Montgomery Blair/Albert Einstein vs. B-CC/Whitman -- help me understand the differences

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I'll never understand why some people feel the need to opine about schools with which they clearly have no experience or connection. If OP is still around, I'm sure they would be better helped by people sharing what they actually know about schools their children have attended.

But it's so much more satisfying to look down on people who didn't spend as much as I did on my neighborhood!

[Anonymous]

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Anonymous wrote:I would take the more grounded DCC schools over ones like Whitman or BCC. One can find a sizable high-achieving cohort at any MCPS school. Sure, one may have 5 sections of AP English while the other only has 3, but who cares.

Schools like Whitman and BCC are known for having both drug culture and racial issues. I think there was even a kid with a knife running around the parking lot a few months ago. Not to mention all the racial incidents that plague these schools like the N*word cards or kids in blackface.

Almost half of the high schools in MCPS, including many of the DCC schools, couldn’t produce a single NMSF this year, so the idea that they all have sizable high-achieving cohorts is laughable. They have small cohorts of above-average kids and large cohorts of below-average kids and kids who may be bright but are below grade level due to their limited education before arriving in this country. Who do you think gets the lion’s share of the attention at those schools?

What's laughable is your fixation on NMSF as a measure of school desirability.

It’s one metric. What’s laughable is the suggestion that mediocre schools are “grounded” when they are actually just weighted down.

You do realize that NMSF status us based entirely on performance on one sitting of the PSAT. That’s it. Literally nothing else. I don’t know about your kids, but my kids’ worth is measured by way more than that.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I would take the more grounded DCC schools over ones like Whitman or BCC. One can find a sizable high-achieving cohort at any MCPS school. Sure, one may have 5 sections of AP English while the other only has 3, but who cares.

Schools like Whitman and BCC are known for having both drug culture and racial issues. I think there was even a kid with a knife running around the parking lot a few months ago. Not to mention all the racial incidents that plague these schools like the N*word cards or kids in blackface.

Almost half of the high schools in MCPS, including many of the DCC schools, couldn’t produce a single NMSF this year, so the idea that they all have sizable high-achieving cohorts is laughable. They have small cohorts of above-average kids and large cohorts of below-average kids and kids who may be bright but are below grade level due to their limited education before arriving in this country. Who do you think gets the lion’s share of the attention at those schools?

What's laughable is your fixation on NMSF as a measure of school desirability.

It’s one metric. What’s laughable is the suggestion that mediocre schools are “grounded” when they are actually just weighted down.

Blair consistently does so much better than these vaunted W schools on these important standards like the PSAT I just have to wonder about the value of GS ratings.

You do realize that NMSF status us based entirely on performance on one sitting of the PSAT. That’s it. Literally nothing else. I don’t know about your kids, but my kids’ worth is measured by way more than that.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I would take the more grounded DCC schools over ones like Whitman or BCC. One can find a sizable high-achieving cohort at any MCPS school. Sure, one may have 5 sections of AP English while the other only has 3, but who cares.

Schools like Whitman and BCC are known for having both drug culture and racial issues. I think there was even a kid with a knife running around the parking lot a few months ago. Not to mention all the racial incidents that plague these schools like the N*word cards or kids in blackface.

Almost half of the high schools in MCPS, including many of the DCC schools, couldn’t produce a single NMSF this year, so the idea that they all have sizable high-achieving cohorts is laughable. They have small cohorts of above-average kids and large cohorts of below-average kids and kids who may be bright but are below grade level due to their limited education before arriving in this country. Who do you think gets the lion’s share of the attention at those schools?

What's laughable is your fixation on NMSF as a measure of school desirability.

It’s one metric. What’s laughable is the suggestion that mediocre schools are “grounded” when they are actually just weighted down.

You do realize that NMSF status us based entirely on performance on one sitting of the PSAT. That’s it. Literally nothing else. I don’t know about your kids, but my kids’ worth is measured by way more than that.

Blair consistently does so much better than these vaunted W schools on these important standards like the PSAT I just have to wonder about the value of GS ratings.

[Anonymous]

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Anonymous wrote:It's just about wanting to avoid schools where the primary focus is on getting kids up to grade level or in a position to graduate even if never at grade level. The peer groups at the W schools are academically stronger and encourage each other to excel.

+1 this has been our experience. Add WJ to your list OP. Large ranges of homes, townhomes, condos, and apartment in zone.

My kids are both Blair graduates and had zero classes where the "primary focus (was) on getting kids up to grade level or in a position to graduate even if never at grade level." Both of my kids attended T30 colleges and are highly successful, independent adults now at 25 and 22.

DP and yeah, this example is yet another of people not understanding that there are sizable cohorts of above grade level kids at every single high school in MCPS. Smart kids will have peer groups. They're smaller at some schools than others, and variations in income level, but let's stop mistaking parental income for children's intelligence.

and at a HS of 3K students there's a fairly large high achieving cohort

And also a very large cohort of low achieving kids, up to no good kids, mad at the world kids. What we are talking about is the ratios of said cohorts between the different schools. I would wager there are more kids who are functionally illiterate at Blair than Magnet kids. And while there is some good and bad reasons for that related to economic realities and ESOL. Why not go somewhere where the good kid cohort is the vast majority opposed to a subgroup if you have the means . I am sure there are a few Blair families that could have gotten into a starter home IB for Whitman but every single family at Whitman could have sent their kids to Blair if they wanted to and gotten one of the nicest homes in the area in the process, 2mil goes a looooooong way in the east county. You will never convince me that concentration of high achievers in the West don't know a little bit more about what it takes to achieve than the concentration of average to low achieving families that are naturally IB in the east.

