San Francisco high school plummets in national ranking after eliminating merit-based admissions

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:San Francisco's prestigious Lowell High School was noticeably absent from a recent top 100 ranking of high schools nationwide in data from the first year since the institution adopted a short-lived lottery system for admissions.

School information and college readiness website Niche awarded slots in its annual list to institutions based on various criteria, including academics, diversity, parent and student surveys, assessments of educators and more.

"The Best Public High Schools ranking is based on rigorous analysis of academic and student life data from the U.S. Department of Education along with test scores, college data, and ratings collected from millions of Niche users," the website reads.

Though the district's school board voted against extending the controversial lottery-based system after three progressive board members were recalled in February, Superintendent Dr. Vincent Mathews initially urged the policy to continue for the 2022-2023 school year.

The board's attempt to make the lottery policy permanent was struck down in court last November after a judge argued the school board failed to follow state law in the process.

https://www.foxnews.com/media/san-francisco-high-school-plummets-national-ranking-eliminating-merit-based-admissions

Fox News would misrepresent this. Lowell is now actually serving their community as opposed to a few wealthy families. There's much greater benefit to the cities residents.

Wealthy kids in SF go to private schools. Lowell is for smart kids without family money.

Yup. That poster wrote a knee jerk response without any knowledge about Lowell. Speaking as a democrat, this is the worst kind if liberal.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:San Francisco's prestigious Lowell High School was noticeably absent from a recent top 100 ranking of high schools nationwide in data from the first year since the institution adopted a short-lived lottery system for admissions.

School information and college readiness website Niche awarded slots in its annual list to institutions based on various criteria, including academics, diversity, parent and student surveys, assessments of educators and more.

"The Best Public High Schools ranking is based on rigorous analysis of academic and student life data from the U.S. Department of Education along with test scores, college data, and ratings collected from millions of Niche users," the website reads.

Though the district's school board voted against extending the controversial lottery-based system after three progressive board members were recalled in February, Superintendent Dr. Vincent Mathews initially urged the policy to continue for the 2022-2023 school year.

The board's attempt to make the lottery policy permanent was struck down in court last November after a judge argued the school board failed to follow state law in the process.

https://www.foxnews.com/media/san-francisco-high-school-plummets-national-ranking-eliminating-merit-based-admissions

Fox News would misrepresent this. Lowell is now actually serving their community as opposed to a few wealthy families. There's much greater benefit to the cities residents.

NP from San Francisco here. You could not be more wrong. Lowell has traditionally served a low-income immigrant community. It has changed the life trajectory of many poor kids.

It’s not serving the community at all now. The only thing it’s serving is the political ambitions of some corrupt school board members.

That sounds familiar.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:San Francisco's prestigious Lowell High School was noticeably absent from a recent top 100 ranking of high schools nationwide in data from the first year since the institution adopted a short-lived lottery system for admissions.

School information and college readiness website Niche awarded slots in its annual list to institutions based on various criteria, including academics, diversity, parent and student surveys, assessments of educators and more.

"The Best Public High Schools ranking is based on rigorous analysis of academic and student life data from the U.S. Department of Education along with test scores, college data, and ratings collected from millions of Niche users," the website reads.

Though the district's school board voted against extending the controversial lottery-based system after three progressive board members were recalled in February, Superintendent Dr. Vincent Mathews initially urged the policy to continue for the 2022-2023 school year.

The board's attempt to make the lottery policy permanent was struck down in court last November after a judge argued the school board failed to follow state law in the process.

https://www.foxnews.com/media/san-francisco-high-school-plummets-national-ranking-eliminating-merit-based-admissions

Fox News would misrepresent this. Lowell is now actually serving their community as opposed to a few wealthy families. There's much greater benefit to the cities residents.

NP from San Francisco here. You could not be more wrong. Lowell has traditionally served a low-income immigrant community. It has changed the life trajectory of many poor kids.

It’s not serving the community at all now. The only thing it’s serving is the political ambitions of some corrupt school board members.

This! Under the old merit-based admissions system, Lowell was traditionally nearly 40 percent FARMS.

Yep, Lowell is high FARMs. Not to mention that it historically had a group of kids that was actually homeless. As in, out of a class of 700, about 20 kids were actually classified as homeless.

My friend went to Lowell and later Berkeley. She was homeless as a child. They stayed in shelters. She wasn’t the only one at Lowell.

But she’s Asian, so I guess she doesn’t fit into some policymaker’s picture of a success story.

There are lots of kids like her. Another friend was raised by a single dad whose dad was a delivery driver for a Chinese restaurant. Mom died of illness and he had to translate for his dad at the hospitals when he was a kid. He now works in finance and can support his dad.

[Anonymous]

That’s equity. Before the change in admissions policy, a few selected students got an intense, accelerated education. Now, the gap is lessened. As intended, and coming soon to a school district near you.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:San Francisco's prestigious Lowell High School was noticeably absent from a recent top 100 ranking of high schools nationwide in data from the first year since the institution adopted a short-lived lottery system for admissions.

School information and college readiness website Niche awarded slots in its annual list to institutions based on various criteria, including academics, diversity, parent and student surveys, assessments of educators and more.

