Does anyone here actually send their kid to Hayfield/Edison/West Potomac/5 or lower GS high schools?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Something I'm not sure has been mentioned...

Hayfield Secondary has no trailers; the school is in fine shape.

This means that my children are able to navigate between functioning classrooms with proper space, heat and air conditioning all day long. The benefits of learning in real classrooms instead of being stuck in trailers cannot be underestimated!

Sorry, but I'll take the good teacher and strong peer group in the occasional trailer over a GS 4 school with a focus on behavior management and barely meeting the graduation benchmarks every time.

Np-That's hardly the situation anywhere in FCPS. I've raised a bright, confident kid. They will bloom where planted. It's a shame you have such a volatile student. Maybe you should reexamine what's happening at home.

Nice effort to deflect, but still a fail. Maybe you should be honest next time about the low number of high-achievers at the GS 4 schools.

Why should I when my child and their friends are the high achievers? It's a shame you don't have more faith in your kid.

More of a shame you couldn't have done better for your kid.

Goodness! I'm not sure how they could be doing better? Summers in Europe. We're so well connected, they couldn't possibly take advantage of all the internships handed to them. It's been so lovely not stressing about being in the top 2 percent of their class. What a headache for all the strivers at the "top" schools. I feel so sorry for those kids. They killed themsleves for 4 years and can't even get into the state flagship school. Of course there is a thread all about that. All that pressure and nothing to show for it. Sad.
We can't relate. Our oldest breeezed into UVA.

Jesus Christ. Can you just start your own pissing contest thread and leave this one for people interested in the subject?

Is it really so painful to know that kids are thriving from GS 4 high schools? That's such an ugly attitude.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Something I'm not sure has been mentioned...

Hayfield Secondary has no trailers; the school is in fine shape.

This means that my children are able to navigate between functioning classrooms with proper space, heat and air conditioning all day long. The benefits of learning in real classrooms instead of being stuck in trailers cannot be underestimated!

Sorry, but I'll take the good teacher and strong peer group in the occasional trailer over a GS 4 school with a focus on behavior management and barely meeting the graduation benchmarks every time.

Np-That's hardly the situation anywhere in FCPS. I've raised a bright, confident kid. They will bloom where planted. It's a shame you have such a volatile student. Maybe you should reexamine what's happening at home.

Nice effort to deflect, but still a fail. Maybe you should be honest next time about the low number of high-achievers at the GS 4 schools.

Why should I when my child and their friends are the high achievers? It's a shame you don't have more faith in your kid.

More of a shame you couldn't have done better for your kid.

Goodness! I'm not sure how they could be doing better? Summers in Europe. We're so well connected, they couldn't possibly take advantage of all the internships handed to them. It's been so lovely not stressing about being in the top 2 percent of their class. What a headache for all the strivers at the "top" schools. I feel so sorry for those kids. They killed themsleves for 4 years and can't even get into the state flagship school. Of course there is a thread all about that. All that pressure and nothing to show for it. Sad.
We can't relate. Our oldest breeezed into UVA.

Jesus Christ. Can you just start your own pissing contest thread and leave this one for people interested in the subject?

Is it really so painful to know that kids are thriving from GS 4 high schools? That's such an ugly attitude.

No -- (not PP)... it's not that anyone has anything against your kid doing well at a GS 4 school. But, you seem hell bent on insulting everyone else for being so dumb to put their kids in a higher ranked school or having kids who aren't superstars. Everyone is happy that it works out for your high flying kids, but we can't all count on that and we don't like to be insulted just b/c kids have different abilities. Smugness is unattractive.

[Anonymous]

No one on these threads is more smug than people posting about their "elite" GS 9 schools. You all want to go on and on about your cohorts and high achieving peer pressure.
You are dumb.
You are also hurting your kids.
But keep piling on all that pressure.
We'll just be over here at our lesser schools with happy and successful kids. Carry on.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:No one on these threads is more smug than people posting about their "elite" GS 9 schools. You all want to go on and on about your cohorts and high achieving peer pressure.
You are dumb.
You are also hurting your kids.
But keep piling on all that pressure.
We'll just be over here at our lesser schools with happy and successful kids. Carry on.

