Archive for the ‘Cloverly PTA News’ category

Variety Show

January 3rd, 2010

Variety Show information

Variety Show sign up flyer

Cloverly PTA concerns over grading system

December 21st, 2009

The following is a summary of the written feedback provided by parents at the December PTA meeting concerning the new grading and reporting system.  This information was then shared with the ORS team in charge of the new system at a meeting with Ms. Brunson following the forum the PTA held.  If you would like to become more involved with this issue, please contact the PTA Advocacy coordinator, Jenn Gruber at jenngruber@msn.com.


CLOVERLY PTA CONCERNS OVER GRADING SYSTEM

FEEDBACK FOR ORS TEAM

December 9, 2009

1.         Technical Concerns

Grade Calculations

  • The system is based on a possible high-score of “4.”  The computer does not recognize that some assignments have a maximum score of “3.”  Thus, assignments with only 3 possible points can negatively impact grades.
  • The grade book accepts scores ending in .5, which are then rounded up for the report card.  The overall grade for the subject is based on the average of the actual, non-rounded scores.  The result may be an overall grade which appears lower than it should, leading to confusion.

Trending – There is an overall lack of clarity concerning how grades are tabulated, in particular with trending, and how this type of system truly benefits all students.  Concerns also exist in regards to trending vs. averaging within the new system.

Challenges for teachers – Teachers were given a system but were not provided with the tools needed to implement the system effectively.  This leads to inconsistency in grading and frustration on the part of the teachers, who are trying to maintain continuity and appropriately represent students’ progress within the system.

Presentation of information – Any grading system that requires a full-page explanation for reading/interpreting the report card is problematic.  This system is not making grading/reporting any easier for parents.

2.         Impact of Grading System Outside of Our School

Magnet and Highly Gifted programs – Will scores earned within the new system be interpreted accurately?  How will students’ admission into magnet programs be impacted?

Middle school placement – How will scores be interpreted as students articulate to middle school?  How will class placement be impacted?

Interpretation outside of MCPS – How will students moving outside of MCPS or applying to private schools be evaluated?  How will MCPS ensure that students’ performance is communicated effectively to outside organizations?

3.         Impact on Students

Decreased Motivation – Students’ desire to do their best is lessened because they don’t see the need to try for the “4.”

Unclear expectations – Changes in grading system cause anxiety for students, especially 5th graders who will be moving back to letter grades next year.

Frustration with differing rubrics – Standards are not clear to students, especially whether maximum score might be a “3” or a “4.”

Conflicting messages – Students are asked to consolidate their thoughts for a BCR, but they are also told to extend their thoughts and make connections.  How will these two conflicting instructions impact  students in the future, especially on standardized tests where brevity is necessary?

4.         Parent Involvement

Interpretation of data – Complicated written format of report card does not accurately portray students’ progress.  Parents do not know whether to interpret a score of “3” as the best score possible, or whether opportunities for a “4” were given and not met.

Interpretation as a Pass/Fail System – Based on the wording of the general rubric, if a score of “3” is considered proficient and a “2” is not proficient, there is no room for flexibility.  The scores, therefore, are interpreted as “pass/fail,” a concept which appears to be in direct conflict with the goal of the system.

Time and effort required – Overall frustration results from the time-consuming nature of understanding student progress.

Feedback – How was parent feedback utilized in developing this system, and why isn’t MCPS meeting with parents directly to answer questions and respond to concerns?

News Channel 7 Visit to Cloverly ES

November 25th, 2009

Video Clip of Adam Caskey’s Visit to Cloverly ES- Aired on Channel 7
Cloverly ES on abc7 – Nov18,2009 7_23AM

Cloverly ES Ice Skating

October 30th, 2009

Cloverly ES Ice SkatingClick on the flier to view the PDF file

October Committee Chair Notes

October 13th, 2009
Hi Everyone,
Below is a list of announcements, etc. for the coming month:
Committee File Folders:  The committee file folder box is now located in our newly renovated PTA office, which is located on the right side of the second grade hallway, just before you get to the copy room.  This space is also now open for any PTA business you might need to attend to while at school.
Newsletter Submissions:  If you are interested in contributing an item to the November issue of PawPrints, please e-mail your submission to newsletter@cloverlypta.com, cc’ing kbillok@yahoo.com, by October 20th.  Please be sure to cc your contribution–we had a few submissions that were blocked by the newsletter inbox last month, and while we work to correct the problem, we want to make sure to not miss any newsletter items for our next issue.
Reimbursement InformationIf you need to be reimbursed for PTA expenses, please submit your request to Jill Wingard at 301-602-5594 / djwingard@verizon.net.   Requests for reimbursement from expenses from the first half of the school year will be accepted until January 15, 2010.

Fliers: Two notes on fliers from the front office~ 1) please provide the front office with extra copies of the fliers that you distribute so that they are available when parents request them, and 2)  if you would like to purchase paper to make brightly-colored copies for the PTA, please stick to shades of blue and purple.  These colors have been designated for the PTA to use.

PTA Meeting Committee Reports: The written committee announcements really helped us cut down our meeting time in October, so thank you to everyone who contributed!  Please forward any committee announcements for our November PTA meeting to Susan Quinn at cojana@verizon.net 24 hours before the PTA meeting (for November, that would be by 7pm on Tuesday, November 3rd)), regardless of whether or not you will be in attendance at the meeting.  These announcements will then be printed on the back of the meeting agenda for everyone to have a copy of, but will not be discussed unless someone has a question concerning one of them.  We request that the only oral committee reports that will be made at the meeting be those that involve group discussion, clarification that cannot be accomplished in written form, or a vote of some kind.

If you have any questions concerning these items, feel free to contact me at 301-384-4710 / kbillok@yahoo.com.  Have a great month!

All the best,
Kim