Wouldn't it be easier for your child to stand out in an average/low rated school vs a high rated?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The answer to the question is ...

Yes. It is easier to stand out among a smaller group of high achievers.

Great for some kids, not for others. Should be weighed when making decisions on what is best for your kid.

Kids are also more likely to be high achievers with a stronger peer group where the expectations are higher.

Not all kids.
You have to decide what is best for your child. You aren’t raising a cohort... unless you are a Duggar.

Sorry, no idea what a “Duggar” is, but do know that most DCUM posters want their children to be challenged in school, not sliding by in an environment where average is the norm or the focus is on getting the kids who struggle with English to demonstrate minimal competency.

But every single high school has AP classes and plenty of challenge available. The kids "sliding by" or struggling with English may have lockers near my kid or eat lunch in the same cafeteria, but they're not in AP Physics with him.

[Anonymous]

The AP pass rates vary by school. One would think the top kids are raking the AP math and science classes....and yet, some schools have a 25% passrate and others have an 85% passrate on the same test. No way the "just trying AP" kids are taking AP calculus. Is it the teaching? Lack of drive of the kids? Lack of challenge leading up to it? A who cares about the test philosophy? I don't know.

Op, your question assumes a child will stand out. Surely it is easier to be noticed in a crowd of just-getting-by. Do you already know your kid is going to stand out? Most kids don't...there is something to be said for harnessing the positive value if peer pressure in a school where most kids are trying to study, do well, (take and pass APs) and get into college.

In some schools, the athletics and basic behavioral compliance take more attention than the studying and achieving.

[Anonymous]

... the top kids are TAKING....


not "raking"

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The AP pass rates vary by school. One would think the top kids are raking the AP math and science classes....and yet, some schools have a 25% passrate and others have an 85% passrate on the same test. No way the "just trying AP" kids are taking AP calculus. Is it the teaching? Lack of drive of the kids? Lack of challenge leading up to it? A who cares about the test philosophy? I don't know.

Op, your question assumes a child will stand out. Surely it is easier to be noticed in a crowd of just-getting-by. Do you already know your kid is going to stand out? Most kids don't...there is something to be said for harnessing the positive value if peer pressure in a school where most kids are trying to study, do well, (take and pass APs) and get into college.

In some schools, the athletics and basic behavioral compliance take more attention than the studying and achieving.

Please. Areas like Springfield are hardly Compton. This sort of thinking is about parents, not children. It’s about fear. It’s about racism. It’s about classism.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The AP pass rates vary by school. One would think the top kids are raking the AP math and science classes....and yet, some schools have a 25% passrate and others have an 85% passrate on the same test. No way the "just trying AP" kids are taking AP calculus. Is it the teaching? Lack of drive of the kids? Lack of challenge leading up to it? A who cares about the test philosophy? I don't know.

Op, your question assumes a child will stand out. Surely it is easier to be noticed in a crowd of just-getting-by. Do you already know your kid is going to stand out? Most kids don't...there is something to be said for harnessing the positive value if peer pressure in a school where most kids are trying to study, do well, (take and pass APs) and get into college.

In some schools, the athletics and basic behavioral compliance take more attention than the studying and achieving.

Please. Areas like Springfield are hardly Compton. This sort of thinking is about parents, not children. It’s about fear. It’s about racism. It’s about classism.

It’s ironic that you slap a series of labels on PP while at the same time casually using “Compton” as a synonym for a dysfunctional community.

Central Springfield has plenty of crimes, drugs and poverty, courtesy of an aging housing stock, proximity to two major interstates, and the Obama Administration’s casual policy to allow undocumented minors into areas like NoVa and suburban Maryland. The difference between Springfield or Langley Park and South Central LA is not as great as you seem to think.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The AP pass rates vary by school. One would think the top kids are raking the AP math and science classes....and yet, some schools have a 25% passrate and others have an 85% passrate on the same test. No way the "just trying AP" kids are taking AP calculus. Is it the teaching? Lack of drive of the kids? Lack of challenge leading up to it? A who cares about the test philosophy? I don't know.

Op, your question assumes a child will stand out. Surely it is easier to be noticed in a crowd of just-getting-by. Do you already know your kid is going to stand out? Most kids don't...there is something to be said for harnessing the positive value if peer pressure in a school where most kids are trying to study, do well, (take and pass APs) and get into college.

In some schools, the athletics and basic behavioral compliance take more attention than the studying and achieving.

Please. Areas like Springfield are hardly Compton. This sort of thinking is about parents, not children. It’s about fear. It’s about racism. It’s about classism.

It’s ironic that you slap a series of labels on PP while at the same time casually using “Compton” as a synonym for a dysfunctional community.



Central Springfield has plenty of crimes, drugs and poverty, courtesy of an aging housing stock, proximity to two major interstates, and the Obama Administration’s casual policy to allow undocumented minors into areas like NoVa and suburban Maryland. The difference between Springfield or Langley Park and South Central LA is not as great as you seem to think.

