Why is Washington Latin MS now a Tier 2 school?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Regardless, Washington Latin is the school of choice for almost every DC resident.

No it's not. No one in my Ward 3 neighborhood sends their children to/talks about Washington Latin. Just because it's popular in your neck of the woods doesn't mean it's sought after by everyone/most parents.

So where are the white kids at Latin coming from? Serious question. Capital Hill?

More kids who are in-boundary for Hardy attend Latin than Hardy.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Regardless, Washington Latin is the school of choice for almost every DC resident.

No it's not. No one in my Ward 3 neighborhood sends their children to/talks about Washington Latin. Just because it's popular in your neck of the woods doesn't mean it's sought after by everyone/most parents.

Let me guess. You are in bounds for Deal. Its a totally different world for those of us stuck with Hardy.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Regardless, Washington Latin is the school of choice for almost every DC resident.

No it's not. No one in my Ward 3 neighborhood sends their children to/talks about Washington Latin. Just because it's popular in your neck of the woods doesn't mean it's sought after by everyone/most parents.

Let me guess. You are in bounds for Deal. Its a totally different world for those of us stuck with Hardy.

Not to mention those of us who live in the world of "educational campuses"

[Anonymous]

Hardy is currently comparable to Latin, actually, and moving to surpass it as more neighborhood students attend.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Hardy is currently comparable to Latin, actually, and moving to surpass it as more neighborhood students attend.

Laughable!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Hardy is currently comparable to Latin, actually, and moving to surpass it as more neighborhood students attend.

Laughable!

People at Hardy seem to like it so why is this laughable?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Regardless, Washington Latin is the school of choice for almost every DC resident.

except for those with STEM kids, like ours. We are at Basis, and would not consider Latin. So we were lucky.

Not for those who care about languages. DCI for us!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Hardy is currently comparable to Latin, actually, and moving to surpass it as more neighborhood students attend.

Laughable!

People at Hardy seem to like it so why is this laughable?

Because they don't know better? Because they're invested and locked in?

I don't really know but I still laugh.

[Anonymous]

As others have posted, Latin's MS is Tier 2 because of its low growth score. For example, its median growth percentile in math is 39.8, which is fairly low (the average is 50). However, other posters are incorrect in implying that having high test scores places Latin at a disadvantage in the growth model.

The growth model used in the PMF compares students only to other students with similar prior scores. Crucially, students who are already high-achieving are only compared to others citywide who were also high-achieving in their prior scores. Latin students are doing well on tests. However, these results show that they are not improving as rapidly as other students who are also doing well across DC (at Deal, BASIS, etc.).

Latin's middle school PMF report: http://www.dcpcsb.org/sites/default/files/309_Washington_Latin_PCS_Middle_School.pdf
More information on the growth model: http://www.dcpcsb.org/sites/default/files/data/images/dc%20schoolwide%20growth%20faqs%2010_11.pdf

[Anonymous]

I think they changed the structure for next year because of PARCC.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Regardless, Washington Latin is the school of choice for almost every DC resident.

No it's not. No one in my Ward 3 neighborhood sends their children to/talks about Washington Latin. Just because it's popular in your neck of the woods doesn't mean it's sought after by everyone/most parents.

Let me guess. You are in bounds for Deal. Its a totally different world for those of us stuck with Hardy.

.

No, I'm IB for Oyster. Contrary to DCUM lore, not everyone in DC wants to send their child to Deal. We could have sent our oldest to Deal two years ago, but we preferred to stay at Oyster. If we wanted Deal for our youngest, we could move IB for Deal. We won't because we prefer Oysterr--not everyone wants what you want.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:As others have posted, Latin's MS is Tier 2 because of its low growth score. For example, its median growth percentile in math is 39.8, which is fairly low (the average is 50). However, other posters are incorrect in implying that having high test scores places Latin at a disadvantage in the growth model.

The growth model used in the PMF compares students only to other students with similar prior scores. Crucially, students who are already high-achieving are only compared to others citywide who were also high-achieving in their prior scores. Latin students are doing well on tests. However, these results show that they are not improving as rapidly as other students who are also doing well across DC (at Deal, BASIS, etc.).

