High school magnet test

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:PP’s post indicates lottery for ES and MS, but not HS. Looks like data for HS applicants will be pretty thin.

Yes, very thin. Doesn't mention MAP scores and removing teacher recs means grades and answers/essay only from the application!

I was assuming MAP was part of the "student data collected pre-Covid and in 2020," but this year's MAP scores need to be taken with a grain of salt, and I don't know how far back they can go.

I'm also guessing that, in addition to grades, they'd look at course load. So, for example, an 8th grader currently taking Algebra 2 might be seen to need SMCS more than a student in Geometry, who might need it more than a student in Algebra 1. And for IB they could look at what level language the kids are in and whether they're currently in HIGH. But, still. Thin.

This class is the one that was the guinea pig class for the new MS magnet criteria as well, so maybe they're used to some randomness.

MAP scores were not considered in the past for HS programs and the FAQ doesn't list MAP as a data point. But who knows now because of COVID. My son did well on MAP this fall- but I agree that overall the scores should be taken with a grain of salt. Good question about how far they can go back for MAP scores. My son only has MAP scores from the Fall of 7th grade and earlier grades. He didn't take the winter test and obviously spring in 7th. So not much to compare. I'm sure there are many more kids like him.

Course load is a possibility, but Blair STEM, for example, has always offered Magnet Geometry, Magnet PreCalc, and Magnet Functions to 9th graders. I assume they will again next fall so for example, Algebra 2 students will probably be compared to other Algebra 2 students, who will probably take Magnet Functions, and Geometry to other Geometry students that will take Magnet PreCalc, and finally Algebra I to Algebra I, who will take Magnet Geometry. I believe historically the smallest group in terms of enrollment is the latter.

Regarding IB programs, immersion students are not enrolled in HIGH so that would only apply to non-immersion students that have taken 3 years of language in MS and also enrolled in HIGH.

For the HS Magnets not testing, I fully expect them to look at MAP scores, current and historic. The reason they keep it vague, is that they don't want us to know the complete metrics / how much weight goes into each aspect that is part of the assessment: But for HS now we are looking at (not necessarily in this order)

1. Student answers / essay

2. Student Grades (possibly historic as well as current)

3. MAP scores - possibly (including historic)

4. No test, no recs but the other components are still in play - ESOL, IEPs, Reduced lunch etc.

[Anonymous]

^^ I forgot to mention. As originally outlined in the letters of eligibility students should be taking or have taken Algebra 1 + 1 year of FL

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Does lottery for MS magnet reduce the attractiveness given the long bus ride, especially with peer cohort not as strong as before?

At least in our case,the lottery would most probably persuade us not to take the bus ride.I can imagine this lottery thing to have unintended ramifications.

[Anonymous]

Looks like the update to the FAQs on HS application FAQ has been posted verifying no test and no teacher recommendations:

https://www.montgomeryschoolsmd.org/curriculum/specialprograms/high/

Very limited data points for consideration. Will there be any transparency to the application selection process?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Does lottery for MS magnet reduce the attractiveness given the long bus ride, especially with peer cohort not as strong as before?

At least in our case,the lottery would most probably persuade us not to take the bus ride.I can imagine this lottery thing to have unintended ramifications.

It most likely will have multiple unintended ramifications, just like distance learning for an extended period of time. But, given the circumstances, what can you do?
FWIW, college admissions this year (and, likely, a couple of years down the road) will also be totally out of whack.

[Anonymous]

Here is the latest on HS Criteria Magnet programs

This year’s Pandemic Plan for the high school magnet admission process will continue using multiple measures and professional review committees. Multiple criteria will include pre-COVID and 2020 data such as report card grades, reading level, external assessments (Measures of Academic Progress-Reading and Measures of Academic Progress-Mathematics) and student services (students who receive services in ESOL—English for Speakers of Other Languages, FARMS—Free and Reduced-price Meals System, IEP—Individualized Education Plan and or 504 plan. Due to limitations with in-person instruction and test security, the Cognitive Abilities Assessment (CogAT) and scored essay will not be administered. In addition, as a result of conditions associated with virtual-only instruction, teacher recommendations will not be part of the process this year. Students with incomplete data and private/home schooled students will be considered in the review.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Here is the latest on HS Criteria Magnet programs

