Does anyone know if Whitman Middle School made AYP this year? it Failed to make ayp for the last 5 years. I wonder when FCPS will release the sol score. Anyone know why they take so long since they took the test online?

Someone said this Thursday....

Maybe it takes that long to erase the wrong answers......

Whitman MS did not make AYP. You can see data on the VA DOE website.

Don't expect Jack Dale or Dan Storck to deliver any bad news in this school district. We only talk about happy things here.

@Negative

That was funny!

Just want to put out there that FCPS as a whole did not make AYP this year for the 2010-2011 school year.

Ahem: http://commweb.fcps.edu/newsreleases/newsrelease.cfm?newsid=1508

Note the last table on the page.

Parentg Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> I wonder when FCPS will release the sol
> score. Anyone know why they take so long since
> they took the test online?

According to FCPS, Virginia is the one to mail out the scores.

How can you tell how many kids at a school didn't take the SOLs?

stats Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> How can you tell how many kids at a school didn't
> take the SOLs?


speaking of the devil 29% of schools didn't make ayp

Now we know why Dale and The SB are so anxious to get retakes for kids who fail and waivers from The NCLB accountability standards.

He wants kids to be held accountable-but he doesn't like to be judged.

What was posted by Parental Opinion was LAST YEARS scores. This years have not yet been released to the public- they supposedly are being released tomorrow by Dale. Only staff of FCPS has access to this year's scores as of today.

On the VA DOE website you can pull up each school-summary only- and see if they made AYP for 2010-11.

Hey Liz, Wow, we did it ALL without help.

FU FCPS.

I am just kidding America.

You know I love you.

From,

Kids who know better!

FCPS Pass Rates on Virginia SOLs Remain High
http://www.fairfax.daily-monitor.com/fcps-pass-rates-on-virginia-sols-remain-high/6680/

Students in Fairfax County Public Schools (FCPS) continue to pass the Virginia Standards of Learning (SOL) tests at a high rate, according to data released today by the Virginia Department of Education. Ninety-two percent of FCPS students passed mathematics (Attachment 1), and 93 percent passed reading (Attachment 1). FCPS Superintendent Jack D. Dale notes that the school system’s emphasis on challenging each child to reach his or her full potential is producing strong results.

“Fairfax County Public Schools no longer considers adequate yearly progress (AYP) a true measure of our students’ achievement.” said Dale. “Instead, we are focused on how much students in every subgroup are achieving from year to year, using SOL tests, among other assessments.”

Mathematics scores in all subgroups have risen significantly during the last five years. Between 2007 and 2011, the percentage of Black students passing in mathematics has risen from 67 percent to 83 percent. During that same time period, the passing percentage for Hispanic students has risen from 68 percent to 85 percent; for students with disabilities from 61 percent to 81 percent; and for students with limited English proficiency from 72 percent to 86 percent. (Graph 1)

The same pattern of achievement can be seen in reading performance. In the last five years, the pass rate for Black students rose from 75 percent to 87 percent; for Hispanic students, from 69 percent to 86 percent; for students with disabilities, from 66 percent to 85 percent; and for students with limited English proficiency, from 68 percent to 85 percent. (Graph 2)

FCPS focuses on rigorous individualized learning and narrowing achievement gaps. To ensure transparency and clarity in communicating SOL results to students, parents, teachers, administrators, and the community, FCPS has created a simple graphic summary for SOL results (Attachment 1). This at-a-glance, one-page summary shows the percentage of students—including various subgroups of students—who passed SOLs in mathematics and in reading for the past three years. The goal is for all students to score in the top 90-100 percent passing performance band. Viewers of this summary can quickly determine passing percentages, trends, and patterns over the past three years.

During the last three years, the achievement gap between Black and White students in mathematics has narrowed from 15 to 13 percentage points and the Hispanic-white achievement gap has lessened from 16 to 11 percentage points. In reading, the achievement gap between Black and White students decreased from 13 to 10 percentage points, while the White-Hispanic gap still hovers around 10 percentage points.

The No Child Left Behind Law is actually leaving children behind. The numbers are far too drasticly increased for any school system to be able to keep up. All that matters is that nnumbers Are going up. Do more research before bashing the school system.. I am happy to see a few educated posts on here :)

Some schools' scores really went waaayyyyy down.

Baileys Elem in Falls Church:

Hispanic English pass rate went from 92% to 75%

FRM English pass rate went from 92% to 78%

15 to 20 percentage points move is brutal. If these swings were on the upside-they would be doing an investigation on possible cheating-like Atlanta and DC.

There is NO logical explanation why your scores drop that much in one year.

Let's be honest....each year, the white school age population decreases and the school system gets a little worse as it becomes filled with Central and South American immigrants and American blacks. With some exceptions,even the dumbest white kids can outscore these people.

Instead of giving kids a REAL education, teachers and schools waste a bunch of time on this bullsh*t........

