national merit semifinalists announced - link to area schools

[Anonymous]

Gee, this thread was active all of yesterday, and then quiet today until 4pm. That timing meshes perfectly with some high school kid in MoCo.

What do you have against MCPS high school kids? We have nothing against divorcees, silicon and insipid cell phone gossip about neighborhood boyfriends.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:CTY point is crucial and critical if middle school students in private school are taking SAT in 6th, 7th and 8th grades to enter CTY camps and then claiming they do not take standardardized tests like those at TJHS and Blair are doing to enter the magnet schools in their 8th grade. You must think the electorate is stupid.

You wouldn't be one of the Korean immigrant, cram-schooled kids who always posts on these threads about TJ-Blair, right? How are those writing skills coming along for you?

[Anonymous]

You wouldn't be one of the Korean immigrant, cram-schooled kids who always posts on these threads about TJ-Blair, right? How are those writing skills coming along for you?

I am not from Korea and I graduated from a Big 3 school. Therefore, I had to work overtime on improving my writing skills in college. It's still a work in progress.

EB White

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

The difference is that TJ and Blair take a tiny fraction of the top test takers. CTY, at least in our experience, wasn't that selective (after all they are selling products). And taking the SAT once in 7th grade to qualify for CTY without any prep was useless in terms of future test prep. I think my DC got something like a 400 on one section.

I didn't think any 7th grader could qualify for CTY with a score of 400?

This was for summer camp. You can qualify for math/science or humanities programs or both. Mine qualified for one but not the other.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:CTY point is crucial and critical if middle school students in private school are taking SAT in 6th, 7th and 8th grades to enter CTY camps and then claiming they do not take standardardized tests like those at TJHS and Blair are doing to enter the magnet schools in their 8th grade. You must think the electorate is stupid.

The difference is that TJ and Blair take a tiny fraction of the top test takers. CTY, at least in our experience, wasn't that selective (after all they are selling products). And taking the SAT once in 7th grade to qualify for CTY without any prep was useless in terms of future test prep. I think my DC got something like a 400 on one section.

Experience with the SAT is experience with the SAT, whether you're doing it for CTY or for some other purpose.

Experience is good. But the 7th grade experience was irrelevant. My DC has taken mock ACTs, SATs and PSATs as part of test prep. That is relevant. Plus all 9th graders and 10th graders take the PSAT at school.

[Anonymous]

Experience is good. But the 7th grade experience was irrelevant. My DC has taken mock ACTs, SATs and PSATs as part of test prep. That is relevant. Plus all 9th graders and 10th graders take the PSAT at school.

How do you know? any data? or more embarrassing rationalizations.

Heck, if all students had the opportunity of taking the SAT exam in the 7th grade this experience will not be irrelevant vis a vis later bites at the apple!

[Anonymous]

Experience is good. But the 7th grade experience was irrelevant. My DC has taken mock ACTs, SATs and PSATs as part of test prep. That is relevant. Plus all 9th graders and 10th graders take the PSAT at school.

Why do all 9th graders and 10th graders do this...? but if 7th and 8th graders do the same it's irrelevant?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Blah blah blah. Every year, like the swallows returning to Capistrno, the Blair Magnet/TJ people return to populate this forum.

Cry baby. I go to private school. But a spade is still a spade.

Yes, many high school aged children I know use dated phrases like "call a spade a spade" -- lol. You're 50 if you're a day (another dated phrase, btw), Petunia.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

You mean the magnet school kids - not the public school kids - right? If you took the magnet school kids out of the mix - how many Blair and TJ kids are NMSFs?

That is why all the other schools don't have NMSFs because they took a test and a big magnet pulled them into these two schools.

Now explain Whitman - that's impressive.

Did it ever occur to you that schools like Whitman and Wootton (student peer group and bricks and mortar) may be just as good or better than most D.C. area private schools?

If I took an average kid and sent them there would they be a NMSF after a few years?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:CTY point is crucial and critical if middle school students in private school are taking SAT in 6th, 7th and 8th grades to enter CTY camps and then claiming they do not take standardardized tests like those at TJHS and Blair are doing to enter the magnet schools in their 8th grade. You must think the electorate is stupid.

Every private school kid needs to take and extrance exam to get into private. So private school parents know that there is a test in 7th/8th. We also know that it is politically correct to give merit scholarships so the kids with the highest scores are recruited to the privates schools. Free tuition = NMSF in that school.

Who does not know this?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Experience is good. But the 7th grade experience was irrelevant. My DC has taken mock ACTs, SATs and PSATs as part of test prep. That is relevant. Plus all 9th graders and 10th graders take the PSAT at school.

Why do all 9th graders and 10th graders do this...? but if 7th and 8th graders do the same it's irrelevant?

Because the school (public) requires it. The test is administered on a school day and all 9th-11th graders take the test. Maybe you can opt out but I don't think so.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:CTY point is crucial and critical if middle school students in private school are taking SAT in 6th, 7th and 8th grades to enter CTY camps and then claiming they do not take standardardized tests like those at TJHS and Blair are doing to enter the magnet schools in their 8th grade. You must think the electorate is stupid.

Every private school kid needs to take and extrance exam to get into private. So private school parents know that there is a test in 7th/8th. We also know that it is politically correct to give merit scholarships so the kids with the highest scores are recruited to the privates schools. Free tuition = NMSF in that school.

Who does not know this?

My kid got into private school at age 4 and did not have any additional testing in 7th or 8th grade. And our school's financial aid is all need-based. So I know that what you're saying isn't accurate.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:CTY point is crucial and critical if middle school students in private school are taking SAT in 6th, 7th and 8th grades to enter CTY camps and then claiming they do not take standardardized tests like those at TJHS and Blair are doing to enter the magnet schools in their 8th grade. You must think the electorate is stupid.

Every private school kid needs to take and extrance exam to get into private. So private school parents know that there is a test in 7th/8th. We also know that it is politically correct to give merit scholarships so the kids with the highest scores are recruited to the privates schools. Free tuition = NMSF in that school.

Who does not know this?

My kid got into private school at age 4 and did not have any additional testing in 7th or 8th grade. And our school's financial aid is all need-based. So I know that what you're saying isn't accurate.

Your right. I am just thinking of private elementary school kids who's school ends in 8th and HS's that start in HS. All the schools we are looking at give "merit" scholarships.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

The only kids in TJ and Blair (Magnet) are those that tested in in 9th grade from huge pools of students. Their NMSF results are a self-licking ice-cream cone. You can't compare these schools with any other public or privates. Their admits are just different. Maybe the schools have amazing teachers that make them smarter, but that is doubtful.

And yes, DC's higher cut-off makes a huge difference considering the population of kids in the DC privates. It's a joke to call it a National Merit test. It's really a State Merit test - students are only evaluated against students going to school in that state, using that state's score.

Wrong. They test in the 8th grade (December). CTY testers all test with SAT in 7th and 8th grades.

Oh, please. They are entering in 9th grade. Of course, they are testing in 8th grade. The point you missed is that these kids are chosen right before high school based on test tesults, from a huge applicant pool. TJ has its own test, which is not the SAT.

[Anonymous]

If I took an average kid and sent them there would they be a NMSF after a few years?

I doubt this? How many of your own children are NMSF ( 100% of them)?