You’re getting a lot of heat for this post but I understand the point. Many schools have a cohort of kids on track to be successful. But the question is what’s the dominant culture of the school. If you have a kid who could go a variety of different directions then that is an important question.

No, you’re not getting it, either. You and PP, who clearly have zero experience with Blair/Einstein/Northwood/etc. think you know what these schools are like. You don’t. You’re assuming all kinds of things about these schools and the kids who attend them (and the families raising them) without actually knowing them.

Two 4s and a 3 on great schools I’m sure they are great for the group of kids who get pushed though if one can just ignore copious amounts kids failing through the crack or perform at grade level. Maybe the Middle class families have more in common with the W parents after all, both pretend that segment of society doesn’t exist but the DCC parents are just better at it because they can do it living next to them while their kids walk in the same halls. The W families just never have to see them.

As much as folks try to deny that test scores are indicative of performance, standardized tests are the only direct way that we have of comparing educational performance between schools. And SAT and AP scores reflect the fact that the "high-achieving" cohort in DCC schools is much smaller than in some other clusters. There are many possible explanations for this, but it is the truth.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I would take the more grounded DCC schools over ones like Whitman or BCC. One can find a sizable high-achieving cohort at any MCPS school. Sure, one may have 5 sections of AP English while the other only has 3, but who cares.

Schools like Whitman and BCC are known for having both drug culture and racial issues. I think there was even a kid with a knife running around the parking lot a few months ago. Not to mention all the racial incidents that plague these schools like the N*word cards or kids in blackface.

The drug and racial problems at these W schools are a serious red flag.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I would take the more grounded DCC schools over ones like Whitman or BCC. One can find a sizable high-achieving cohort at any MCPS school. Sure, one may have 5 sections of AP English while the other only has 3, but who cares.

Schools like Whitman and BCC are known for having both drug culture and racial issues. I think there was even a kid with a knife running around the parking lot a few months ago. Not to mention all the racial incidents that plague these schools like the N*word cards or kids in blackface.

Almost half of the high schools in MCPS, including many of the DCC schools, couldn’t produce a single NMSF this year, so the idea that they all have sizable high-achieving cohorts is laughable. They have small cohorts of above-average kids and large cohorts of below-average kids and kids who may be bright but are below grade level due to their limited education before arriving in this country. Who do you think gets the lion’s share of the attention at those schools?

Well the DCC produced more NMSFs than the Bethesda schools.

[Anonymous]

It’s not the school that produces NMSF. If you live in the DCC and are great at standardized tests, you are highly likely to go to Blair. In addition, scores correlate with wealth (something there is much less of in the DCC).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I would take the more grounded DCC schools over ones like Whitman or BCC. One can find a sizable high-achieving cohort at any MCPS school. Sure, one may have 5 sections of AP English while the other only has 3, but who cares.

Schools like Whitman and BCC are known for having both drug culture and racial issues. I think there was even a kid with a knife running around the parking lot a few months ago. Not to mention all the racial incidents that plague these schools like the N*word cards or kids in blackface.

Almost half of the high schools in MCPS, including many of the DCC schools, couldn’t produce a single NMSF this year, so the idea that they all have sizable high-achieving cohorts is laughable. They have small cohorts of above-average kids and large cohorts of below-average kids and kids who may be bright but are below grade level due to their limited education before arriving in this country. Who do you think gets the lion’s share of the attention at those schools?

What's laughable is your fixation on NMSF as a measure of school desirability.

It’s one metric. What’s laughable is the suggestion that mediocre schools are “grounded” when they are actually just weighted down.

You're right. It's one metric and we know that the DCC produces more NMSFs than the Bethesda schools.
Another metric: the DCC gets more students admitted to the Ivies than the Bethesda schools.
Want another metric?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I would take the more grounded DCC schools over ones like Whitman or BCC. One can find a sizable high-achieving cohort at any MCPS school. Sure, one may have 5 sections of AP English while the other only has 3, but who cares.

Schools like Whitman and BCC are known for having both drug culture and racial issues. I think there was even a kid with a knife running around the parking lot a few months ago. Not to mention all the racial incidents that plague these schools like the N*word cards or kids in blackface.

Almost half of the high schools in MCPS, including many of the DCC schools, couldn’t produce a single NMSF this year, so the idea that they all have sizable high-achieving cohorts is laughable. They have small cohorts of above-average kids and large cohorts of below-average kids and kids who may be bright but are below grade level due to their limited education before arriving in this country. Who do you think gets the lion’s share of the attention at those schools?

What's laughable is your fixation on NMSF as a measure of school desirability.

