Student Stratification at Selective High Schools

[Anonymous]

Do we know what that rubric will be for the next lottery class?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I know this isn't the main topic, but would a kid from a Big 3 private with straight As have a shot at getting into Walls, or are they (with good reason) looking more to accept kids who are further from opportunity? Asking because my kid may be interested in leaving their private school.

This is a super interesting question. I'm not sure anyone here can answer it. Their grades would get them past the cut-off and you should be sure to tell the teachers to rank your kid as basically "perfect" in the recommendation (since that was what was required this year and the public school teachers seemed to know this but an outside teacher might rank the top kid as a 9/10 which would not make the Walls cut-off). But then will the interviewer (or Walls staff) ding them because they're coming from private? Who knows! I would hope they get a fair shot but who the heck knows.. it's DCPS. They do what they want. It's all top secret.

[Anonymous]

^^ thank you, I appreciate this honest and rather humorous perspective.

[Anonymous]

A child in my daughter’s class at CHDS got into Walls this year, so it’s definitely possible.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Do we know what that rubric will be for the next lottery class?

Nope. They will announce in the fall. For my kid's class (class of 2025, the first--I think--with no entrance test), they didn't announce till December the basis they were using to pick students.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Do we know what that rubric will be for the next lottery class?

Nope. They will announce in the fall. For my kid's class (class of 2025, the first--I think--with no entrance test), they didn't announce till December the basis they were using to pick students.

I’m hoping they announce earlier in the fall. The first year without an entrance exam was the virtual school year so things were all in flux. Plus they had just fired the principal mid-fall.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Do we know what that rubric will be for the next lottery class?

Nope. They will announce in the fall. For my kid's class (class of 2025, the first--I think--with no entrance test), they didn't announce till December the basis they were using to pick students.

I’m hoping they announce earlier in the fall. The first year without an entrance exam was the virtual school year so things were all in flux. Plus they had just fired the principal mid-fall.

That's correct, re: virtual school year. They did announce the policy earlier last year (for the class of 2028), when I had another kid applying, and when the policy changed again to include recommendation letters and essays.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I know this isn't the main topic, but would a kid from a Big 3 private with straight As have a shot at getting into Walls, or are they (with good reason) looking more to accept kids who are further from opportunity? Asking because my kid may be interested in leaving their private school.

You'll have as good an opportunity as everyone else. My kid came from a private school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I know this isn't the main topic, but would a kid from a Big 3 private with straight As have a shot at getting into Walls, or are they (with good reason) looking more to accept kids who are further from opportunity? Asking because my kid may be interested in leaving their private school.

You'll have as good an opportunity as everyone else. My kid came from a private school.

+1

The interviewers don’t know what middle school your kid is coming from unless the kid tells them.

[Anonymous]

Sure but if you are at a private school with grade deflation you may not meet the Walls GPA threshold.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:A good student is a good student anywhere, I imagine. My former BASIS student was top of the class at BASIS (top 5% every grading period) and continues on the straight A trajectory at Walls. (Not to start a firestorm (!), but kid does find Walls to be easier/less challenging . . . )

I think this is probably not universally true. For example, the Hill middle schools are extremely dumbed down and DCPS grade inflation is rampant. Students from these schools may struggle at a selective high school.

[Anonymous]

Any teen may struggle at a selective high school for whatever reasons. But the half dozen Hill DCPS middle school grads we know who are headed to Walls seem v. unlikely to emerge as academic stragglers there. We've known these kids well since the ECE years. They're bookworms, enthusiastic writers and math whizzes to a kid.

[Anonymous]

+1. Don't judge a student by their DCPS.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Do we know what that rubric will be for the next lottery class?

Is there any kind of organized push to bring back the test?

[Anonymous]

Absolutely not. Under Bowser, no way.