It is really great to see a lot of great constructive conversations on this thread. Please allow me to elaborate a few points. We really need to know problems before prescribing solutions or diving into cost / race issues.
Where does the broad sense GT come from?
On grade Common Core (CC) is not good enough for a large potion of MCPS students. Jason Zimba is a core designer of CC math standard. Part of Jason's testimony is here.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eJZY4mh2rt8
I am truly grateful that MCPS administrators have been courageous to introduce Compact Math (now Math 4/5, 5/6), ELC, and other programs under various pressure to help our students.
Are GT students visible?
Last few grading scheme changes imposed risks of making GT students invisible. For instance, in the elementary school grading scheme, A means "The student consistently demonstrates mastery of the grade-level standards taught this marking period." Given knowledge in previous two subjects, this definition can potentially put a ceiling on classroom instructions to GT students.
Universal screening seems very successful in picking up the broad sense GT students. A big question is how good it can pick up narrow sense GT students.
If GT students regardless of broad or narrow sense are not at all visible, their GT options will be in danger.
How much advanced is our current local GT options?
The math 4/5 and 5/6 pathway will enable students to get Algebra 1 at the 7th grade. In China, many Algebra 1 and Geometry 1 subjects are taught as on-grade level to all 7th graders. Then, at the 8th grade, they are ready to quantitative Science topics. For reference, here are the links to Chinese curriculum info.
7th - 9th grade math:
http://old.pep.com..cn/czsx/jszx/czsxtbjxzy/czsxdzkb_1_1/]http://old.pep.com.cn/czsx/jszx/czsxtbjxzy/czsxdzkb_1_1/
8th grade Physics:
http://old.pep.com.cn/czwl/jszx/tbjx/tb8s/
There is not yet seen any good science curriculum initiatives in MCPS local schools. The 6th grade Science is horrible to me. Some materials on global warming are media reports poorly written in terms of both English and Science. Based on my understanding, the NGSS will be a problem for students who are genuinely interested in pursuing a career in the field of science researches. I hope that MCPS can work on local GT options immediately. Otherwise, many of our students will suffer in the coming few years.
English curriculum in both local elementary and middle schools is not enough. There are many problems as well. I can write a lot. But, it does not belong here.
Two top level issues related to narrow sense GT students:
MCPS incorrectly marketed their magnet programs in all these years. They made people only see the shining achievements of those programs without properly letting people know the struggle behind. In the magnet programs, the load is drastically high and so as expectations. It is stressful. It is not even for typical broad sense GT students.
Inappropriate marketing strategy makes those programs easy preys for some local politicians. They believe that putting students that they wanted to put in is risk free. They do not care and majority are not aware that students will suffer if not ready.
The other major problem is to implicitly label GT particularly nsGT students as "well-served" if not "over-served" students. If they are already well-served, they do not need anything more. Unfortunately, before ELC/compact math in place, GT students were under-served if not ignored in our schools. Note that this is not a racial issue at all. There were minority parents complained that their GT kids were mistreated in their home schools.
Is nsGT identification an issue?
Yes and no. If MCPS wants to serve nsGT students properly, schools need to have enough programs. Ideally, programs can be flexible enough to take / drop students. In this way, if a nsGT student did not do well in a test, he or she can still get something.
No teacher/ no funding? It can start from exposing curriculum materials to local schools and parents.
….
Comments:
In my humble opinion, MCPS is doing the right thing on expanding broad sense GT options. If MCPS blindly and strictly follow Common Core or similar standards, it would be a disaster for a huge potion of our students. But, the bar of broad sense GT options is far not high enough for the narrow sense GT students. And it would be nice to see that MCPS allows to get GT students visible.
If the broad sense GT options are in place, particularly in middle schools, I would not be surprised to see more HS students will be ready for their heavy load. That is why I've seriously suggest MCPS leaders including Dr. Navarro and others to consider a 7-year strategy to fix middle school programs together with HS programs.
For nsGT options, MCPS shall expand as well. Particularly, making materials available in more schools or even local schools can help many struggling nsGT students.
Still, it is a tough call on how / when to expand what. Sincerely hope that our community can be creative enough to support our schools as much as we can.
--- Lang
