Are the Blair and RMIB magnet programs even any good?
![[Post New]](/jforum/templates/default/images/icon_minipost_new.gif){kind=icon}
Anonymous
| Aren't they at not that great schools? Are the teachers good? Do the magnet programs actally help with college or anything? |
Anonymous
| They are spectacular programs. DS is in Blair SMCS and the classes offered there and the teachers are fantastic. |
Anonymous
|
They are terrible. Don't bother applying. RM is definitely in ganglandia with million dollar homes in the cluster.
/s |
Anonymous
|
Based on the students that we have known and seen from those programs, this includes going back thirty years to now, they're excellent programs.
We've seen student clubs from the Blair magnet program showcasing their things at local events and it's really next level. We have friends who aren't really into academics but are impressed with what they see and they always donate to them when they see the kind of stuff they're doing. Then in general, we see a lot of high performing students in those programs. And if they're indicative of the rest of the students, it's a really high performing atmosphere. I don't really care about the proposed regional model. Other than it doesn't make sense in a lot of ways. In some ways, I see the benefits where it gives some students access to better schools. But they still left the NEC by itself. We likely won't send our kids out of the schools that they are currently zoned for. But it's a shame that they're looking into changing the long established countywide programs. |
Anonymous
|
Let's not talk about competitions, awards, future career paths, but just compare statistics for standard SAT test:
Average SAT scores (not all in the same year as not all data are publicly available, but from recent years): Blair SMCS: 779 (math), 750 (reading) RMIB: 615 (math), 621 (reading) TJ: 782 (math), 746 (reading) MCPS average: 1063 (total; didn't find breakdown) FCPS average: 607 (math), 604 (reading) References: https://old.mbhs.edu/departments/magnet/ParentResources/MagnetProfile.pdf https://old.mbhs.edu/departments/magnet/ParentResources/MagnetProfile.pdf https://www.montgomeryschoolsmd.org/siteassets/schools/high-schools/r-w/rmhs/uploadedfiles/ib/2023-2024-ib-insert-for-rmhs-school-profile-1-3.pdf?usp=sharing https://ww2.montgomeryschoolsmd.org/annualreport/2024/# |
Anonymous
| And also, from my personal experience, my DC did zero preparation for PSAT test, qualified for NMSF. They did one mock test for preparing SAT (using CB provided mock test set), and got 1590 with one try. They later surfed through a top college with straight-A and felt course workload was less compared to their HS years. It proves how solid foundation that the SMCS program built for my DC. |
Anonymous
Your RMIB numbers must be waaaaaaaay off. They had 37 kids (?) out of 100+ kids winning NMSF (even more than Blair or much higher % than TJ). |
Anonymous
I provided the reference links on their schools' websites. Could you even click and read before you say my numbers were wrong? RMIB is more diverge in terms of performance, while Blair SMCS is more homogeneous in general. |
Anonymous
Those RMIB SAT scores (from 2023) are weirdly low. This year RMIB has more NMSFs than Blair. My point is simply that the three programs are very similar in terms of high performers. That said, Blair supports and advises their kids better in terms of college admissions, competitions etc. TJ of course is nationally known for its excellence in STEM, but Blair seems to be outperforming all the programs in terms of national and international competitions these days. |
Anonymous
PP here. Yes, I agree with you. I just took those numbers from their own published data. I believe they never published the standard deviation, so a mean is not telling the full story. It could be the mean of all RM students who took IB classes or got IBDP. RMIB has excellent college admission rate as well. Those are published data. If OP is interested in comparing more statistics, they can find using a ChatGPT these days. With the regional model, RMIB wouldn't decline too much. Blair will. But who cares. My kids are done, and they were so lucky. |
Anonymous
| My guess is that PP used (or school used) school wide SAT scores. My kids got 780/800 range and all of their friends got upper 700s too. |
Anonymous
This. OP move along, please discourage your child from applying! In all seriousness, the people I know who graduated from these two programs all operate at top levels professionally and are able to function anywhere. They are also down to earth and give back to their communities, probably because they didn't come from a sequestered private school upbringing. |
Anonymous
| The regionalized approach is really disappointing. I personally don't care - as PP said - we are done and out. But for other families with kids who can be benefited by these incredible programs, it's too bad. They don't realize what they will be missing. |
Anonymous
I am sorry PP. Your numbers are simply wrong. |
Anonymous
Then please provide an updated link with the correct numbers, please. I'm also surprised to see those low numbers but mentioned later in my post below that the calculation might be based on a wider student body. If you really care to get correct numbers, either find a valid source, or ask the program coordinator. |