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Sumus no longer primi: State downgrades Boston Latin rating because 13 kids opted out of MCAS replacement test
By adamg on Mon, 09/26/2016 - 10:30am
UPDATE: Boston Latin Academy also dropped to Level 2 because of the number of kids who opted out. BPS to appeal the downgrades.
The Herald reports Mayor Walsh is outraged over the state ranking system because, come on, Boston Latin is still an elite school even if the state now considers it just Level 2 instead of Level 1 because too many kids opted out of a pilot run of the new PARCC test (the Clap School also got hit).
In immediate terms, we don't have to worry about the state beginning to babble about taking over BLS (that only happens when a school descends to Level 4), but it does mean BLS and the Clap now get on a state naughty list.
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Comments
Seems prudent
To suspend the use of PARCC in all Boston schools until the matter is resolved.
Read the linked article
Is should be noted that Roger Clapp and Boston Latin both participated in a pilot exam. They're essentially being penalized during a trial run. Regardless of how the students performed who opted in, these schools are being downgraded for too high numbers of opt outs, not failing grades. Let's be clear here, the state is ruining the reputation of two wonderful schools because not enough people participated in an experimental run. I'm sure if these parents or schools had known this was a potential outcome they would've pushed participation a little harder. I'd like to hear about the grades of the students who took the test.
Gets worse
The trial was a failure. PARCC is being abandoned nationally and here in MA.
Chester, the commissioner, pushed PARCC in MA because he was on the PARCC committee. He is losing the battle because PARCC is a dud and has very little correlation with academic readiness.
The DESE is punishing schools because parents opted out of a frivolous boondoggle.
Ruining the reputation?
In small areas of Boston, maybe. And in households where Being The Best of Everything is self-important for self-esteem, perhaps.
Yeah, it is stupid and unfair. Rest assured that outside of your own special head, hardly anyone else could care less.
Science MCAS
Back when my kids were at BLS, they used to take a science MCAS test in the 8th grade when science was not offered as a subject in that grade (due to the requirement of two ELA classes and the addition of a foreign language).
Although it was optional and not a requirement for graduation at that time, the BLS 8th graders would take the test and pass it without too much difficulty. As much as I do believe in standards, that's when I started questioning this whole testing craziness.
Today's parents, I think, are less likely to just go along with it.
Yeah, but just because they
Yeah, but just because they aren't taking Science that year doesn't mean that don't have to know any science
Yes, but...
The point is that the science 8th grade MCAS was based on 8th grade curriculum that the students weren't taught because they had no science class in the 8th grade.
The more things change
The more they stay the same. BPS, in its infinite wisdom, still doesn't believe that students at BLS need to have any science classes in eighth grade.
2016 test not a "trial run."
That was 2014. The 2015 and 2016 tests were considered state assessments. Districts chose either PARCC or MCAS.
Who cares what the state thinks about Boston Latin.
It only matters what Harvard thinks of the school.
And Harvard will think the same thing it always does
I'd be more concerned about schools that aren't as familiar with BLS - believe it or not, most BLS kids don't go to Harvard - be a shame if some kid applying to a non-traditional school west of Worcester had her chances affected because of this.
Clarification needed
non-traditional school west of Worcester could mean either Hampshire OR Bennington so it's not clear which one you mean.
What's the motivation for opting out of the PARC for a student (and more likely parent)? Some sort of stand against testing? We do need to evaluate how students and schools are performing somehow, don't we?
Actually, I was thinking even more west (and east) than that
Because I suspect most colleges in New England are aware of BLS.
Although I found it kind of striking how many BLS graduates this year stayed in New England (I say this year because I'm more familiar with the class of 2016 than past ones), there were a number of kids who wound up applying to and going to schools way, way far away, including Nebraska and Alabama (and even Scotland, I think). I'd hate to think of a kid like that getting screwed just because of this test thing.
Also Adam...
A long time ago I worked in an admissions office at an Ivy league school (not in Boston). Applicants will send packets with "School Profiles" and in these profiles are stats on each school. Some of the most impressive stats are those of the previous schools graduating class and their attended colleges/GPAs/SATs.
BLS is so far ahead of everyone else in this category these new reports won't mean anything except for the few kids not taking the test (possibly).
