MCPS isn't failing its kids
And honestly, that's the problem
I just finished my 20th year in education, all of which has been spent working in Montgomery County Public Schools. During this time, I have noticed a problem that has become quite common across the United States infecting MCPS: social promotion. It really isn’t just MCPS; the whole country is getting dumber. We are passing kids on without insisting they master the skills of previous levels, we are decreasing the standards for high school graduation, and we are doing nothing as a society to address the systemic problems that are causing this phenomenon, both inside of and outside of school.
It doesn't really take a lot to see the problem: just spend a little bit of time on /r/teachers and read any number of anecdotes from all over the country. But this is MCPS, a district that has prided itself on being the best of the best for at least 30 years (in spite of the fact that it's probably been about 20 and we’ve been resting on our laurels ever since).
Today, I’m going to take a look at how the school system has failed—and continues to fail-one student by allowing him to pass on to the next grade level without actually demonstrating any learning. This student is a real person whose story is known to me because, like many teachers, I talk to my colleagues and friends stories about the students we teach. This student will be starting high school in the fall at one of the Downcounty Consortium high schools, though I’m sure he is one of only hundreds—or even thousands—of kids in a similar situation. Let's call him J.
J is going to be in 9th grade. According to the MAP-M and MAP-R data collected during his last quarter in middle school, J is reading at a 3rd grade level and performing math at a 2nd grade level. What does this mean? It means that J is functionally illiterate, cannot read texts that even approach grade level or perform the basic elements of mathematics functions necessary to perform basic life skills like making change or calculating sales tax.
So why is J going to 9th grade? No, seriously. Why is J going to 9th grade? The only answer that matters is because MCPS will not, under any circumstances, hold a child back. Did you miss 3/4 of the school year due to unexcused absences? Don’t worry; you’re going to the next grade. Did you display zero growth in academic and non-academic skills? Promotion to the next grade!
A lot of kids have figured this out by 4th grade—and certainly by middle school—though MCPS leadership will never admit it, and so there is no impetus for learning. When they finally get to high school and grades actually matter for grade promotion and graduation,1 kids have already spent 9 years in a system teaching them that they will pass whether they learn anything or not.
When did this start?
The decline began not long after things like graduation rates and test scores began to matter in school funding: the early 2000s. As the old adage goes, what gets measured gets managed. Loopholes galore began to appear in states' testing regimes when they realized how many kids were failing. Administrators and school districts began putting pressure on individual teachers to pass kids who hadn’t earned it. Metrics went up because they had to go up, lest some Very Important People In Central Office lose their jobs.
What does MCPS need to do to fix this problem?
Create metrics to hold students back who do not meet grade level standards. This should start in elementary school, but certainly by 6th grade.
Actually follow the rules set out in the previous bullet, and do not allow administrators to skirt the requirements because it makes them or their school “look bad.”
Provide greater resources for students and families in poverty, lower class sizes in schools with high poverty rates to the ideal 15 as a hard cap in middle school and 12 in elementary, extra tutoring outside of school for children who can’t afford it.
Actually hold parents2 accountable when a child misses too many days of school. Regardless of the reason, if a child misses so much school that they are not making academic progress, they should not be promoted to the next grade.3 Hold mandatory parenting classes, counseling sessions, etc for families that cannot get their kids to school on time. Provide funding for parents of these at-risk kids to work fewer hours so they can be active in their kids’ education.4
Empower educators to recommend holding a student back and actually follow through without undermining teacher power and authority. Have a review process in place, but it should not be a kangaroo court.
I like to think of MCPS as the Titanic. That iceberg is straight ahead of us, and we don’t have a strong enough rudder to move us away once we get too close. Or a t-rex.
If you are reading this list and thinking that it is pie-in-the sky dreaming, that it would cost too much, or that it is unrealistic, then I invite you to reframe your perspective. If public education is a public good, then it needs to be worth something. If kids and families view it as little more than free babysitting, then we have failed as a society. Make it meaningful, and help kids rise to the occasion, and then maybe we won’t see the continued rise in apathy. It's time to hold everyone accountable for their learning.
Yes, I know that administrators place their thumb firmly on the scale, giving dozens of extra chances, overriding kids' grades, giving laughably simple grade recovery projects, etc. That’s a whole separate post, though.
This is not something MCPS can do alone. Montgomery County Council members need to recognize that the school system cannot solve all of society's ills and create laws accordingly.
I’m not blind to the fact that there are some children with illnesses that legitimately have them miss many days of school. Yes, this should be taken into account on a case-by-case basis, but at a certain point, if you’re several grade levels behind, are you really doing the kid any favors by continuing to promote them?
Or, you know. Universal Basic Income.