"The Best Public High Schools ranking is based on rigorous analysis of academic and student life data from the U.S. Department of Education along with test scores, college data, and ratings collected from millions of Niche users," the website reads.

Though the district's school board voted against extending the controversial lottery-based system after three progressive board members were recalled in February, Superintendent Dr. Vincent Mathews initially urged the policy to continue for the 2022-2023 school year.

The board's attempt to make the lottery policy permanent was struck down in court last November after a judge argued the school board failed to follow state law in the process.

https://www.foxnews.com/media/san-francisco-high-school-plummets-national-ranking-eliminating-merit-based-admissions

Fox News would misrepresent this. Lowell is now actually serving their community as opposed to a few wealthy families. There's much greater benefit to the cities residents.

NP from San Francisco here. You could not be more wrong. Lowell has traditionally served a low-income immigrant community. It has changed the life trajectory of many poor kids.

It’s not serving the community at all now. The only thing it’s serving is the political ambitions of some corrupt school board members.

This! Under the old merit-based admissions system, Lowell was traditionally nearly 40 percent FARMS.

This is so sad. Because of the SF School Board's political ambitions, high-achieving, low-income Asians are being pushed away for rich whites and URMs. Disgusting, and honestly, a form of class warfare.

you got this backwards. The board is fighting the elitist want to take back Lowell by using another faux merit system

[Anonymous]

What a shame. The real problem these days is charter schools, not true public magnet schools. I'm pretty liberal but it's tough to support liberal politicians who are all about charter schools and then have problems with programs like these.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:So the goal for schools should be to be nationally ranked?

Silly me. I thought it should have something to do with education.

Lol. Not anymore. It’s all about striving for high status and prestige.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:So the goal for schools should be to be nationally ranked?

Silly me. I thought it should have something to do with education.

Yes, silly you. The goal of a magnet is to attract top talent, not focus on diversity.

If the kids who are attending these magnets aren't able to perform at that level as the data is showing, then it's not really serving them, nor the high achieving students who didn't make it in because of "diversity".

It's failing.

And ^^PPs are correct: a huge % of students from previous years were FARMs students. They just happen to have a specific skin color. It goes against some people's paradigm that those low income kids who perform well were not black, because apparently, if you are Asian and are high performing, then you must not be lower income.

Newsflash: the low income population of Asians in SF is fairly high.

APIs comprise 42% of San Francisco residents living in poverty, and have the highest rates of increase in poverty rates than any other racial group.

https://apicouncil.org/

so being #1 is more important than educating.

got it.

AAP types are so fkced in the head.

You are the one touched in the head if that is how you interpreted what was stated above. No wonder magnets are going down the tubes with people like you advocating for changes.

Also, my kids aren't in AAP.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:So the goal for schools should be to be nationally ranked?

Silly me. I thought it should have something to do with education.

Lol. Not anymore. It’s all about striving for high status and prestige.

magnets going down the tube because it's all about "diversity" - I guess some people just hate magnets because they feel left out or don't want their kids to have to work hard to get a spot in a magnet.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:So the goal for schools should be to be nationally ranked?

Silly me. I thought it should have something to do with education.

Yes, silly you. The goal of a magnet is to attract top talent, not focus on diversity.

If the kids who are attending these magnets aren't able to perform at that level as the data is showing, then it's not really serving them, nor the high achieving students who didn't make it in because of "diversity".

It's failing.

And ^^PPs are correct: a huge % of students from previous years were FARMs students. They just happen to have a specific skin color. It goes against some people's paradigm that those low income kids who perform well were not black, because apparently, if you are Asian and are high performing, then you must not be lower income.

Newsflash: the low income population of Asians in SF is fairly high.

APIs comprise 42% of San Francisco residents living in poverty, and have the highest rates of increase in poverty rates than any other racial group.

https://apicouncil.org/

so being #1 is more important than educating.

got it.

AAP types are so fkced in the head.

If you don’t care about magnets and AAP and GT programs - fine, don’t send your kid. But why ruin it for those kids who can benefit?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:So the goal for schools should be to be nationally ranked?

Silly me. I thought it should have something to do with education.

Lol. Not anymore. It’s all about striving for high status and prestige.

magnets going down the tube because it's all about "diversity" - I guess some people just hate magnets because they feel left out or don't want their kids to have to work hard to get a spot in a magnet.

Disagree! I think diversity makes them even stronger.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:So the goal for schools should be to be nationally ranked?

Silly me. I thought it should have something to do with education.

Lol. Not anymore. It’s all about striving for high status and prestige.

magnets going down the tube because it's all about "diversity" - I guess some people just hate magnets because they feel left out or don't want their kids to have to work hard to get a spot in a magnet.

Disagree! I think diversity makes them even stronger.

There was already diversity, apparently just not the right kind.

[Anonymous]

Diversity is what we all want but the students need to be able to do the work first and foremost.

[Anonymous]

Curious - while TJ has updated ( not saying lowered) the admissions process, has TJ kept the rigor of the courses and the grading system, the same?

Based on what I have heard, its the same courses, same dis-engaged teachers and same bar for grades.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:That’s equity. Before the change in admissions policy, a few selected students got an intense, accelerated education. Now, the gap is lessened. As intended, and coming soon to a school district near you.

This is such a senseless load of crap.