I posted earlier about the pass rates at Hayf and West Po. I didn't post the pass rates for the higher end schools... but just FYI -- the pass rates for the higher SES schools are 25-30% points higher across the board. In some AP classes, it is 35-65% higher. Yes, there are always 25+ percent of the AP class takers who pass the exam at the lower tier schools (sometimes it is more like 65%).... but frequently, the higher SES schools have pass rates 35-65% higher. What if your kid is in that gap? We're not talking about kids who are in the middle or low end of the entire 11th-12th grade class. We're talking about the subset of kids willing to take harder AP classes.... there is a gap among those kids where more of the higher-motivated kids are failing the AP exams at some schools compared to other schools. No one has addressed this discrepancy.

It does not really move the discussion forward to bicker and present anecdotes about how kid A or kid B did really well and got into UVA/Swarthmore/Stanford. Let's look at the bigger picture and address the data in a way that makes sense. No one knows for sure how their children will do at either a high or low SES school until they actually go there. Instead of single data points, let's talk about observable facts relating to larger groups of kids. Anyone care to explain the AP pass data?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:No one on these threads is more smug than people posting about their "elite" GS 9 schools. You all want to go on and on about your cohorts and high achieving peer pressure.
You are dumb.
You are also hurting your kids.
But keep piling on all that pressure.
We'll just be over here at our lesser schools with happy and successful kids. Carry on.

I posted earlier about the pass rates at Hayf and West Po. I didn't post the pass rates for the higher end schools... but just FYI -- the pass rates for the higher SES schools are 25-30% points higher across the board. In some AP classes, it is 35-65% higher. Yes, there are always 25+ percent of the AP class takers who pass the exam at the lower tier schools (sometimes it is more like 65%).... but frequently, the higher SES schools have pass rates 35-65% higher. What if your kid is in that gap? We're not talking about kids who are in the middle or low end of the entire 11th-12th grade class. We're talking about the subset of kids willing to take harder AP classes.... there is a gap among those kids where more of the higher-motivated kids are failing the AP exams at some schools compared to other schools. No one has addressed this discrepancy.

It does not really move the discussion forward to bicker and present anecdotes about how kid A or kid B did really well and got into UVA/Swarthmore/Stanford. Let's look at the bigger picture and address the data in a way that makes sense. No one knows for sure how their children will do at either a high or low SES school until they actually go there. Instead of single data points, let's talk about observable facts relating to larger groups of kids. Anyone care to explain the AP pass data?

Don't you think that's it's because kids are taking these classes that aren't ready?
I don't know what you're wanting to hear on this. Enough kids are passing, so there is learning happening. It's not a bad thing for traditionally less successful students to push themselves out of their comfort zone. Maybe they only get a 2 on the test, but it expands their horizons in the process.

[Anonymous]

What the majority of DCUM doesn't want to hear again is that the schools do NOTHING repeat NOTHING to influence kids positively or negatively

It's all related to SES/how much the parents and by extension individual kids care

So again I will laugh at yall for freaking out about trying to be in a GS 9 when anyone with commonsense knows your kid would have been fine going to a GS 4

The reason AP pass rates are lower at certain schools is because there is lower SES/raw talent at certain schools. If you took 30 kids from TJ at random and put them at ANY school in FCPS they would still pass all their AP tests. Again to think otherwise is hilarious to me and sad for the rest of you idiots who are so "smart"

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:What the majority of DCUM doesn't want to hear again is that the schools do NOTHING repeat NOTHING to influence kids positively or negatively

It's all related to SES/how much the parents and by extension individual kids care

So again I will laugh at yall for freaking out about trying to be in a GS 9 when anyone with commonsense knows your kid would have been fine going to a GS 4

The reason AP pass rates are lower at certain schools is because there is lower SES/raw talent at certain schools. If you took 30 kids from TJ at random and put them at ANY school in FCPS they would still pass all their AP tests. Again to think otherwise is hilarious to me and sad for the rest of you idiots who are so "smart"

Your theory is just a desire for some type of personal validation. It can't really surprise you that you won't find it here or, for that matter, in the market, where you'll pay a premium for better schools.