This year’s Pandemic Plan for the high school magnet admission process will continue using multiple measures and professional review committees. Multiple criteria will include pre-COVID and 2020 data such as report card grades, reading level, external assessments (Measures of Academic Progress-Reading and Measures of Academic Progress-Mathematics) and student services (students who receive services in ESOL—English for Speakers of Other Languages, FARMS—Free and Reduced-price Meals System, IEP—Individualized Education Plan and or 504 plan. Due to limitations with in-person instruction and test security, the Cognitive Abilities Assessment (CogAT) and scored essay will not be administered. In addition, as a result of conditions associated with virtual-only instruction, teacher recommendations will not be part of the process this year. Students with incomplete data and private/home schooled students will be considered in the review.

So, grades, MAP, and FARMS/IEP/ESOL status. I hope they didn't get a lot of applications. I have no idea how they'll be able to differentiate between kids with this.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Here is the latest on HS Criteria Magnet programs

This year’s Pandemic Plan for the high school magnet admission process will continue using multiple measures and professional review committees. Multiple criteria will include pre-COVID and 2020 data such as report card grades, reading level, external assessments (Measures of Academic Progress-Reading and Measures of Academic Progress-Mathematics) and student services (students who receive services in ESOL—English for Speakers of Other Languages, FARMS—Free and Reduced-price Meals System, IEP—Individualized Education Plan and or 504 plan. Due to limitations with in-person instruction and test security, the Cognitive Abilities Assessment (CogAT) and scored essay will not be administered. In addition, as a result of conditions associated with virtual-only instruction, teacher recommendations will not be part of the process this year. Students with incomplete data and private/home schooled students will be considered in the review.

So, grades, MAP, and FARMS/IEP/ESOL status. I hope they didn't get a lot of applications. I have no idea how they'll be able to differentiate between kids with this.

They also will look at the short questions/ personal statement answered by the students as part of the application.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Here is the latest on HS Criteria Magnet programs

This year’s Pandemic Plan for the high school magnet admission process will continue using multiple measures and professional review committees. Multiple criteria will include pre-COVID and 2020 data such as report card grades, reading level, external assessments (Measures of Academic Progress-Reading and Measures of Academic Progress-Mathematics) and student services (students who receive services in ESOL—English for Speakers of Other Languages, FARMS—Free and Reduced-price Meals System, IEP—Individualized Education Plan and or 504 plan. Due to limitations with in-person instruction and test security, the Cognitive Abilities Assessment (CogAT) and scored essay will not be administered. In addition, as a result of conditions associated with virtual-only instruction, teacher recommendations will not be part of the process this year. Students with incomplete data and private/home schooled students will be considered in the review.

So, grades, MAP, and FARMS/IEP/ESOL status. I hope they didn't get a lot of applications. I have no idea how they'll be able to differentiate between kids with this.

+1 Likely they'll just take x number of students from each feeder, using a lottery if necessary. The application essays were so short, I don't see how they'd be all that helpful in differentiating. Why did they remove teacher recs????

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

So, grades, MAP, and FARMS/IEP/ESOL status. I hope they didn't get a lot of applications. I have no idea how they'll be able to differentiate between kids with this.

+1 Likely they'll just take x number of students from each feeder, using a lottery if necessary. The application essays were so short, I don't see how they'd be all that helpful in differentiating. Why did they remove teacher recs????

I don't see how they can do that. It says the process is school blind.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Here is the latest on HS Criteria Magnet programs

This year’s Pandemic Plan for the high school magnet admission process will continue using multiple measures and professional review committees. Multiple criteria will include pre-COVID and 2020 data such as report card grades, reading level, external assessments (Measures of Academic Progress-Reading and Measures of Academic Progress-Mathematics) and student services (students who receive services in ESOL—English for Speakers of Other Languages, FARMS—Free and Reduced-price Meals System, IEP—Individualized Education Plan and or 504 plan. Due to limitations with in-person instruction and test security, the Cognitive Abilities Assessment (CogAT) and scored essay will not be administered. In addition, as a result of conditions associated with virtual-only instruction, teacher recommendations will not be part of the process this year. Students with incomplete data and private/home schooled students will be considered in the review.

