Tuesday Open Thread
Interesting six-part series on math in the NY Times, Me, Myself and Math.
Oh those kids! Looks like LA high school students found it quite easy to hack into their new school-issued iPads.
One week after students started receiving their iPads, students attending at least three Los Angeles high schools had figured out how to disarm a built-in security lock that was supposed to limit what they could do with the devices. This freed them to use the iPads to surf the Internet, send tweets, socialize on Facebook, stream music through Pandora, and who knows what else besides homework and school assignments.
Student access to social networks and tweets will of course invalidate any of the online exams.
All the students had to do to trick the system was to delete their personal profile information and then they were free to use the iPads any way they wanted to.
Last Growth Boundaries meeting at Ballard tonight. Anyone going?
Update:
Stephan Blanford, who would represent the Central region and who has a child at Beacon Hill, was not at the Meany meeting last night. Sad because he missed a good opportunity.
I actually haven't seen Mr. Blanford at many events. Let me know if anyone sees him at the Ballard event.
What's on your mind?
Oh those kids! Looks like LA high school students found it quite easy to hack into their new school-issued iPads.
One week after students started receiving their iPads, students attending at least three Los Angeles high schools had figured out how to disarm a built-in security lock that was supposed to limit what they could do with the devices. This freed them to use the iPads to surf the Internet, send tweets, socialize on Facebook, stream music through Pandora, and who knows what else besides homework and school assignments.
Student access to social networks and tweets will of course invalidate any of the online exams.
All the students had to do to trick the system was to delete their personal profile information and then they were free to use the iPads any way they wanted to.
Last Growth Boundaries meeting at Ballard tonight. Anyone going?
Update:
Stephan Blanford, who would represent the Central region and who has a child at Beacon Hill, was not at the Meany meeting last night. Sad because he missed a good opportunity.
I actually haven't seen Mr. Blanford at many events. Let me know if anyone sees him at the Ballard event.
What's on your mind?
Comments
I have read how teachers are supposed to use the results as guides to appropriate instruction. Do any GenEd or SpEd teachers think Fall session MAP scores not just below or above norms, but beyond the K-11 range are useful for determining instruction level? Do they regard a score like that as "fluke"?
I thought the idea was to show growth throughout the year. The kid is 96% likely to have a lower score if he's tested in the Spring.
He's not "gifted", Spectrum or APP, although he usually takes one ALO class a year (not Language Arts).
I didn't opt out of having him do MAP tests last year because I figure the MAP scores are just junk data or "noise", but that might be my bias because my kid's Reading MAP scores are too scattered to present meaningful data.
The responses that would make most sense to me would be something like "we know inconsistent results are too scattered to present meaningful data, we just teach as we know best" or "we're primarily looking for repeat below-norm scores so the child's skill levels can be identified for appropriate interventions."
The response that would make least sense to me is that those inconsistent scores are being used to evaluate the educator's effectiveness over the course of a year, when the educator has nothing to do with how my child chooses to guess on computerizes, multiple-choice tests or how much time he takes on them. My kid usually goes as fast as possible, but this time he chose to take as much time as he was allowed. I know time each child takes on the test isn't factored into results.
I know you've already emailed the teacher, but I'd recommend that you schedule a meeting with the teacher and discuss it in person.
My K kid was given a very short evaluation and placed in a group in which she's already getting bored. I'm going to schedule a meeting to discuss moving her up. I'm still framing my argument because I want it to be about my daughter and what she needs rather than the lameness of the test and how ineffective the evaluation was. I worry the latter would cause the teacher to get defensive while the former would put us all on the same side.
Good luck!
One question- did he recently start taking the older test? Isn't it third grade when the test changes? I thought generally scores go down once when that happens, but it may also have moved up the ceiling.
-sleeper
The Test of the Common Core
The article was related to Common Core, but the same could be asked of MAP scores. MAP tests
are not correlated to specific grade level content as covered by SPS, but are measuring general reading level related to a nationally normed set of peers. That's it. And once the reading MAP score hits 245, your child has hit the ceiling. Sure, students can get higher scores, but the differences are not statistically significant at that point.
We have not found that fall MAP scores have changed the instructional plan for our children. If you want your child to be more challenged in math, go to Math-n-Stuff and buy some Singapore workbooks. Seriously. If your child is not in Spectrum or APP, there are no guarantees of accelerated math. Even if your child is working at grade level, Singapore workbooks will provide more solid math coverage than EDM. There's not much to lose. Just a few pages a night can do wonders. After working with your child at home, perhaps you can go back to the teacher/principal with evidence that another math placement would be appropriate.
good luck
McClure Parent
I've been trying out khan academy as well. So far this year its working pretty well. We do just 5 minutes or so waiting for the bus and its fairly easy to pick which content to work on. This does require some parent involvement to discuss new concepts. In the recent updates they've added mastery quizzes which makes it easier to "level up" to the appropriate material.
