Seeking info on McKinley Tech HS

[Anonymous]

why were posts deleted?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:why were posts deleted?

I noticed that happening this week in the Lottery Results thread as well. I wanted to assume it was a tech glitch, or is there another way that posts are being filtered/deleted?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:why were posts deleted?

I noticed that happening this week in the Lottery Results thread as well. I wanted to assume it was a tech glitch, or is there another way that posts are being filtered/deleted?

You can report inappropriate or off-topic posts and Jeff will delete them. I didn’t see any in this thread but maybe I missed them. In the past I’ve reported posts for using dehumanizing language and advocating violence. I’ve also reported perfectly civil posts that try to turn a thread about School A into a conversation about School B. I strongly recommend reporting, rather than replying, if your goal is to shut down that sort of derailment or incivility.

[Anonymous]

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Anonymous wrote:Don’t know much about the school but I don’t see how you can seriously consider it a tech or STEM school when only 4% of the kids are on or above grade level in math.

Those numbers are terrible.

It's 22%.

Not sure where you are getting your info but it’s 4% here.

https://schoolreportcard.dc.gov/lea/1/school/435/report

Probably I'm not getting it from a link to McKinley middle school.

Here is a proper link, showing 22 percent getting 4 in math, 0 5s.

https://profiles.dcps.dc.gov/McKinley+Technology+High+School

Also please remember that the strongest students also don’t take math CAPE both years in HS. So it is 22% plus the (small but not zero) number of students who have already taken both algebra 1 and geometry.

Unlike BASIS that has all HS students take CAPE regardless of their math placement (so you will have students in precalc taking an easier math CAPE) at McKinley 9th graders in Algebra II and 10th graders in Algebra II or precalc just don’t take math cape and don’t contribute to the %.

This topic and clarification comes around on threads every few months like clockwork - I really wish DCPS did a better job of explaining this/positing it somewhere because it does skew the test results in high school, for math specifically. Math is the only subject in DCPS that kids are allowed to take ahead of schedule, and the kids who jump ahead of schedule are the kids who would do better on the test.

The best information would be either how many kids took it ahead of schedule or how many kids opted out.

I posted numbers on a thread last year. It wasn't a lot of kids. If you just use the 9th grade test scores, instead of 9th and 10th, it's not an issue at all outside of SWW.

If that’s the case, 22% of kids getting a 4 and zero 5’s is dire.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:why were posts deleted?

I noticed that happening this week in the Lottery Results thread as well. I wanted to assume it was a tech glitch, or is there another way that posts are being filtered/deleted?

You can report inappropriate or off-topic posts and Jeff will delete them. I didn’t see any in this thread but maybe I missed them. In the past I’ve reported posts for using dehumanizing language and advocating violence. I’ve also reported perfectly civil posts that try to turn a thread about School A into a conversation about School B. I strongly recommend reporting, rather than replying, if your goal is to shut down that sort of derailment or incivility.

The post that I noticed missing today was about math test score data - and I don't remember the one exactly in the lottery post, but I think it was about middle school options. Somebody may have reported that didn't like the conversation, but I don't think they were offensive. Either way, no big deal!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

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Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Don’t know much about the school but I don’t see how you can seriously consider it a tech or STEM school when only 4% of the kids are on or above grade level in math.

Those numbers are terrible.

It's 22%.

Not sure where you are getting your info but it’s 4% here.

https://schoolreportcard.dc.gov/lea/1/school/435/report

Probably I'm not getting it from a link to McKinley middle school.

Here is a proper link, showing 22 percent getting 4 in math, 0 5s.

https://profiles.dcps.dc.gov/McKinley+Technology+High+School

Also please remember that the strongest students also don’t take math CAPE both years in HS. So it is 22% plus the (small but not zero) number of students who have already taken both algebra 1 and geometry.

Unlike BASIS that has all HS students take CAPE regardless of their math placement (so you will have students in precalc taking an easier math CAPE) at McKinley 9th graders in Algebra II and 10th graders in Algebra II or precalc just don’t take math cape and don’t contribute to the %.

This topic and clarification comes around on threads every few months like clockwork - I really wish DCPS did a better job of explaining this/positing it somewhere because it does skew the test results in high school, for math specifically. Math is the only subject in DCPS that kids are allowed to take ahead of schedule, and the kids who jump ahead of schedule are the kids who would do better on the test.