Yes... how ironic to refer to a city that literally birthed a genre of music called gansta rap, and was infamous for its crime rate and gang activity. Oh the irony.
And you think Springfield is similar! The sheltered life you must lead...

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The AP pass rates vary by school. One would think the top kids are raking the AP math and science classes....and yet, some schools have a 25% passrate and others have an 85% passrate on the same test. No way the "just trying AP" kids are taking AP calculus. Is it the teaching? Lack of drive of the kids? Lack of challenge leading up to it? A who cares about the test philosophy? I don't know.

Op, your question assumes a child will stand out. Surely it is easier to be noticed in a crowd of just-getting-by. Do you already know your kid is going to stand out? Most kids don't...there is something to be said for harnessing the positive value if peer pressure in a school where most kids are trying to study, do well, (take and pass APs) and get into college.

In some schools, the athletics and basic behavioral compliance take more attention than the studying and achieving.

Please. Areas like Springfield are hardly Compton. This sort of thinking is about parents, not children. It’s about fear. It’s about racism. It’s about classism.

It’s ironic that you slap a series of labels on PP while at the same time casually using “Compton” as a synonym for a dysfunctional community.

Central Springfield has plenty of crimes, drugs and poverty, courtesy of an aging housing stock, proximity to two major interstates, and the Obama Administration’s casual policy to allow undocumented minors into areas like NoVa and suburban Maryland. The difference between Springfield or Langley Park and South Central LA is not as great as you seem to think.

NP here. Did not read the whole thread. My kid is in the Springfield Estates AAP center and we live in FCPS Alexandria. There are five full AAP Level IV classes in each grade. We live in a paid off single family home that is right off 395/495/95. DH and I are ivy educated. We have neighbors who are physicians, lawyers and engineers. I see Harvard, Yale and Penn sweatshirts around our neighborhood. This is not Compton.

We can easily afford to move to Mclean. We can afford private school. We feel our child is getting an excellent education and is challenged. I’m so impressed with the kids I have encountered at this AAP center. Not everyone is rich but everyone is smart. Love the diverse community.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The AP pass rates vary by school. One would think the top kids are raking the AP math and science classes....and yet, some schools have a 25% passrate and others have an 85% passrate on the same test. No way the "just trying AP" kids are taking AP calculus. Is it the teaching? Lack of drive of the kids? Lack of challenge leading up to it? A who cares about the test philosophy? I don't know.

Op, your question assumes a child will stand out. Surely it is easier to be noticed in a crowd of just-getting-by. Do you already know your kid is going to stand out? Most kids don't...there is something to be said for harnessing the positive value if peer pressure in a school where most kids are trying to study, do well, (take and pass APs) and get into college.

In some schools, the athletics and basic behavioral compliance take more attention than the studying and achieving.

Please. Areas like Springfield are hardly Compton. This sort of thinking is about parents, not children. It’s about fear. It’s about racism. It’s about classism.

It’s ironic that you slap a series of labels on PP while at the same time casually using “Compton” as a synonym for a dysfunctional community.

Central Springfield has plenty of crimes, drugs and poverty, courtesy of an aging housing stock, proximity to two major interstates, and the Obama Administration’s casual policy to allow undocumented minors into areas like NoVa and suburban Maryland. The difference between Springfield or Langley Park and South Central LA is not as great as you seem to think.

NP here. Did not read the whole thread. My kid is in the Springfield Estates AAP center and we live in FCPS Alexandria. There are five full AAP Level IV classes in each grade. We live in a paid off single family home that is right off 395/495/95. DH and I are ivy educated. We have neighbors who are physicians, lawyers and engineers. I see Harvard, Yale and Penn sweatshirts around our neighborhood. This is not Compton.

We can easily afford to move to Mclean. We can afford private school. We feel our child is getting an excellent education and is challenged. I’m so impressed with the kids I have encountered at this AAP center. Not everyone is rich but everyone is smart. Love the diverse community.

I agree that SEES is an excellent school and education. But, that is really beside the point of this discussion. SEES is essentially the same as opting out of the low-end schools. HS may be a different story -- but the kids who are coming out of SEES are the ones who would excel at any school. It's the kids who didn't get into SEES in the first place who might benefit from a higher performing school or might be distracted by the non-goal-oriented if they are in a low-success school. Your SEES kid will, by definition, be in the separate classes for the higher achieving kids. The standard of instruction and discussion in the non-honors classes is something your kid won't experience. Your kid is already in the group of "stand out" kids.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The answer to the question is ...

Yes. It is easier to stand out among a smaller group of high achievers.

Great for some kids, not for others. Should be weighed when making decisions on what is best for your kid.

Kids are also more likely to be high achievers with a stronger peer group where the expectations are higher.

Not all kids.
You have to decide what is best for your child. You aren’t raising a cohort... unless you are a Duggar.

Sorry, no idea what a “Duggar” is, but do know that most DCUM posters want their children to be challenged in school, not sliding by in an environment where average is the norm or the focus is on getting the kids who struggle with English to demonstrate minimal competency.

