WCPSS School Board Candidate MVP Survey

Candidates for the WCPSS School Board, whether incumbent or challenger, are strongly welcomed (and encouraged!) to complete the WCPSS School Board Candidate MVP Survey available at https://bit.ly/wcpss-candidate-mvp-survey.

Parents and voters want to know where you stand on the MVP subject and what you're prepared to do about it, if anything.  If you support it and love it and don't plan any action, PLEASE BE BRAVE and let everyone know.  Voters want honesty and transparency - not talking points and hollow rhetoric.

In fact, for candidates who do not complete this survey, our assumption will be that you fully support MVP and all the actions taken by WCPSS staff and School Board the past year and a half which are well-documented on this blog, at wakemvp.com, and parentrights.net.

Here are the questions in the survey:

• Email address 
• Your Name 
• Contact Information, Website, Social Media, etc.
• Your Awareness of MVP Curriculum in WCPSS (answer between Strongly Disagree to Strongly Agree)
• MVP has been used in WCPSS middle & high school since 2017-18 school year
• MVP is based on an INTEGRATED math sequence (Math 1, 2, 3)
• MVP is not based on a SEQUENTIAL math sequence (Algebra 1 & 2, Geometry, Trig, etc)
• Evidence has been shown that math achievement has been negatively impacted with MVP
• Evidence has been shown that WCPSS staff withheld hundreds of negative teacher comments about MVP from the school board and public, while cherry-picking and editing a few positive comments as representative
• MVP does not have a textbook or online math reference content - only a series of single-use problem workbooks
• The use of MVP has resulted in an increased requirement for after-school tutoring and/or use of 3rd party math resources such as Khan and YouTube
• MVP may widen achievement gaps as parents of means are more likely to afford after-school tutors and Internet access
• WCPSS has spent over $2M related to MVP, including licensing, training, reviews, printing, etc.
• I have visited wakemvp.com and am familiar with the MVP issues documented there
• I have visited wakemvp.blogspot.com and am familiar with the MVP issues documented there
• MVP requires teachers to use discovery / inquiry based teaching methods instead of allowing teachers latitude in choosing methods that best work for their students 
• I am satisfied with the excuses and explanations the WCPSS data team has provided for every single data point indicating MVP has impacted math performance
• I believe that the data analyses provided by WCPSS staff about MVP is sometimes based on "spin" and cherry-picked data in order to maintain status quo
• I can cite concrete evidence and research (not just opinion) that shows that MVP is an effective curriculum
• Your Awareness of the MVP Company (answer between Strongly Disagree to Strongly Agree)
• MVP filed lawsuit against a Wake County parent
• The lawsuit was a baseless "strategic lawsuit against public participation" (SLAPP) which sought to silence parent criticism
• WCPSS School Board did not make a public statement in support of the parent or rebuking MVP for the lawsuit
• WCPSS has continued to spend funds on MVP products and/or services since the lawsuit
• MVP is not used broadly in the school district where its headquarters are located (near American Fork, Utah)
• MVP has blocked Wake County parents on social media who have made critical or inquiring comments
• MVP's website does not provide a mailing address or phone number
• As of 6/10/20, MVP has still not provided a COVID-19 response, whereas most other curriculum vendors have
• What Actions Will You Take?
• I believe that MVP should be removed from WCPSS and replaced with a proven math curriculum
• I believe that INTEGRATED math should be abandoned and replaced with the SEQUENTIAL math sequence
• I am willing to hold the superintendent accountable if she refuses to replace MVP
• I am willing to hold the superintendent accountable if she refuses to return to SEQUENTIAL math
• I am willing to vote against funding any new spending related to MVP
• WCPSS should cut ties with any vendor who sues a parent
• Staff who are shown to have misled or lied by omission of facts when presenting to the Board or public should be strongly disciplined, which may include dismissal
• Staff who have ushered in and defended MVP in light of ample evidence against it should be replaced
• Other General Opinions about Math Education
• In the event schools are on a TRADITIONAL math sequence (Algebra, Trig, etc) I believe Algebra should not start until 9th grade
• In the event schools are on a TRADITIONAL math sequence (Algebra, Trig, etc) I believe Algebra should be offered to students as soon as they can handle it
• Schools should have HONORS classes that allow advanced students more challenges
• HONORS classes should be removed from schools
• Any student, regardless of color, should be allowed to attempt any HONORS class at the recommendation of their teacher or parent/guardian
• It's important for students to practice math problems in order for them to become proficient in math skills
• Teachers should lead the math class, not students
• If "collaboration" is the main means by which math information is imparted to students, there is a risk that students will value what they "discovered" more than what the teacher tells them
• Answers to math problems are either right or wrong
• When a student gets a math problem wrong, this is an opportunity for the teacher to help the student learn from their mistake(s) and hopefully get such problems correct in the future
• Standardized math tests (such as end of grade and end of course) should be eliminated
• Each core math course should be delivered in a year-long format
• I was a strong math student in school
• I will value and consider actual research about math educational matters before making decisions
• I will value and consider input from teachers about math educational matters before making decisions
• I will value and consider input from parents about math educational matters before making decisions
• I will not support the procurement of math curriculums which do not have an established track record of success in at least one of the top 1000 largest school districts in the country
• Any additional write-in comments about MVP or math curriculum (optional)
• Any additional write-in comments about you or your candidacy (optional)