The best information would be either how many kids took it ahead of schedule or how many kids opted out.

I posted numbers on a thread last year. It wasn't a lot of kids. If you just use the 9th grade test scores, instead of 9th and 10th, it's not an issue at all outside of SWW.

If that’s the case, 22% of kids getting a 4 and zero 5’s is dire.

Call it what you want. I think it's a good school. It's not trying to be Bronx Science, and it's a good thing that motivated kids who are zoned for egregiously bad high schools wind up somewhere better.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:why were posts deleted?

Some of the posts incorrectly attributed McKinley Middle School data to the high school. I asked that they be deleted as they were patently false.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Don’t know much about the school but I don’t see how you can seriously consider it a tech or STEM school when only 4% of the kids are on or above grade level in math.

Those numbers are terrible.

It's 22%.

Not sure where you are getting your info but it’s 4% here.

https://schoolreportcard.dc.gov/lea/1/school/435/report

Probably I'm not getting it from a link to McKinley middle school.

Here is a proper link, showing 22 percent getting 4 in math, 0 5s.

https://profiles.dcps.dc.gov/McKinley+Technology+High+School

Also please remember that the strongest students also don’t take math CAPE both years in HS. So it is 22% plus the (small but not zero) number of students who have already taken both algebra 1 and geometry.

Unlike BASIS that has all HS students take CAPE regardless of their math placement (so you will have students in precalc taking an easier math CAPE) at McKinley 9th graders in Algebra II and 10th graders in Algebra II or precalc just don’t take math cape and don’t contribute to the %.

This topic and clarification comes around on threads every few months like clockwork - I really wish DCPS did a better job of explaining this/positing it somewhere because it does skew the test results in high school, for math specifically. Math is the only subject in DCPS that kids are allowed to take ahead of schedule, and the kids who jump ahead of schedule are the kids who would do better on the test.

The best information would be either how many kids took it ahead of schedule or how many kids opted out.

I posted numbers on a thread last year. It wasn't a lot of kids. If you just use the 9th grade test scores, instead of 9th and 10th, it's not an issue at all outside of SWW.

If that’s the case, 22% of kids getting a 4 and zero 5’s is dire.

Call it what you want. I think it's a good school. It's not trying to be Bronx Science, and it's a good thing that motivated kids who are zoned for egregiously bad high schools wind up somewhere better.

22% of the student body is at grade level for math at a tech school. What’s the future for these kids? It’s not IT!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Don’t know much about the school but I don’t see how you can seriously consider it a tech or STEM school when only 4% of the kids are on or above grade level in math.

Those numbers are terrible.

It's 22%.

Not sure where you are getting your info but it’s 4% here.

https://schoolreportcard.dc.gov/lea/1/school/435/report

Probably I'm not getting it from a link to McKinley middle school.

Here is a proper link, showing 22 percent getting 4 in math, 0 5s.

https://profiles.dcps.dc.gov/McKinley+Technology+High+School

Also please remember that the strongest students also don’t take math CAPE both years in HS. So it is 22% plus the (small but not zero) number of students who have already taken both algebra 1 and geometry.

Unlike BASIS that has all HS students take CAPE regardless of their math placement (so you will have students in precalc taking an easier math CAPE) at McKinley 9th graders in Algebra II and 10th graders in Algebra II or precalc just don’t take math cape and don’t contribute to the %.

This topic and clarification comes around on threads every few months like clockwork - I really wish DCPS did a better job of explaining this/positing it somewhere because it does skew the test results in high school, for math specifically. Math is the only subject in DCPS that kids are allowed to take ahead of schedule, and the kids who jump ahead of schedule are the kids who would do better on the test.

The best information would be either how many kids took it ahead of schedule or how many kids opted out.

I posted numbers on a thread last year. It wasn't a lot of kids. If you just use the 9th grade test scores, instead of 9th and 10th, it's not an issue at all outside of SWW.

If that’s the case, 22% of kids getting a 4 and zero 5’s is dire.

Call it what you want. I think it's a good school. It's not trying to be Bronx Science, and it's a good thing that motivated kids who are zoned for egregiously bad high schools wind up somewhere better.