But every single high school has AP classes and plenty of challenge available. The kids "sliding by" or struggling with English may have lockers near my kid or eat lunch in the same cafeteria, but they're not in AP Physics with him.

Some high schools offer more and varied APs and have more classes of the same AP so that there is more flexibility of schedules. They will not offer an AP if not enough students sign up for it. There also might be more than enough students for one class but not enough for two classes- so some students don’t get to take it. The more classes of the the same AP the less chance of that happening.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Looks like the freaked out tiger moms found the thread.
Sorry guys, but there are no guarantees. It’s not a zero sum game, where you are promised success for your child if you buy a house zoned to a GS 8. Meanwhile all the kids at the 3 school will be taking out junior’s garbage.
There are children of more humble beginnings that will surpass your kid.
Kids that don’t cram.
Or take every AP.
Or get a perfect SAT score.
That’s life. It’ll be ok. Your kids will be fine.
Or they won’t.
No way to know.

+1. Every school, everywhere has smart kids who will do well. I grew up lower middle-class and let me tell you: it was the best motivator to do my best all the time. I went to a crap, rural high school and got into a top SLAC. I earned a master's degree from a top 10 program. I was the first in my family to get a four-year degree AND a master's degree. My nieces and nephews are following in my footsteps now that the bar has been raised. Motivation and personal resilience can't be bought.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I heard it would be easier for a student with a high GPA graduating from a low rated school than it is the other way around

This can be true, but with a big caveat. The problem with being the kid with a high GPA from a lower performing school is that colleges know that students from lower performing schools are less likely to be prepared for college, even with a high GPA, so the high GPA isn't enough; you need other corroborating achievements to demonstrate a high level of college readiness. A kid with a slightly lower GPA from a more rigorous high school will have already demonstrated college readiness by their performance in the context of their school so they don't need as much corroboration; they will instead have to find other achievements as a way to stand out.

Honestly, I think it truly is a matter of stats and extracurricular. I really don't think colleges are apt to punish kids for attending a lower ranked school, something that is completely beyond their control. I've heard many times that colleges aren't judging kids on the school, but what they've done with the opportunities they were given. Intuition leads me to think this is true.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The answer to the question is ...

Yes. It is easier to stand out among a smaller group of high achievers.

Great for some kids, not for others. Should be weighed when making decisions on what is best for your kid.

Kids are also more likely to be high achievers with a stronger peer group where the expectations are higher.

Not all kids.
You have to decide what is best for your child. You aren’t raising a cohort... unless you are a Duggar.

Sorry, no idea what a “Duggar” is, but do know that most DCUM posters want their children to be challenged in school, not sliding by in an environment where average is the norm or the focus is on getting the kids who struggle with English to demonstrate minimal competency.

But every single high school has AP classes and plenty of challenge available. The kids "sliding by" or struggling with English may have lockers near my kid or eat lunch in the same cafeteria, but they're not in AP Physics with him.

Some high schools offer more and varied APs and have more classes of the same AP so that there is more flexibility of schedules. They will not offer an AP if not enough students sign up for it. There also might be more than enough students for one class but not enough for two classes- so some students don’t get to take it. The more classes of the the same AP the less chance of that happening.

And some schools don’t even have AP because FCPS saddled them with IB, largely to try and placate parents who implied they’d only keep their kids at low-performing schools if there was a way to make sure they “stood out.” The low number of IB diplomas at schools like Lee, however, suggests more eventually just bailed and decided to look for higher-rated schools.

[Anonymous]

A child with a 4.125 coming from FCHS has a higher likelihood of getting into UVA than a child with a 4.125 coming out of OHS. Why? Because a 4.125 is not as common at FCHS and is a dime a dozen at OHS. So the FCHS student is one of a few to earn such, and the college admissions know this. This student shows more potential than the same student at OHS. Iow, a 4.125 at a lower rated school is on par with a 4.375 at a higher rated school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:A child with a 4.125 coming from FCHS has a higher likelihood of getting into UVA than a child with a 4.125 coming out of OHS. Why? Because a 4.125 is not as common at FCHS and is a dime a dozen at OHS. So the FCHS student is one of a few to earn such, and the college admissions know this. This student shows more potential than the same student at OHS. Iow, a 4.125 at a lower rated school is on par with a 4.375 at a higher rated school.

This is offset by more students from OHS getting into UVA than students from FCHS getting into UVA.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:A child with a 4.125 coming from FCHS has a higher likelihood of getting into UVA than a child with a 4.125 coming out of OHS. Why? Because a 4.125 is not as common at FCHS and is a dime a dozen at OHS. So the FCHS student is one of a few to earn such, and the college admissions know this. This student shows more potential than the same student at OHS. Iow, a 4.125 at a lower rated school is on par with a 4.375 at a higher rated school.

This is offset by more students from OHS getting into UVA than students from FCHS getting into UVA.

But a higher GPA is needed from OHS than FHS, FCHS, HHS. It’s not “fair” but is reality.