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Based off the same numbers you have and likely having a DC at the same school, it does not seem easier.
Almost the same number got in in round 1, and fewer got off the wait list this year. Your child, I'm pretty sure, got off the wait list for her preferred magnet. |
She specifically says her kid was already admitted to her preferred magnet. There is no way you can know exactly which school she is referring to. |
I think the PP thinks that they know the other PP, but the situation they are describing with kids two years apart is pretty common in DCUM land and in general. |
Yes, she was admitted off the wait list. |
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There was one specific CES that was almost shut out of the MS magnets a few years ago. There was a big outcry. The numbers were not the same at that CES as the other CES that saw big declines.
I think the PPs who think this applies broadly are wrong. |
Read again. She said she got in to her preferred and was waitlisted for the other one. |
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So if there is no Cogat this year, what happens? |
Nobody knows but they could easily put the decision off a couple of months without a lot of impact. |
They already have. The Cogat was supposed to be given in Oct/Nov, and now parents will get a briefing in December (not the test). The question is, what if there is distance learning all year, and they cannot have the students test online, or bring them in one day in masks for an in-person test? |
Then they base it off the information they have. |
If there is DL all year, there will be no Cogat, period! They will not administer it online because it is proprietary and seems to be guarded as a top secret weapon. And as for bringing students in in masks, at mi child's school 2/3 of the 5rh grade class sat for the test. MCPS will not be able to arrange such a massive testing effort if schools are not open. |
They could easily do either. Even the LSAT can be taken online if proctored so sure not my first choice but under the circumstances it's an option. The website also says something like admissions open in February but it's unclear what is meant by that. My guess is they could probably just give the CogAT in person as things improve later this winter or even in the spring. Would it really be that big a deal if decisions weren't finished until May? |
Unless things go horribly wrong I'm guessing they'll begin to return to school in the second semester especially with a vaccine being increasingly available before the end of year. |
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The big losers if decisions are pushed back to May are families who are deliberating between private and magnet. They will already have put money down by May.
But, under the circumstances, I don't think the system should twist itself into pretzels to make the lives of that sub-section of parents easier. |
They could do it outdoors. There are ways to do it. But agree it shouldn't be a priority. They could use the old Cogat screener from 3rd as another data point, but weigh it lower than they did in last year's selection. However they do it I think it will be a tremendously flawed process. Those desperate enough to want the magnet might have cheated on the Maps so they shouldn't be weighed greater than the Cogat but if there's no Cogat what do they do? Grading also varies tremendously by teacher and by school. Some schools have grade inflation while others don't. Since they want more inclusion of every elementary in the CES schools (same as MS) they could depend more on the schools to highlight strong candidates. But that brings back all the problems of bias we had before and what's to prevent a terrible principal from nominating the PTA president's daughter? |