If you have questions about this survey or anything related to this blog, please reach out to wakemvpparent@gmail.com.

Analysis of the Oct-Nov 2019 WCPSS MVP Math Curriculum Online Survey Responses

Background

Back in August, 2019, WCPSS staff and the voter-elected School Board gave parents who complained about MVP the collective middle finger when they denied parents' complaint (and subsequent appeal) about the program.  One concession WCPSS made was that they would throw another $125k of taxpayer money at the problem by commissioning an "independent" survey to look at the program and/or its implementation.  They later hired Florida-based MGT Consulting for this task.

MGT conducted their review in the October - November timeframe and that included a 9-question online parent survey which ran October 29 - November 13.  The first few hours of the survey being online was met with outcries from parents, as there were no spaces allowing write-in comments.  MGT quickly fixed that, citing what I remember to be a technical issue.

MGT's Report

The results of the review were presented to the Student Achievement Committee (and hence, the public) on December 16, 2019.  My synopsis of the report was this: MVP is great and wonderful!  In fact,  it's so great and wonderful, we only need to perform SEVEN major corrective actions to make it work! 

The presentation by MGT was quite a sales pitch, and presented all aspects of MVP in only the most positive of light.  It was as though they were given marching orders such as: We're going to keep MVP.  Please make sure your report doesn't contradict that.

Anyway, all positives were emphasized, and any negatives were glossed over and dismissed as though they were known issues already being diligently worked by the WCPSS curriculum staff.

One such area glossed over was the parent survey feedback.  MGT reported that 3125 surveys were submitted.  They boiled the survey responses down to one summary chart, which only showed the most chosen response for each of the 9 questions!  I thought the detailed report may have done the analysis more justice, but it did not.  In my opinion, this is very amateurish at best, and statistical malpractice at worst!

Public Records Request

The next day, I submitted a public records request to WCPSS.  I wanted to see the full survey responses because frankly, I believed that the feedback from as many as 3125 parents deserved more attention and consideration than it was given.

I'll spare you the details, but would you believe I had to fight quite hard to get those results, including emails and School Board speeches?  I felt WCPSS was trying to use a 3rd party to hide public records paid for (and written by) the taxpayers.  Eventually, WCPSS and MGT relented, and on April 17, 2020, I received a 207 page PDF file.  Original version of survey responses (received 4/17/20, 207 pages)

The first thing I did was search for my own input, as I had saved of copy of my own survey answers.  My input was NOT there.  I eventually determined that the survey responses sent to me was a snapshot taken at November 2, 2019 11:23 AM EDT, as noted in the file itself.  This was 11 days before the survey ended, and seemed to only reflect the input of about ~2425 of the 3125 total survey responses reported by MGT.  Seven hundred parents, including me, were not represented in this file.