If you're just looking for enrichment I'd also recommend the math4love programs. http://mathforlove.com/
I hope this is useful,
Ben
The real problem is when there are three sections of a class totaling 90 students, but 45 of them are in one section. That's a scheduling problem that will not get the school a new teacher. If that's the case, working with the counselor/teachers/principal to resolve scheduling is the only hope.
It's concerning that individual schools seem to make up placements - is there no consistent guideline from the district? One test as placement - with no opportunity for changes - seems crazy.
mathy parent
EdVoter
Christina, that is quite an interesting story and I believe you should send it to the Board. I honestly don't know what to make of it and frankly, I'd be surprised if ANYONE in the district could give you an accurate idea of what it means. That said, I'll bet your child's teacher could tell you much more just based on schoolwork and classroom participation.
Karen - all of you - you're killing me. This is all very sad. You don't know how much this relates to my struggles for my son. It is very difficult to send a child to school and have them come home feeling this way. You can, of course, work with him but the real time is at school. If you have spoken to the teacher and the principal, go to the Executive Director. Buy a workbook is not an answer. (I'd also tell you to consider private testing - low-cost if you are F/RL - and get him into a program where they will challenge him.)
McClure, yes Oct 1 is the final count. I don't know that you will get more help; did your principal advocate for more? Not a good situation.
Anonymous, sorry I have to delete your comment. I have actually found these boundary meetings interesting. Not because staff is giving good information and answering questions (please) BUT because of the volume of truly great ideas (and not just me, me. me). Parents are trying to offer suggestions and solutions.
*AL forms are due Oct. 3, so there is still time to apply for next year*
good luck
The "Walk the Boundaries" project feedback is due by 11 PM today!
This is your last day to submit physical boundary-related comments!
Follow the links to instructions and maps here: http://bit.ly/GrowthBoundaries
- JR Mom
Unfortunately for him, I was unaware of how the walk-to-math placement worked at our neighborhood school. If, like a few parents in the know, I would have drilled him for a half hour/day for a week or so before school started, he would have done better on the 10 question placement test! If I would have mentioned to his teachers how great he was at math, he probably would have gotten in that class. Arrghhhh.
Melissa, you have no idea how bad the "bullying" is with the walk-to-math. A MOM(!) walked up to my kid on curriculum night and asked what class my son was in (I was unaware they had taken a placement test or already determined where the kids were going). He responded, I do walk-to-math. She said, oh, who's your teacher? When he answered, she said, oh, too bad, ****** was hoping he'd have a buddy in his second grade math class. And, on she and her kid went to the next 1st grader to crush their little ego while inflating her own. All the kids ask each other what grade math they are in at recess.
To show how bad this placement method is, on curriculum night, the math specialist told the 3rd grade parents who had kids in the 4th grade math that it was unacceptable that they were counting on their fingers. Um, why are they in that class?!? Meanwhile, there are kids bored to tears in 3rd grade math that can't move up due to lack of space or lack of teacher recommendation that they should be in there.
I always hated sending my other kid to APP. I felt that any kid who wanted to try should be able to and exited if they couldn't keep up with the work. Now, I am happy to be there since there is no bullying related to ability.
I feel so bad for my little guy.
I know walk-to-math works well at some schools. How do those schools handle appropriate placement, esp. in primary grades? This is something I've wondered about.
-H
I agree (a lot) that buy a workbook isn't a great answer, and we should have better ones. But also it's a lot to ask a family to move schools if all that is wrong is the math placement is one year off (seems like you also have some class A jerk parents, but if you find a school with zero jerks of any stripe...please invite me to visit your fairyland utopia). I do think the Singapore books are excellent, and credit the mathforlove people with turning one of my children's attitude about math 180 degrees.
-sleeper
I am sorry you are having to deal with this!
-sleeper
The Washington State standards for kindergarten only requires students to recognize and read numbers from 0-31, fluently add up to 5, order numbers from 1-10, and recognizing patterns. These are of course minimum standards but as you can see are not at all rigorous.
As a teacher who taught the advanced math for 1st graders in a school that does Walk-to-Math, I've also noticed that kids who are early readers tend to have a better chance of placement. It may be that the kids are able to read the directions on their own and are perceived as quicker with answers. For better or for worse, reading is king in the primary grades.