22% of the student body is at grade level for math at a tech school. What’s the future for these kids? It’s not IT!

For the 22% who scored a 4 it might be.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Don’t know much about the school but I don’t see how you can seriously consider it a tech or STEM school when only 4% of the kids are on or above grade level in math.

Those numbers are terrible.

It's 22%.

Not sure where you are getting your info but it’s 4% here.

https://schoolreportcard.dc.gov/lea/1/school/435/report

Probably I'm not getting it from a link to McKinley middle school.

Here is a proper link, showing 22 percent getting 4 in math, 0 5s.

https://profiles.dcps.dc.gov/McKinley+Technology+High+School

Also please remember that the strongest students also don’t take math CAPE both years in HS. So it is 22% plus the (small but not zero) number of students who have already taken both algebra 1 and geometry.

Unlike BASIS that has all HS students take CAPE regardless of their math placement (so you will have students in precalc taking an easier math CAPE) at McKinley 9th graders in Algebra II and 10th graders in Algebra II or precalc just don’t take math cape and don’t contribute to the %.

This topic and clarification comes around on threads every few months like clockwork - I really wish DCPS did a better job of explaining this/positing it somewhere because it does skew the test results in high school, for math specifically. Math is the only subject in DCPS that kids are allowed to take ahead of schedule, and the kids who jump ahead of schedule are the kids who would do better on the test.

The best information would be either how many kids took it ahead of schedule or how many kids opted out.

I posted numbers on a thread last year. It wasn't a lot of kids. If you just use the 9th grade test scores, instead of 9th and 10th, it's not an issue at all outside of SWW.

If that’s the case, 22% of kids getting a 4 and zero 5’s is dire.

Call it what you want. I think it's a good school. It's not trying to be Bronx Science, and it's a good thing that motivated kids who are zoned for egregiously bad high schools wind up somewhere better.

22% of the student body is at grade level for math at a tech school. What’s the future for these kids? It’s not IT!

Do you think the future would be better for them if they were at their zoned high schools? The absence of a test-in high school in DC for kids with very advanced academic needs is a problem, but the existence of a school for kids who are motivated and hardworking and not served by their local schools is not causing that problem.

[Anonymous]

Original Poster here: Thank you for those who have shared your experiences! Some of the discussion seems to have devolved into some fight over stats/standards. Would love to return to my original question and hear from those who have personal experience with this school - what's your impression? We have some options although our inbound is terrible and from what I have generally heard McKinley sounds like a solid option. My kiddo is a good student but not particularly a STEM whiz kid. So I don't need this to be the Harvard of STEM. I want a decent school, with nice teachers, some non-STEM options (so he's well rounded), and overall happy friendly student body. (Note, we have recently moved back to DC so I don't have a lot of context or contacts to talk with about this.)

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Original Poster here: Thank you for those who have shared your experiences! Some of the discussion seems to have devolved into some fight over stats/standards. Would love to return to my original question and hear from those who have personal experience with this school - what's your impression? We have some options although our inbound is terrible and from what I have generally heard McKinley sounds like a solid option. My kiddo is a good student but not particularly a STEM whiz kid. So I don't need this to be the Harvard of STEM. I want a decent school, with nice teachers, some non-STEM options (so he's well rounded), and overall happy friendly student body. (Note, we have recently moved back to DC so I don't have a lot of context or contacts to talk with about this.)

There aren't a lot of people who send their kids to McKinley on DCUM, but if you search for previous threads, you will find positive comments about all of those things.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Original Poster here: Thank you for those who have shared your experiences! Some of the discussion seems to have devolved into some fight over stats/standards. Would love to return to my original question and hear from those who have personal experience with this school - what's your impression? We have some options although our inbound is terrible and from what I have generally heard McKinley sounds like a solid option. My kiddo is a good student but not particularly a STEM whiz kid. So I don't need this to be the Harvard of STEM. I want a decent school, with nice teachers, some non-STEM options (so he's well rounded), and overall happy friendly student body. (Note, we have recently moved back to DC so I don't have a lot of context or contacts to talk with about this.)

My son attends (and I posted above) and I think McKinley Tech is all of the above and more. Big enough to have lots of extra curriculars. They have acting and art as part of the school day if they want it. The staff have been uniformly helpful and kind. Honestly, our expectations have been exceeded.