On a related note:

White House plans key change to No Child Left Behind
State superintendent applauds education secretary, says ‘relief is necessary’
by holly hobbs, Staff Writer More News
http://www.fairfaxtimes.com/article/20110812/NEWS/708129672/white-house-plans-key-change-to-no-child-left-behind&template=fairfaxTimes

White House officials said Monday they are no longer waiting on Congress to pass reforms on the No Child Left Behind Act, which was approved during President George W. Bush’s administration.

U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan announced a key change in the 2001 law that would allow states greater flexibility in reaching higher performance standards, he said.

Virginia Superintendent of Public Instruction Patricia Wright responded positively to Duncan’s announcement.

“I applaud the secretary for recognizing that relief is necessary,” she said. “The work that Virginia is doing in the areas of teacher and principal evaluation, longitudinal data systems, growth measures, college- and career-ready standards and school improvement will serve us well in seeking approval of an alternative federal accountability plan.”

Fairfax County Public Schools spokesman Paul Regnier said it was too early to comment on how the changes would affect the school system.

The flexibility would be granted to states that already have created their own testing and accountability programs. States would apply for the flexibility.

“Each state will be able to submit a comprehensive state-specific accountability proposal for peer review based on Secretary Duncan’s reform requirements,” Wright said.

No details are available about where states would apply to or what the deadline is, but Wright said details of the reform requirements will be released in September.

“We need to be tight on goals but loose on the means to get there. Unfortunately, No Child Left Behind got that backward,” Duncan said. “We are hoping every single state will apply for this flexibility … but the bar will be high for states to apply.”

The goal of changing No Child Left Behind is to lift the benchmark requirements that label some schools failures even though their students are making progress toward higher academic achievement, Duncan said.

Last year, about 38,000 of the 100,000 public schools tested nationwide did not meet the testing threshold under No Child Left Behind, according to the U.S. Department of Education. Duncan projected the number of schools labeled failures would swell to 80,000 this year if no changes were made to the act.

Under the act, schools test to meet Adequate Yearly Progress, an annual percent increase in the passing rates. This year it was 5 percent, according to the Virginia Department of Education.

This means that if 86 percent of students meet AYP one year, 91 percent must meet the requirement the next.

Educators have long complained that at some point schools would max out on the percentage of passing students and be left with nowhere to go. Virginia asked for a waiver of the requirement last year, but was denied its request. Under the No Child Left Behind accountability rule, 100 percent of students must pass math and reading proficiency tests by 2014.

“We do not want to over-test students, but we absolutely want to track progress,” Duncan said.

Annual testing — such as Standards of Learning exams given in Virginia — still will be administered as a means of tracking progress, he said.

Accompanying Duncan during Monday’s announcement was Melody Barnes, chairwoman of the White House Domestic Policy Council, who said Congress has struggled to pass reforms to No Child Left Behind for four years.

“Here we are, just a few weeks before the beginning of the school year … and we’ve passed the deadline the president put forth [for changes to No Child Left Behind],” she said. “We are stuck with the labels No Child Left Behind gave us.”

Details on the changes will be hammered out in the next few weeks, she said, adding final details will be announced in September.

The waiver would be granted to states for testing administered in 2011-12. Ratings for that test year are issued under the 2012-13 school year.

Fairfax County and most state school systems fail to meet AYP
State superintendent says failure is in the federal accountability model
by holly Hobbs, Staff Writer More News
http://www.fairfaxtimes.com/article/20110811/NEWS/708119778/1076/Rocknoceros-finds-its-niche/Fairfax-County-and-most-state-school-systems-fail-to-meet-AYP&template=fairfaxTimes

School progress ratings released Thursday show a dramatic shift from the marks state public schools received last year.

Known as Adequate Yearly Progress, the ratings are part of the federal gauge that marks the percent of academic progress within a school, and is part of the 2001 No Child Left Behind Act. Progress is tracked through Standards of Learning exams given each year.

To meet AYP this year, more than 86 percent of students in a school, school division and the state must have passed Standards of Learning exams in reading and 85 percent must have passed in mathematics.

Last year, schools had to meet proficiency benchmarks of 81 percent in reading and 79 percent in math.

Under last year’s benchmarks, when less than 5 percent of state schools failed to meet AYP, this year’s proficiency requirements show 61 percent, or 1,129, of the 1,839 public schools in the state failed.

Similarly, while 15 school divisions statewide failed to meet the benchmark last year, this year only four of the state’s 132 school divisions were able to meet AYP.

The four divisions Highland County, Lexington, Norton and West Point are small school systems that met or exceeded benchmarks.

“Accountability is not advanced by arbitrary rules and benchmarks that misidentify schools,” State Superintendent of Public Instruction Patricia I. Wright said. “In just three years, Virginia schools will have to have 100 percent pass rates in both reading and mathematics — and for all student subgroups — to make AYP under the current system … While this is a laudable goal — and one we must continue to strive toward — it is not a basis for a workable accountability system.”

Wright said during the coming weeks she plans to meet with the state board to create a new model for measuring yearly progress within schools, school systems and the state.

Fairfax County Public Schools, which traditionally has passed AYP, failed to show enough improvement in math and English proficiencies to meet this year’s benchmarks. AYP ratings are based on test scores from the last school year; so the 2011-12 AYP ratings are based on Standards of Learning test scores from exams administer during the 2010-11 school year.