Latin's middle school PMF report: http://www.dcpcsb.org/sites/default/files/309_Washington_Latin_PCS_Middle_School.pdf
More information on the growth model: http://www.dcpcsb.org/sites/default/files/data/images/dc%20schoolwide%20growth%20faqs%2010_11.pdf

Thanks for pointing this out, PP. The Latin boosterism on this thread is sweeping an important point under the rug. Latin MS is a Tier 2 school because its students are falling behind their achievement-matched peers., at least as measured by the DCCAS.

Why is this happening? Is the curriculum watered down? Is differentiated instruction not working? Other ideas?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Regardless, Washington Latin is the school of choice for almost every DC resident.

No it's not. No one in my Ward 3 neighborhood sends their children to/talks about Washington Latin. Just because it's popular in your neck of the woods doesn't mean it's sought after by everyone/most parents.

So where are the white kids at Latin coming from? Serious question. Capital Hill?

Glad to know your kids is either at Deal or you went private.

For anyone else who is not at Deal or at a private, Latin is the #1 choice.
Now the fact that they may not get in is another question.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What is a STEM kid, and why can't they attend Latin?

STEM = science, technology, engineering, math.

Middle schoolers at Basis are required to do 9 hours of science (3 bio, 3 chem, 3 physics) each week. That's more than is available at Washington Latin. A kid who knows he/she is interested in science could certainty go to either school but Basis kids have to take more science.

it is actually much less about the science for us than the math - which is an absolutely fundamental building block for advanced science classes in Physics and Chemistry, but it is cool to have kids who like science able to take so much of it in middle school, and get into a tracked science class starting in 8th grade...........

Washington Latin requires its students to take Algebra I for 7th and 8th grade.

At Basis, if your kid is really good at math and likes it, they can take Algebra I in 5th or 6th grade. There are only 13 or so kids doing that this year in 5th, and there are some kids who won't take Calculus until they are seniors, and that is fine as well (I think it is a graduation requirement), but kids who are good at math would get really turned off by two years of Algebra I. Heck I would have been and I am not even very good at math. I don't know of any other school that has this weird set up - they have "enrichment" for the kids who like math at Latin, but not advancement the way I understand it.

I know there are kids at Deal in 8th in Algebra II, and kids at Walls in 9th in Pre Calculus - at the pace Latin sets if you have to take Geometry, Algebra II and pre-calculus you at most would graduate with AP Calculus AB under your belt - and that is really unfair to kids who want to place out of Calculus entirely before they go to college and just get on with science. But I think Washington Latin is pretty up front about it. And Latin parents feel free to correct me if I'm wrong.

I love the fact that all these charters are providing so many more options - from Latin typical liberal arts/slow math to Basis technically "rigorous liberal arts" but in fact possibly really advanced math, and then all the language immersion schools........ that are all starting to go through 12th.

Because given the wait lists at Latin and McKinley Tech, if these two schools were the only game in town for kids who do not have Deal or Hardy as an option and no way to get to Wilson, MS options would just all around stink, DCPS seems intent on destroying Walls, and Banneker parents themselves admit that high school is too late for a real STEM education. Variety and more and more options and a somewhat free market (more charters = more competition) is how we pull ourselves out of this hole IMO. DCPS has had the chance to function for years and they have blown it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:As others have posted, Latin's MS is Tier 2 because of its low growth score. For example, its median growth percentile in math is 39.8, which is fairly low (the average is 50). However, other posters are incorrect in implying that having high test scores places Latin at a disadvantage in the growth model.

The growth model used in the PMF compares students only to other students with similar prior scores. Crucially, students who are already high-achieving are only compared to others citywide who were also high-achieving in their prior scores. Latin students are doing well on tests. However, these results show that they are not improving as rapidly as other students who are also doing well across DC (at Deal, BASIS, etc.).

Latin's middle school PMF report: http://www.dcpcsb.org/sites/default/files/309_Washington_Latin_PCS_Middle_School.pdf
More information on the growth model: http://www.dcpcsb.org/sites/default/files/data/images/dc%20schoolwide%20growth%20faqs%2010_11.pdf

thank you so much - so the Charter Board's measurements are actually fair in terms of growth, and the performance of kids at Washington Latin MS has actually been slipping down (or not growing as fast) over the last four years - the 20% drop is real. Incredible to me.

and very important to know - because as someone said on that other thread, just because a charter is "the place" everyone wants to go doesn't mean it is the best place to be............