It’s one metric. What’s laughable is the suggestion that mediocre schools are “grounded” when they are actually just weighted down.

You're right. It's one metric and we know that the DCC produces more NMSFs than the Bethesda schools.
Another metric: the DCC gets more students admitted to the Ivies than the Bethesda schools.
Want another metric?

That doesn't ring true. The last time I checked Bethesda Beats annual college admissions Blair did as well or better on college admission than any W.

https://bethesdamagazine.com/2021/09/06/college-bound-6/

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I would take the more grounded DCC schools over ones like Whitman or BCC. One can find a sizable high-achieving cohort at any MCPS school. Sure, one may have 5 sections of AP English while the other only has 3, but who cares.

Schools like Whitman and BCC are known for having both drug culture and racial issues. I think there was even a kid with a knife running around the parking lot a few months ago. Not to mention all the racial incidents that plague these schools like the N*word cards or kids in blackface.

Almost half of the high schools in MCPS, including many of the DCC schools, couldn’t produce a single NMSF this year, so the idea that they all have sizable high-achieving cohorts is laughable. They have small cohorts of above-average kids and large cohorts of below-average kids and kids who may be bright but are below grade level due to their limited education before arriving in this country. Who do you think gets the lion’s share of the attention at those schools?

Well the DCC produced more NMSFs than the Bethesda schools.

All I know is my non-magnet kid at Blair ended up taking 8 magnet classes over the 4 years they were there was a NMSF and also got into more than one Ivy.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:It’s not the school that produces NMSF. If you live in the DCC and are great at standardized tests, you are highly likely to go to Blair. In addition, scores correlate with wealth (something there is much less of in the DCC).

We're squarely middle class, in dcc, and my kid was nmsf and now at Ivy. Lots of other kids like this too.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I would take the more grounded DCC schools over ones like Whitman or BCC. One can find a sizable high-achieving cohort at any MCPS school. Sure, one may have 5 sections of AP English while the other only has 3, but who cares.

Schools like Whitman and BCC are known for having both drug culture and racial issues. I think there was even a kid with a knife running around the parking lot a few months ago. Not to mention all the racial incidents that plague these schools like the N*word cards or kids in blackface.

Almost half of the high schools in MCPS, including many of the DCC schools, couldn’t produce a single NMSF this year, so the idea that they all have sizable high-achieving cohorts is laughable. They have small cohorts of above-average kids and large cohorts of below-average kids and kids who may be bright but are below grade level due to their limited education before arriving in this country. Who do you think gets the lion’s share of the attention at those schools?

Well the DCC produced more NMSFs than the Bethesda schools.

All I know is my non-magnet kid at Blair ended up taking 8 magnet classes over the 4 years they were there was a NMSF and also got into more than one Ivy.

Nice! Congrats!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I would take the more grounded DCC schools over ones like Whitman or BCC. One can find a sizable high-achieving cohort at any MCPS school. Sure, one may have 5 sections of AP English while the other only has 3, but who cares.

Schools like Whitman and BCC are known for having both drug culture and racial issues. I think there was even a kid with a knife running around the parking lot a few months ago. Not to mention all the racial incidents that plague these schools like the N*word cards or kids in blackface.

Almost half of the high schools in MCPS, including many of the DCC schools, couldn’t produce a single NMSF this year, so the idea that they all have sizable high-achieving cohorts is laughable. They have small cohorts of above-average kids and large cohorts of below-average kids and kids who may be bright but are below grade level due to their limited education before arriving in this country. Who do you think gets the lion’s share of the attention at those schools?

What's laughable is your fixation on NMSF as a measure of school desirability.

It’s one metric. What’s laughable is the suggestion that mediocre schools are “grounded” when they are actually just weighted down.

How about avg income after 10years as a measure of success? I bet that one tracks great schools ratings fairly consistently

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I would take the more grounded DCC schools over ones like Whitman or BCC. One can find a sizable high-achieving cohort at any MCPS school. Sure, one may have 5 sections of AP English while the other only has 3, but who cares.

Schools like Whitman and BCC are known for having both drug culture and racial issues. I think there was even a kid with a knife running around the parking lot a few months ago. Not to mention all the racial incidents that plague these schools like the N*word cards or kids in blackface.

Almost half of the high schools in MCPS, including many of the DCC schools, couldn’t produce a single NMSF this year, so the idea that they all have sizable high-achieving cohorts is laughable. They have small cohorts of above-average kids and large cohorts of below-average kids and kids who may be bright but are below grade level due to their limited education before arriving in this country. Who do you think gets the lion’s share of the attention at those schools?

What's laughable is your fixation on NMSF as a measure of school desirability.

It’s one metric. What’s laughable is the suggestion that mediocre schools are “grounded” when they are actually just weighted down.

You're right. It's one metric and we know that the DCC produces more NMSFs than the Bethesda schools.
Another metric: the DCC gets more students admitted to the Ivies than the Bethesda schools.
Want another metric?

That doesn't ring true. The last time I checked Bethesda Beats annual college admissions Blair did as well or better on college admission than any W.

https://bethesdamagazine.com/2021/09/06/college-bound-6/

Huh?? What doesn't ring true? You are saying the same thing I said.