Do quarter grades matter at all?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Do they look at MP grades for magnet/CES admission?

Yes, they look at one particular marking period only, one of the many problems with the current CES/magnet lottery process. But OP's child is in high school so that doesn't apply to them.

which marking period do they look at for high school magnets?

DP. Caveat: not MCPS/not speaking ex-cathedra. Just my best understanding that current criteria (always could change) are:

Grade 7 quarter (MP1/MP2/MP3/MP4) final (not interim) grades and Grade 8 first quarter (MP1) grades.

Better of Grade 7 spring and Grade 8 fall MAP (M for math/science programs and R for humanities programs; the other is not shared with reviewers for the opposite programs, though some reviewers have indicated they might like to be able to consider both, despite their program's focus).

Student responses to short answer and essay questions (for that program only; in theory, it shouldn't hurt a student to play the system by saying to each program of interest that that is their heart's desire, though I would not recommend this for ethical reasons and the dissonant impact on a student's psyche, opting more creatively to paint different pictures, instead, as that might better differentiate them, anyway).

Services received (special education, 504, FARMS, English Language Development -- how these might figure in are not specified, whether to adjust consideration for admission based on presumed greater challenge to achieve a mark or to consider for fit based on program logistics, such as whether a related language accommodation can be made, both merely conjecture, here; as an anecdote, there are not small numbers of those with 504s in SMCS, so it's not an application-killer).

Question 25 of the FAQ has the closest I've found to the detail provided above from an "official" MCPS perspective:

https://docs.google.com/document/d/19Rz3ZWgflmaOpt17__VNeivAq_N7GNTOZRZYaAicAHE/mobilebasic