tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5284446320251611266.post4179757808971589868..comments2024-03-22T13:31:45.213-04:00Comments on HoCo Connect: Howard County MSA scores pose some questionsUnknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5284446320251611266.post-17160050725301797552012-08-13T10:43:51.025-04:002012-08-13T10:43:51.025-04:00Interesting comment. Teaching to the test has alw...Interesting comment. Teaching to the test has always been a controversial topic among educators. It is not surprising that it occurs because the evaluations of educators is probably tied to these test scores. You get what you reward.Hoco Connectnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5284446320251611266.post-39779501519453537682012-08-13T08:52:30.985-04:002012-08-13T08:52:30.985-04:00I am not an educator, but a parent, so my opinion ...I am not an educator, but a parent, so my opinion may not mean a thing to you. 3rd grade is when they start teaching to the test...it is actually called BCR (brief constructed response) University. The only thing that matters starting in 3rd grade are MSA test scores. Science, social studies, and true Math skills are ignored because it is so important that the test scores look good. In 3rd - 5th grade students are not actually reading more proficiently....just getting better at taking the test. Math scores drop so significantly in Middle School due to the lack of basic Math skills taught in Elementary school. Start taking advanced Math without knowing the basics and you have the perfect storm for failure...students who then need remedial math to succeed further. Howard County is just really good at teaching to the test and has a large ethnic diversity and families with lots of money to spend for education outside of school hours.<br />This is just my opinion as a keen parent and is more involved than can be spoken of in a comment section of a blog post.<br />Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com