Shove This Up Your AYP

The bees are buzzing, the snow is melting, yes, friends, it is that time of year. The MSA is in the air. I feel as though we have begun a mad sprint in the midst of a marathon. I am constantly evaluating, myself and my students. Who is ready? Do they really understand inferencing? Do my BCRs look anything like the state "standard"? My students have started evolving into walking As, Ps, and Bs. The pressure is mounting. My school has always made AYP, but this year the bar is even higher and with so many schools closing and dumping their students on our doorsteps, I don't know if we will make it.

It is a double-edged sword; however, because I question, how can we NOT make it. The MSA is the only place in the world where 33% is considered proficient. I know I demand higher scores for my students in my own classroom, but the truth is, all a student has to get on the MSA to be considered proficient is one out of every three questions. In my mind, these floor low standards are shameful. But if they are really floor low, why are we struggling so to meet them?

I cannot help but wonder if suburban schools feel the same stress that my school feels. And even if they do, I have to question, whose stakes are higher? I have to assume the middle and upper class students in the county are more confident going to to the exam, as their prior knowledge is higher. They know what a SAUCER is. They have seen a MAPLE tree. They have music programs which introduce them to SAXOPHONES. My students don't just have to find the answer, they have to figure out what in the world the question means.

Last year, my students scored 81% advanced and proficient in reading (compared to last year's 54%) and 93% advanced or proficient in math (last year's 77%). Dundalk Middle School is the nearest county school and here students scored 56.8% proficient or above in math and 77.3% proficient or above in language arts. Does this mean city schools are a better place to be? I would argue that education is not limited by one's placement in the city or the county, but the capabilities of the teachers in the classroom.