[Anonymous]

Lots of people over paying for houses and then looking for validation. That's what this site is all about. The sad reality is they wasted money and put their kids through a meat grinder for nothing.
Pity.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:No one on these threads is more smug than people posting about their "elite" GS 9 schools. You all want to go on and on about your cohorts and high achieving peer pressure.
You are dumb.
You are also hurting your kids.
But keep piling on all that pressure.
We'll just be over here at our lesser schools with happy and successful kids. Carry on.

I posted earlier about the pass rates at Hayf and West Po. I didn't post the pass rates for the higher end schools... but just FYI -- the pass rates for the higher SES schools are 25-30% points higher across the board. In some AP classes, it is 35-65% higher. Yes, there are always 25+ percent of the AP class takers who pass the exam at the lower tier schools (sometimes it is more like 65%).... but frequently, the higher SES schools have pass rates 35-65% higher. What if your kid is in that gap? We're not talking about kids who are in the middle or low end of the entire 11th-12th grade class. We're talking about the subset of kids willing to take harder AP classes.... there is a gap among those kids where more of the higher-motivated kids are failing the AP exams at some schools compared to other schools. No one has addressed this discrepancy.

It does not really move the discussion forward to bicker and present anecdotes about how kid A or kid B did really well and got into UVA/Swarthmore/Stanford. Let's look at the bigger picture and address the data in a way that makes sense. No one knows for sure how their children will do at either a high or low SES school until they actually go there. Instead of single data points, let's talk about observable facts relating to larger groups of kids. Anyone care to explain the AP pass data?

Don't you think that's it's because kids are taking these classes that aren't ready?
I don't know what you're wanting to hear on this. Enough kids are passing, so there is learning happening. It's not a bad thing for traditionally less successful students to push themselves out of their comfort zone. Maybe they only get a 2 on the test, but it expands their horizons in the process.

I think that could be true for some of the AP classes where there are really high numbers of kids taking them (it's a "try AP class" -- Engl Lang. for instance). But, the "they aren't ready" doesn't make sense to me when it's a much smaller group of kids willing to take a harder AP class -- like AP Calc AB or Chemistry for instance. How can you say the 46 kids who took Calc AB (with only 30% passing) weren't ready to take it? Aren't those the top of the class (yes, I know there are some who take Calc BC). In the higher SES schools, you have 125-150 kids taking Calc AB and they still have 80% passing (or more). Shoot -- even FALLS CHURCH only had 44 kids taking Calc AB and they had 95% passing (yes, 95%). How can you square that with Hay consistently passing only 25-30% each year or even West Po passing 55%?

In Chemistry AP, you only have 30 kids even willing to take it at Hay, and yet only 9 kids (30%) pass the exam.... compare with other schools where 75-95% pass. Why would the very top kids who have shown a willingness to take the hardest science classes NOT be able to pass the same exam that other kids at other schools are taking? These are the cream of the crop kids -- not the "challenge index" kids. If you were picking a school, would you want to take a risk with the school that consistently has 25% passing or 85% of their kids passing? Seriously, I'm not trying to diminish your child's experience if s/he rocked it at a lower SES school --- you are the winners for sure -- but if you are picking one school (at great expense to buy a house), do you want to take a risk that even if your kid is among the top academic cohort, the chances of passing are not nearly as good.

[Anonymous]

A Mount Vernon grad is headed to Harvard in the fall. Bloom where you are planted, indeed!

FWIW, the blog Covering the Corridor, has the college lists for Hayfield, West Potomac and Mount Vernon. Lots of solid schools on the list, yes, no HYP (other than the MVHS student), but schools with good programs.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:A Mount Vernon grad is headed to Harvard in the fall. Bloom where you are planted, indeed!

FWIW, the blog Covering the Corridor, has the college lists for Hayfield, West Potomac and Mount Vernon. Lots of solid schools on the list, yes, no HYP (other than the MVHS student), but schools with good programs.

Shows Hayfield grads going to Cornell and Harvard.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:No one on these threads is more smug than people posting about their "elite" GS 9 schools. You all want to go on and on about your cohorts and high achieving peer pressure.
You are dumb.
You are also hurting your kids.
But keep piling on all that pressure.
We'll just be over here at our lesser schools with happy and successful kids. Carry on.