So, grades, MAP, and FARMS/IEP/ESOL status. I hope they didn't get a lot of applications. I have no idea how they'll be able to differentiate between kids with this.

My guess is, they'll come up with a MAP/GPA benchmark and consider everyone with scores higher than that for a lottery. Isn't it how TJ in Virginia is now handling admissions? Everyone with a GPA over a certain number is eligible to participate in the lottery but that lottery isn't school blind, it is set within school clusters so kids only compete with others from their cluster. That - at least, theoretically - increases equity within the district.
At least, that was the idea at TJ a couple of months ago.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Here is the latest on HS Criteria Magnet programs

This year’s Pandemic Plan for the high school magnet admission process will continue using multiple measures and professional review committees. Multiple criteria will include pre-COVID and 2020 data such as report card grades, reading level, external assessments (Measures of Academic Progress-Reading and Measures of Academic Progress-Mathematics) and student services (students who receive services in ESOL—English for Speakers of Other Languages, FARMS—Free and Reduced-price Meals System, IEP—Individualized Education Plan and or 504 plan. Due to limitations with in-person instruction and test security, the Cognitive Abilities Assessment (CogAT) and scored essay will not be administered. In addition, as a result of conditions associated with virtual-only instruction, teacher recommendations will not be part of the process this year. Students with incomplete data and private/home schooled students will be considered in the review.

So, grades, MAP, and FARMS/IEP/ESOL status. I hope they didn't get a lot of applications. I have no idea how they'll be able to differentiate between kids with this.

My guess is, they'll come up with a MAP/GPA benchmark and consider everyone with scores higher than that for a lottery. Isn't it how TJ in Virginia is now handling admissions? Everyone with a GPA over a certain number is eligible to participate in the lottery but that lottery isn't school blind, it is set within school clusters so kids only compete with others from their cluster. That - at least, theoretically - increases equity within the district.
At least, that was the idea at TJ a couple of months ago.

Yeah, but (at least according to PP), MCPS has specifically said that the ES and MS processes will use a lottery, but they haven't said that for HS. They also say the process is school blind, so I don't know how they could use cluster.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Here is the latest on HS Criteria Magnet programs

This year’s Pandemic Plan for the high school magnet admission process will continue using multiple measures and professional review committees. Multiple criteria will include pre-COVID and 2020 data such as report card grades, reading level, external assessments (Measures of Academic Progress-Reading and Measures of Academic Progress-Mathematics) and student services (students who receive services in ESOL—English for Speakers of Other Languages, FARMS—Free and Reduced-price Meals System, IEP—Individualized Education Plan and or 504 plan. Due to limitations with in-person instruction and test security, the Cognitive Abilities Assessment (CogAT) and scored essay will not be administered. In addition, as a result of conditions associated with virtual-only instruction, teacher recommendations will not be part of the process this year. Students with incomplete data and private/home schooled students will be considered in the review.

So, grades, MAP, and FARMS/IEP/ESOL status. I hope they didn't get a lot of applications. I have no idea how they'll be able to differentiate between kids with this.

+1 Likely they'll just take x number of students from each feeder, using a lottery if necessary. The application essays were so short, I don't see how they'd be all that helpful in differentiating. Why did they remove teacher recs????

No no no. Please stop with the mis information. There is NO Lottery for HS Magnet Criteria based programs. Stop speculating and read the information on the MCPS website and provided here by posters who have copied it in.

[Anonymous]

What about students attending non-MCPS schools that don't conduct standardized testing? Those kids are injured - you can't provide one set of children an opportunity to excel (MAP, reading level) without a reasonable accommodation (private student submits SSAT, etc)?

What about parochial students attending ADW schools? Same injury. Will MCPS accept Scantron scoring/percentiles as part of review?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:What about students attending non-MCPS schools that don't conduct standardized testing? Those kids are injured - you can't provide one set of children an opportunity to excel (MAP, reading level) without a reasonable accommodation (private student submits SSAT, etc)?

What about parochial students attending ADW schools? Same injury. Will MCPS accept Scantron scoring/percentiles as part of review?

MCPS acknowledges this issue in the letter: "Students with incomplete data and private/home schooled students will be considered in the review."