NMSFs in DC 2026

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Only 3 NMSF at walls this year (compared with 6 last year)

How do you know this?

Walls sent an email out to school with the three names

That is really really depressing. This is exactly what I thought would happen when they made it easier to get in.

Really really depressing? You don’t know anything about the school. Congrats to those three kids and send your kids elsewhere if this school makes you feel so depressed.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Only 3 NMSF at walls this year (compared with 6 last year)

How do you know this?

Walls sent an email out to school with the three names

That is really really depressing. This is exactly what I thought would happen when they made it easier to get in.

That is not what’s going on here. The reason Walls has fewer NMSFs this year is that the cut score rose.

Here is some historical data:

Class/admissions/cut score/NMSFs:
2026/no exam/225/3
2025/no exam/223/6
2024/exam/223/5
2023/exam/223/6
2022/exam/224/0
…
2018/exam/223/2

My high-scoring kid was excluded from Walls immediately after they dropped the exam, and I’m as bitter as anyone about it (why else do you think I was tracking this data?). But if you care about education you should care about facts and reason, and they show that raising the cut score has a much bigger effect on the number of NMSFs at Walls than whether or not Walls admits by exam.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:POST THE LIST!!’

Where can one find the list?

Who are the local education reporters in DC?

This is honestly so depressing. Lauren Lumpkin is supposed to cover education for the Post but she clearly doesn't really want to, and most of her articles more nationally hooked.

I can't find any other dedicated dc education reporters at any publication.

We are so screwed. Not bc of this particular small topic, but it's a canary in a coal mine -- there is NO media paying any attention to what's going on in DC schools. So all changing curriculum etc, will happen with no scrutiny.

Ok, i emailed the media contact for NMS and they responded really quickly! Hopefully they will offer something, and then maybe I'll send the list to.... Popville? the 51st?

Update, this is the response:

"It appears that the Catholic Standard, The Washington Times, and the Washington Post all received releases for your area. Those outlets may not yet have published the list, or may not publish unless someone first requests that they do so."

Isn't Lauren Lumpkin supposed to be covering local education issues for the Washington Post? You would think this at least warrants a small article (DMV semifinalists).

I just did a search on the WaPo app and the most recent list of semifinalists that I could find was published 11 years ago.

I don't think the Post is the right forum to publish it -- it just all made me realize that we have literally no local education reporting anywhere.

[Anonymous]

Walls PARCC/CAPE scores:

2018-19 /exam/84.1% (4+ math)/93.4% (4+ ELA)

2023-24/no exam/67.8% (4+ math)/97% (4+ ELA)

ELA seems about the same but math is definitely lower.

There are no decent public options to Walls in DC (other than BASIS DC, which you can't get into after 5th grade) and it only cherry picks A students, so the fact that Walls has some NMS/top students doesn't necessarily mean that the overall school quality hasn't decreased.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Walls PARCC/CAPE scores:

2018-19 /exam/84.1% (4+ math)/93.4% (4+ ELA)

2023-24/no exam/67.8% (4+ math)/97% (4+ ELA)

ELA seems about the same but math is definitely lower.

There are no decent public options to Walls in DC (other than BASIS DC, which you can't get into after 5th grade) and it only cherry picks A students, so the fact that Walls has some NMS/top students doesn't necessarily mean that the overall school quality hasn't decreased.

Well obviously the overall quality has decreased, they rejected my kid! /s.

But the NMSF numbers, which never covered any significant portion of the student body, are fluctuating because of the changing cut score, not the presence or absence of an entrance exam. And the cut score went up because of whatever’s happening in New Jersey and Massachusetts, which really has nothing to do with DC at all.

[Anonymous]

Cut score went up everywhere because test has gotten easier in particular math where you can use built in Desmos calculator to do the problems for you.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Only 3 NMSF at walls this year (compared with 6 last year)

How do you know this?

Walls sent an email out to school with the three names

That is really really depressing. This is exactly what I thought would happen when they made it easier to get in.

Really really depressing? You don’t know anything about the school. Congrats to those three kids and send your kids elsewhere if this school makes you feel so depressed.

NP, no dog in the fight and no kids in high school.

But it is blatantly obvious that some top kids are not getting into Walls and some kids who would not get in previously are getting in. Data doesn’t lie not matter how much in denial you are.

[Anonymous]

6 down to 3 is 50% decrease at Walls. That is huge

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:6 down to 3 is 50% decrease at Walls. That is huge

The actual PSAT scores didn’t drop. The cut score rose. And the cut score has nothing to do with DC.

What’s “really really depressing” is the number of people who claim to care about education but seem to be incapable of analysis or critical thought.

[Anonymous]

Well - they did “drop” if walls kids stayed the same but other kids on average now score higher. Apparently in past DC cut score roughly results in top 1 percent in DC getting NMSF. Wondering if that also happened this year - higher cut score - but even so 1 percent achieved it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:6 down to 3 is 50% decrease at Walls. That is huge

The actual PSAT scores didn’t drop. The cut score rose. And the cut score has nothing to do with DC.

What’s “really really depressing” is the number of people who claim to care about education but seem to be incapable of analysis or critical thought.

Agree. So much judgment based on so little analysis / information.

I understand the inclination to feel that our children deserve better. I am also frustrated that my child who test extremely well didn't get a chance to test at Walls or to have his test scores factor into his admission to any public high schools in DC, but ultimately, that says less about the quality of the schools than a minor change in admissions.

The reason it's possible to do this, and no have a major decline in the student body performance is because there are far more intelligent and qualified students than seats to go around.

As long and DCPS keeps making every effort to educate the children who come into the system well, and students stay in DC, those two factors will come together and even more DC schools will become among the best in the nation, just as Walls already is.

[Anonymous]

*tests not *test

[Anonymous]

Georgetown Patch used to publish the list

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Well - they did “drop” if walls kids stayed the same but other kids on average now score higher. Apparently in past DC cut score roughly results in top 1 percent in DC getting NMSF. Wondering if that also happened this year - higher cut score - but even so 1 percent achieved it.

No, it’s like 0.5% this year. Because the total is only what, 37? But there are about 9,000 PSAT/NMSQT takers in DC.

In theory, there could be zero NMSFs in DC. In theory, every kid in DC could be an NMSF. Because the cut score is unrelated to the local population.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Only 3 NMSF at walls this year (compared with 6 last year)

How do you know this?

Walls sent an email out to school with the three names

That is really really depressing. This is exactly what I thought would happen when they made it easier to get in.

Really really depressing? You don’t know anything about the school. Congrats to those three kids and send your kids elsewhere if this school makes you feel so depressed.

NP, no dog in the fight and no kids in high school.

But it is blatantly obvious that some top kids are not getting into Walls and some kids who would not get in previously are getting in. Data doesn’t lie not matter how much in denial you are.

Different poster here and I agree. I am saddened that dcps crown jewel is being diluted by mediocre students getting all As in underperforming middle schools. I’m not sending my kids to a school where most of the kids aren’t at grade level.