I posted earlier about the pass rates at Hayf and West Po. I didn't post the pass rates for the higher end schools... but just FYI -- the pass rates for the higher SES schools are 25-30% points higher across the board. In some AP classes, it is 35-65% higher. Yes, there are always 25+ percent of the AP class takers who pass the exam at the lower tier schools (sometimes it is more like 65%).... but frequently, the higher SES schools have pass rates 35-65% higher. What if your kid is in that gap? We're not talking about kids who are in the middle or low end of the entire 11th-12th grade class. We're talking about the subset of kids willing to take harder AP classes.... there is a gap among those kids where more of the higher-motivated kids are failing the AP exams at some schools compared to other schools. No one has addressed this discrepancy.

It does not really move the discussion forward to bicker and present anecdotes about how kid A or kid B did really well and got into UVA/Swarthmore/Stanford. Let's look at the bigger picture and address the data in a way that makes sense. No one knows for sure how their children will do at either a high or low SES school until they actually go there. Instead of single data points, let's talk about observable facts relating to larger groups of kids. Anyone care to explain the AP pass data?

Don't you think that's it's because kids are taking these classes that aren't ready?
I don't know what you're wanting to hear on this. Enough kids are passing, so there is learning happening. It's not a bad thing for traditionally less successful students to push themselves out of their comfort zone. Maybe they only get a 2 on the test, but it expands their horizons in the process.

I think that could be true for some of the AP classes where there are really high numbers of kids taking them (it's a "try AP class" -- Engl Lang. for instance). But, the "they aren't ready" doesn't make sense to me when it's a much smaller group of kids willing to take a harder AP class -- like AP Calc AB or Chemistry for instance. How can you say the 46 kids who took Calc AB (with only 30% passing) weren't ready to take it? Aren't those the top of the class (yes, I know there are some who take Calc BC). In the higher SES schools, you have 125-150 kids taking Calc AB and they still have 80% passing (or more). Shoot -- even FALLS CHURCH only had 44 kids taking Calc AB and they had 95% passing (yes, 95%). How can you square that with Hay consistently passing only 25-30% each year or even West Po passing 55%?

In Chemistry AP, you only have 30 kids even willing to take it at Hay, and yet only 9 kids (30%) pass the exam.... compare with other schools where 75-95% pass. Why would the very top kids who have shown a willingness to take the hardest science classes NOT be able to pass the same exam that other kids at other schools are taking? These are the cream of the crop kids -- not the "challenge index" kids. If you were picking a school, would you want to take a risk with the school that consistently has 25% passing or 85% of their kids passing? Seriously, I'm not trying to diminish your child's experience if s/he rocked it at a lower SES school --- you are the winners for sure -- but if you are picking one school (at great expense to buy a house), do you want to take a risk that even if your kid is among the top academic cohort, the chances of passing are not nearly as good.

It doesn't matter because the outcome is the same. Approx. 30% of qualified applicants from all of these schools get into UVA. There are plenty of of other good schools, but we'll use that as our measure.
So what is the point? Maybe your kid doesn't pass the AP calc test at Hayfield? So what? The outcomes are still the same. The difference is you better damn well perform at Langley, because there is a huge cohort of kids that are going to take 8-9 AP's.
No thanks. I want my kid to enjoy school and learn some stuff.
Keep the peer pressure over there.
So some schools send 40 kids to UVA and others send 10. So what? Your odds are the same either way, it's just a horrible pressure cooker in some schools, and a lot more reasonable in others.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:No one on these threads is more smug than people posting about their "elite" GS 9 schools. You all want to go on and on about your cohorts and high achieving peer pressure.
You are dumb.
You are also hurting your kids.
But keep piling on all that pressure.
We'll just be over here at our lesser schools with happy and successful kids. Carry on.

I posted earlier about the pass rates at Hayf and West Po. I didn't post the pass rates for the higher end schools... but just FYI -- the pass rates for the higher SES schools are 25-30% points higher across the board. In some AP classes, it is 35-65% higher. Yes, there are always 25+ percent of the AP class takers who pass the exam at the lower tier schools (sometimes it is more like 65%).... but frequently, the higher SES schools have pass rates 35-65% higher. What if your kid is in that gap? We're not talking about kids who are in the middle or low end of the entire 11th-12th grade class. We're talking about the subset of kids willing to take harder AP classes.... there is a gap among those kids where more of the higher-motivated kids are failing the AP exams at some schools compared to other schools. No one has addressed this discrepancy.