PARCC place
The federal government set a threshold that 95% of every demographic had to take the state chosen standardized test-- PARCC-- or there will a consequence, which is set by the state.
DESE, which is headed by Mitchell Chester decided the consequence would be the state's rating of the school, Level 1 through 5, such a heavy hand!
When 6% if any demo opt out they "punish" all, as in mayors and people who brag about the state's school ratings. What's the rating based on beside avg test score? I don't know. This down grade does have a consequence when we get to level 4 schools however.
DESE is free to choose any consequence.
Mitchell Chester holds two positions at PARCC in addition to his job at the state.
College and university admission departments also like to see how students do in AP courses. It is a good indicator of how they will do in college level courses.
Hiding numbers Vaughn
If a kid has a A- average with some AP and Honors classes at a school like Boston Latin, but they don't have the testing skills to score in the top 98%, you may not be able to compete with other BLS students with similar GPA's but higher test scores. With many colleges not even requiring these tests now, parents are trying to hedge their bets, hoping the GPA alone is enough to get into some of these great schools.
Back when I was in High
Back when I was in High School, an out of state public magnet, we had people who objected in different ways. Some composed essays about how testing was tyranical. Another, wrote a book review of the Student Test Manual. I used Linear Algebra to solve math problems for no reason.
I would agree that in general, some testing is necessary, but given the choice of "choosing to not take the test" or "Choosing to take the test" when it has no impact on me as student, I would have been inclined to the former.
Careful Vaughn
The PARCC or MCAS or MCAS 2.0 don't evaluate how schools or teachers are performing. These tests only show what a student knows and can do within a certain margin of error. They don't really tell us how a school is performing or how a teacher is doing. I'm sure there are some pretty middle of the road teachers at BLS, but their test scores are incredible. It's hard to connect teacher or school quality to tests scores, especially at schools like BLS where kids already had to pass a difficult test to get in.
Major motivation
Mine opted out because it was Yet Another Goddamn Test to deal with.
MCAS. SAT. PSAT. ACT. BULLSHAT.
No I wouldn't worry about them either.
Colleges have their own formulas and rankings for schools. Boston Latin's reputation among the top 500-1000 schools in the country is impeccable. This is like a scratch on the license plate of a 100K car.
You might also impress them more if you included in your essay why you chose not to take the new exam.
Then again, if you have a bad GPA and skipped out on the new exam...you might have more explaining to do.
Ah, but you know
The likes of Michigan look at your GPA and scores on the admissions tests (I was going to say SAT, but I've heard the ACT is in vogue now) before looking at what a state says the quality of the student body is academically.
I would imagine that the likes of UVA to Pittsburg State (bonus points to the folks who know what state that's in) will still accept Latin kids the same as before.
The Gorillas?
Good football down there on the plains.
That's how I know them
If they weren't ranked, they would not exist to me.
As if we needed more evidence
As if we needed more evidence that the entire standardized testing regime is a racket that has little to do with actual education.....
Naw, I think we need more.
Naw, I think we need more. More and more and more and more. There's just not enough evidence!
List of words to ban
Every year some experts publish lists of words they'd like to ban. I'd like to nominate "outraged". It's way over-used, IMHO.
Also that the state using a pilot test as the basis of a ranking system is dumb.
But we shouldn't worry so much about rankings. They're kind of dumb, too.
Clap, not Clapp
Clap, not Clapp. (though I get that the Herald got it wrong first).
Fixed, thanks
Wish I could blame the Herald, but I would've made the mistake anyway.
wait till they
Dumb down the testing.
You think he's pissed of now. It will be a 3 or 4.
don't conflate classroom standards with admission assessments
If you assume testing is about merit, then tests are the best way to screen for most meritorious applicants. If you think testing is a great predictor of the wealth in the zip code you grew up in then testing about socio-economics and not merit. University of Maryland is doing some interesting research on this question.
Some specifics on the downgrades
This is from BPS (which, yes, is appealing):
Just shows how political and
Just shows how political and arbitrary standardized testing can be in the hands of state officials. Esp in this case as Mitchell Chester is on the governing board of PARCC. Don't be fooled--the name change to MCAS II or whatever means little.