Public/Charter School Lottery Experience

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Re Langley and special education classrooms -- or really any school with students in self-contained classrooms. IT is true Langley has a high percentage of thsoe students. What is less clear is whether all those students are in testing years or not.

But Langley has 150 students who are at risk -- which is clearly affects the test score data far more than the students in the self-contained classrooms (although obviously, some students can be both severely disabled and at-risk). The at-risk student 4+ rate is 6% ELA /5% Math compared to the not at-risk 4+ rate of 10%/15%.

FYI The following DCPS schools have more than 25 students in a Level 4 classroom (highest level of needs) in 17-18 (from OSSE enrollment audit spreadsheets). I'm excluding River Terrace, which is all SN.

The # of students in level 4 classroom / total enrollment

Tyler 33/525
Patterson 36/574
Seaton 25/371
Ludlow-Taylor 34/414
CW Harris 29/278
Whittier 29/325
Beers 48/484
Langley 39/275

Yes. So Langley has a high number of level 4 students, and also it is very high as a percentage of the total school population.

A large special ed program can be advantageous because there is funding for a dedicated program manager, and the school can offer full-time positions to the various therapists, which makes it easy to attract good people. It also means a full-time nurse, which a school of that size might not otherwise have.

It is true that the non-Level IV test scores are also not so hot. It is hard to compare this year PARCC to last year because they have made some changes in how the data is displayed. For anyone looking at Langley (or any school) for preschool or K, I would encourage you to take a detailed look at the PARCC, request K-2nd test scores, and also look median growth percentiles. PARCC does not tell you much if a lot of students are new to the school that year, and a lot of them are (everywhere, not just Langley). There is a lot more than meets the eye if you just look at the oversimplified display on School Profiles.

3-year detailed PARCc scores here. You can also see how many students (assuming the number is more than 10) in each school took the PARCC alternative test (for students with extreme disabilities). https://osse.dc.gov/node/1348731

The main public reporting difference is that DC is going to no longer to separate scores for economically disadvantaged students. At-risk students, special needs students and racial and ethnic groups scores are still available separately.

I was confused by how special needs vs students with disabilities reporting seems to have changed from last year to this.

SN and students with disabilities are the same thing. There is no break out of PARCC scores by Level of SN -- aside from teh very tiny percentage of SN students who take the alternative assessment. But that isnt' a change from previous years.

Results.osse.dc.gov allows you to see how students with disabilities scored overall if the school has more than 10 in the testing grades.

When I look at the OSSE 17-18 Detailed Results spreadsheet I see the subgroup Students With Disabilities on 2018. On the 2017 spreadsheet I see the subgroup Active or Monitored Special Education. Are they the same thing? Also, MSAA results are gone from the 2018 spreadsheets.

MSAA hasn't been scored yet. And yes SWD and Active/Monitored Special Education are the same thing.

Very helpful, thank you!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP, is your anxiety being treated? That would help.

This. Anxiety before results or when finalizing the list is one thing. Anxiety six months in advance is another.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP, is your anxiety being treated? That would help.

This. Anxiety before results or when finalizing the list is one thing. Anxiety six months in advance is another.

I know people who just don't want to deal with the lottery and the stress and so leave the city. Totally fair and reasonable decision. On the other hand, we've been flying by the seat of our pants and so far landed OK but certainly not stress free!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Why Do You Hate Your Neighbors? PP has slinked on off. LOL

Basic Betty mad she can’t call other people racist anymore.

[Anonymous]

Where do you all do your research?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Where do you all do your research?

myschooldc.org -- you can see the attendance zone of every school (traditional public + charter) ; on the data page you can get links to past lottery results
DCPS school profile pages -- basics on all DCPS schools
results.osse.org -- PARCC test scores for every DC public and charter schools
PCSB PMF reports - shows which charters are Tier 1, Tier 2 or Tier 3 and the scores for the different elements making the total score
PCSB charter school annual reports -- shows teacher retention, budgets

Go to the EdFest event in the winter, always before lottery opens. Every school will have reps there at tables to answer questions about schools you are interested in

Go to open houses for schools you think you may want to attend

[Anonymous]

Also - for charters the "Qualitative Site Reviews" are a great resource.

https://www.dcpcsb.org/report/qualitative-school-reviews

[Anonymous]

You can do all of the research and attend all of the open houses, but at the end of the day --- it's still a lottery. I have friends who "lost" the lottery the first year and "won" it the next. If you are limiting your school choices to the top, most desired schools then the chances of your child getting in are very low. If you're willing to branch out and add some schools who might not have the highest testing scores, etc. then your chances are better. Otherwise, I would take the advice of other posters and move out of the city or send your child to a private school.