in the past.  This year it has been more difficult.  Susan D. Coffman Susan Coffman has served as the Outreach Program Coordinator and Finance Officer for Lee’s Summit CARES since 2008. She has been a mayor-appointed representative to the Human Services Advisory Board, facilitated alcohol retailer trainings, organized the annual Holly Festival with the DARE program, managed bookkeeping and accounting, and served as the community liaison between LS CARES and local business, universities and the cities.  Coffman’s financial background includes work as a customer support specialist at Jack Henry & Associates Inc. for 11 years and assistant vice president and customer support specialist at Merchants Bank for 17 years.  Her community activities include serving on the Human Services Advisory Board, Paradise Park Advisory Board, Lee’s Summit Social Services Board, former treasurer of Rotary C
Read more