It does not really move the discussion forward to bicker and present anecdotes about how kid A or kid B did really well and got into UVA/Swarthmore/Stanford. Let's look at the bigger picture and address the data in a way that makes sense. No one knows for sure how their children will do at either a high or low SES school until they actually go there. Instead of single data points, let's talk about observable facts relating to larger groups of kids. Anyone care to explain the AP pass data?

Don't you think that's it's because kids are taking these classes that aren't ready?
I don't know what you're wanting to hear on this. Enough kids are passing, so there is learning happening. It's not a bad thing for traditionally less successful students to push themselves out of their comfort zone. Maybe they only get a 2 on the test, but it expands their horizons in the process.

I think that could be true for some of the AP classes where there are really high numbers of kids taking them (it's a "try AP class" -- Engl Lang. for instance). But, the "they aren't ready" doesn't make sense to me when it's a much smaller group of kids willing to take a harder AP class -- like AP Calc AB or Chemistry for instance. How can you say the 46 kids who took Calc AB (with only 30% passing) weren't ready to take it? Aren't those the top of the class (yes, I know there are some who take Calc BC). In the higher SES schools, you have 125-150 kids taking Calc AB and they still have 80% passing (or more). Shoot -- even FALLS CHURCH only had 44 kids taking Calc AB and they had 95% passing (yes, 95%). How can you square that with Hay consistently passing only 25-30% each year or even West Po passing 55%?

In Chemistry AP, you only have 30 kids even willing to take it at Hay, and yet only 9 kids (30%) pass the exam.... compare with other schools where 75-95% pass. Why would the very top kids who have shown a willingness to take the hardest science classes NOT be able to pass the same exam that other kids at other schools are taking? These are the cream of the crop kids -- not the "challenge index" kids. If you were picking a school, would you want to take a risk with the school that consistently has 25% passing or 85% of their kids passing? Seriously, I'm not trying to diminish your child's experience if s/he rocked it at a lower SES school --- you are the winners for sure -- but if you are picking one school (at great expense to buy a house), do you want to take a risk that even if your kid is among the top academic cohort, the chances of passing are not nearly as good.

It doesn't matter because the outcome is the same. Approx. 30% of qualified applicants from all of these schools get into UVA. There are plenty of of other good schools, but we'll use that as our measure.
So what is the point? Maybe your kid doesn't pass the AP calc test at Hayfield? So what? The outcomes are still the same. The difference is you better damn well perform at Langley, because there is a huge cohort of kids that are going to take 8-9 AP's.
No thanks. I want my kid to enjoy school and learn some stuff.
Keep the peer pressure over there.
So some schools send 40 kids to UVA and others send 10. So what? Your odds are the same either way, it's just a horrible pressure cooker in some schools, and a lot more reasonable in others.

Not very convincing. The data shows that the cohort at the lower SES schools that should be doing well generally under-performs as a group. So even if you beat the odds and end up one of the handful from a Hayfield who go to a top university, the peer group is going to be a rude awakening, whereas the Langley kid will more likely feel at home and hit the ground running.

[Anonymous]

I know you want that to be true. I know you reeeeally want to believe that your Langley kid is just soooo much better prepared than the Hayfield kid, but it's not the case. And so what if it is? So the Hayfield kid has a more challenging 1st semester, or decides to take an easier course load? So what?
Do you honestly think it's going to matter in another year?
No, it's not.
Push push push. Pressure pressure pressure. Perform perform perform...
For what?
I went to one of these top schools getting bandied about. What is my class valedictorian doing? Nothing special.
What are my friends from TJ doing? Nothing special. They are fine and have solid careers, but they are no better off than my friends who went to Lee high school.

Now you want to send off kid to Sidwell? That's different and potentially life changing. But Mclean vs. Annandale?
Nope. Sorry.

[Anonymous]

Is that your final point

Do people actually think the college is hard for anyone lol

there might be a handful of majors that require more studying but college is not hard for anyone these days

PS There are multiple posters on the all schools are good, its all about SES, save money on your house side