The principal should be asked to explain her/his decisions and rationale. Beyond that, be glad that your student is in a class that you want him/her to be in, and be grateful that a bargaining unit employee is willing to have a big class, as opposed to camping those extra kids in another elective.
Madrona 6-8 students living on Capitol Hill would go to Washington and Meany. There would be room.
Madrona K-8 is more convenient to mass transit then many realize, as it hugs the east side of the CD, with major arterials nearby. Fine for high school commuting. It also has a history of attracting kids from outside the area. Not too long ago a substantial portion of the population was bused from South Seattle and even Renton.
I want World School to have a permanent great facility. Madrona K-8 is a newer building. TT Minor would get less $$ put into a re-open as it already operated as a grade school. That money would be diverted to Madrona upgrades to host high school classes.
Also, the Central District already has TOPS K8, so the larger area would not be losing that type of school option by converting Madrona K8. Actually,I believe that TOPS already serves many Madrona-area families.
We are all so jammed at the seams, and Madrona K8 has struggled for so long to fill its building - it seems like a win for the community as a whole to consider this. Also, the schools to which current Madrona elementary kids would be reassigned - McGilvra etc., have good reputations so although there is no denying there would be an impact on those students, the option for a strong education, not far from their current school, would remain.
Neighbor Mom
Neighbor Mom
Sleeper, Thanks for the heads-up on which workbooks to buy. I was confused looking online. Also, I completely agree! Why should the kids and parents know what grade level math they are doing? They should just feel confident their child is in the right class.
H- My friend has great things to say about her kid's walk-to-math program. Kids and parents (although they could probably figure it out) don't know what grade level math they are doing. They instead go to red, orange, purple or green math. Again, I am sure some parents figure it out, but it would be less obvious. Also, this school uses many more data points and retests kids twice a year, every year.
X-McClure
-curious parent
That's an interesting questuon. Is the student enrolled in their attendance area school? Would the student be home-schooled during that time?
If you're ex then you are not there this year, correct? Maybe more?
The school has experienced a nice growth spurt and there are no 17 student classes, Spectrum or otherwise. Many (most?) classes are quite full and we're looking forward to getting more staff.
I'm not sure how long you've been gone, or what the circumstances were surrounding your departure, but your info isn't accurate and comes off as sour grapes.
-current Maverick
Artwood way of life to end as school’s back in
http://o.seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2021941302_artwoodclosingxml.html
Ann D.
----
Here is a brief piece from CIO magazine regarding the LA USD iPad brouhaha:
What's Behind the iPad Hack at Los Angeles High Schools?
http://m.cio.com/article/740746/What_s_Behind_the_iPad_Hack_at_Los_Angeles_High_Schools_?utm_campaign=sflow_tweet&mm_ref=http%3A%2F%2Ft.co%2FvWEUk9KW7c
Ann D.
Before there was a capacity issue, there was ALWAYS the issue of too many old buildings (and I mean more than 50 years old) AND too little maintenance (especially preventative).
All the hand-wringing from various superintendents and Boards over this and now - coupled with the capacity issues - the chickens have come home to roost. (with very little space to do so)
All the classes at McClure are around 30 this year - including Spectrum (my child is already in those classes). The enrollment has jumped quite a bit more than expected so staffing was short.
Hoping to hear soon about more staff to alleviate the issue.
McClure Parent
-Muir Mom
Melissa Westbrook said...
And that is a good and positive note with which to end this discussion.
I'll let you know what the police report says and any updates.
10/2/13, 2:17 PM
So this is the policy now? Comments are closed down whenever you decide we're done? ( <- Sincere question.)
I'm sure we will return to this subject. President Smith-Blum spoke about it at tonight's Board meeting.
Please apply, then let us know you did via this blog and citizens, parents, etc., can write to district to tell them we both expect AND demand you three are on it if the task force's findings are to have legitimacy.
Thank you for stepping up. I, we, are grateful.
Signed: PLEASE
If you want to attend, I recommend you confirm the location with Wyking Garrett. (The district notified the task force members that they were required to vacate the building by September 27th.)
Wyking
Secondary schools are funded at 1:32 ratio. Gen-ed classes at McClure usually run around 40, and yes, there are classes of around 40 still. If the average is 30, then there won't be a lot of new teachers coming your way. The last principal made the problem much worse by scheduling teachers for things that are questionable as middle school classes: yearbook, ASB, WEB. (those things should be MOST offerings, esp in a small school) In that case, the teacher's contract required an extra prep period with 0 students. Get a few extra periods with 0 students, and you really have to jack up the class size somewhere. That all was completely an administrative decision - hopefully it will be a lot better with a new leadership.
X-McClure