I reported this to Tim Simmons at WCPSS, and he promised to follow-up.  On June 5, 2020, I received the updated file, which I am calling version 2.  Version 2 of survey responses (received 6/5/20, 292 pages)

This file is better in some ways.  It is better labeled.  It also has fewer odd characters missing, which seemed to confuse the original version.  It also addressed what appeared to be an error related to the comments for question 5, which were omitted from the original version.  One shortcoming of version 2 is that it omitted the write-in comments for question 1, which totaled about 18 pages in the original version.  I assume that is a careless oversight.  Whatever.  Any single page in either of these documents is as damning of MVP as any other.   What's another 18 pages when WCPSS has not heeded the massive volume of MVP rebuke (data, reports, surveys, walk-outs, evidence, public comment, protests) already provided them?

Update 6/22/20: WCPSS Tim Simmons provided me an addendum with the missing comments for question 1 that were omitted from the Version 2 file.  See MGT Parent Survey V2 - Q1 Comments for the additional 20 pages.

Table of Contents for Final Version

Question	Original Version   Received 4/17/20	Version 2 Received 6/5/20
How did you first learn about the MVP Math Curriculum?	Labelled as Q2 Pages 1 - 31	Labelled as Q1 Pages 1 - 9
Answers to “Other (please specify)	Labelled as Q2_4_TEXT Pages 1 - 12	Pages 1 - 9
Write-in comments	Labelled as Q14 Pages 13 - 31	OMITTED but provided in Addendum
What is the difference between the MVP math curriculum and the previous math curriculum?	Labelled as Q3 Pages 32 - 65	Labelled as Q2 Pages 10 - 62
Which statement best describes the level of rigor / challenge provided by the MVP math curriculum?	Labelled as Q5 Pages 66 - 100	Labelled as Q3 Pages 63 - 112
Which statement best describes your experience with the WCPSS mathematics resources website?	Labelled as Q7 Pages 101 - 124	Labelled as Q4 Pages 112 - 140
Which statement best represents your child's experience with the MVP math curriculum?	Labelled as Q8 Pages 125 - 126 Write-in comments OMITTED An error code is shown:  “WIDGET_ERROR.MISCONFIGURED”	Labelled as Q5 Pages 140 - 185
Which statement best describes your child's performance on math assessments since the implementation of MVP Math Curriculum?	Labelled as Q9 Pages 127 - 145	Labelled as Q6 Pages 185 - 211
I have received updates, resources or other communication from my child's teacher about the MVP math curriculum.	Labelled as Q10 Pages 146 - 159	Labelled as Q7 Pages 212 - 230
Since the MVP math curriculum was implemented in my child's school, I have had to spend more time helping them at home.	Labelled as Q11 Pages 160 - 185	Labelled as Q8 Pages 231 - 261
Since the MVP math curriculum was implemented in my child's school, my child has spent more time working on math assignments/homework.	Labelled as Q12 Pages 186 - 207	Labelled as Q9 Pages 262 - 292

After I read a good bit of the document, I saw a trend.  There were many superlatives which seemed to characterize parents' ire towards MVP.  I decided to make my own graph showing the frequency of such words and word forms.

I believe this bar chart to be much more informative about the parent surveys than the chart MGT produced.

Summary of Select Superlatives

Note 6/22/20: This chart is based on the Version 2 file and does NOT include the words found in the addendum provided on 6/22/20.

I hope this report was informative.  Please be sure to vote this November.  All School Board seats are on the ballot and most of them need to be replaced.