About half the schools 94 out of the 190 listed by the state failed to meet AYP. Another 94 met AYP according to the state; results from two schools were not yet reported.

Last year, 72 percent, or 137, Fairfax County public schools passed the benchmark, while 28 percent, or 53, of the 190 schools reporting failed.

“As the state pointed out, it’s not really a great measure,” Fairfax schools spokesman Paul Regnier said of AYP.

“Fairfax County Public Schools no longer considers Adequate Yearly Progress a true measure of our students’ achievement. Instead, we are focused on how much students in every subgroup are achieving from year to year, using SOL tests, among other assessments," Superintendent Jack D. Dale said in a statement.

Educators have long complained AYP benchmarks make no allowances for shifts in populations or high percentages of at-risk students, nor does it take into account the number of students who speak languages other than English.

This is the second consecutive year Virginia has not made AYP, according to the Virginia Department of Education.

Although there are no sanctions against most of the schools in Fairfax County, several schools have been called on to develop or revise an improvement plan to address English and/or math proficiencies.

Two schools, Woodlawn and Bucknell elementary schools in Alexandria, were called on to allow students to attend other schools because of their AYP results this year and in previous years.

By the numbers

State school divisions

Total number: 132

Made AYP: 4 (3 percent)

Did not make AYP: 128 (97 percent)


Public schools statewide

Total number: 1,839*

Made AYP: 697 (38 percent)

Did not make AYP: 1,129 (61 percent)

*Eight schools ratings have not been determined. Five schools were new.


Fairfax County Public Schools

Total number: 190

Made AYP: 94 (49 percent)

Fid not make AYP: 94 (49 percent)

Not reported: 2

Source: Virginia Department of Education

Does anyone know when the parents can expect the SOL results in the mail. My 3rd grade son took them for the first time! We are all anxious. What are the resources employed for the average child to be challenged and motivated? Any comments are appreciated.

Laura Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Does anyone know when the parents can expect the
> SOL results in the mail. My 3rd grade son took
> them for the first time! We are all anxious.
> What are the resources employed for the average
> child to be challenged and motivated? Any comments
> are appreciated.

You will receive the scores mid-late August. So basically, any time now. They always are sent home just before school starts.

I'm not sure what you are asking with your second question. Each teacher should differentiate in order to challenge the students. So, if you are asking how your child will be challenged within the classroom, that is something you will want to ask of his fourth grade teacher.

Parents-

Please understand that the pass rates on SOLs is very low. Do not do cartwheels becaus eyour kid passes or even is "advanced" on these tests.

They have been dumbed down to the point of being meaningless.

The pass rate on 3rd grade reading SOL is 66%.

The pass rate on 3rd grade math SOL is 70%.

So when Jack Dale and The School Board are high fiving eachother over the fact that 85% of our kids are "passing the SOLs, what they mean is that 85% are scoring a 66% or better.

Hardly worth opening a bottle of bubbly over.

FCPS mails out the scores and individual schools have copies of the scores. I think all parents should call and request the scores. It is a ridiculous ammount of time. Some children received them in their report cards in neighboring counties.

Someone around here said Virginia mails out the scores...out of FCPS hands.

I know a family in PW County. Their elem. aged daughter brought her scores home with her report card. At this point, we don't have ours. May as well wait and send them home when school starts and save the postage.

tgbwc Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> I know a family in PW County. Their elem. aged
> daughter brought her scores home with her report
> card.

My middle school daughter brought her scores home as well fairly soon after taking the tests but they were "unofficial" (apparently hand-checked tests by teachers, etc).

We're still waiting for the "official" scores.

I don't brag so I can only say unless you are a spic your child will do great. This is what a teacher told me. Wink, wink.

free fall Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------

>
> There is NO logical explanation why your scores
> drop that much in one year.


Sure there is. Atlanta and DC cheating scandals have teachers thinking twice about cheating parties. I agree there is no good explanation, but there is a logical explanation.

Man, all this testing added to our school system thanks to No Child Left Behind Act is really going to screw over the nigs, spics and muslimes especially.

People with low IQs tend to really struggle with tests.

And teachers hate the tests because if they get burdended with a bunch of nigs, spics and muslimes, everyone blames the teacher and school when their shitty test scores come in because they're too afraid to admit the obvios - that nigs, spics and muslimes are fucking retarded.

If your school is mostly White and East Asian, then you better pass those tests or you're some genetic garbage (aka an obama supporter).

These tests have nothing to do with IQ. They are achievement tests (based on the curriculum). They are not supposed to measure a high standard---just a minimum standard for the course. There should be high pass rates (but, of course nobody is going to get to 100%). Since 15% of the population is SpEd and another 30% is ESOL, we are probably doing well with the percentages we have attained here in FFX. I will admit that the huge decline in scores reported above is perplexing.

> ...nobody is going to get to 100%...

I assume you meant "no school is..." because (yay!) my kid got a 600 in math.

F