Brookings Institution article about the new MCPS middle school magnet selection process

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I stopped caring when I got to the statistic that the middle school magnets used to be 45% Asian and have now dropped 8%. This, in a county that is 15% Asian. First world problems.

Dropped by 8%, not dropped to 8%. According to that article, Asians are still at 24% of the G&T program, and so still over represented.

[Anonymous]

Dropped by 8%, not dropped to 8%. According to that article, Asians are still at 24% of the G&T program, and so still over represented.

Doesn't anyone have a problem with the term "over represented" here for a minority group? Its really mind boggling. If they score high enough and have earned through a merit a spot then they deserve to be there.

Why is there a ceiling on minority achievement or more importantly why is it appropriate for the government to impose a ceiling on minority achievement? Perhaps Asians should just all have a certain % subtracted from their GPAs, SAT scores, and all other measurements to get them more in-line with what MoCo is willing to allow them to enjoy.

[Anonymous]

Seems like if there was more funding towards education they could grow the magnet program and admit all the rich whites and asians that used to get in and the FARMS, ESOL, and minority students who didn't used to have a fair shot.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Seems like if there was more funding towards education they could grow the magnet program and admit all the rich whites and asians that used to get in and the FARMS, ESOL, and minority students who didn't used to have a fair shot.

+1 This would be a worthy goal, but it will never happen.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I stopped caring when I got to the statistic that the middle school magnets used to be 45% Asian and have now dropped 8%. This, in a county that is 15% Asian. First world problems.

Dropped by 8%, not dropped to 8%. According to that article, Asians are still at 24% of the G&T program, and so still over represented.

Yes that’s what I meant. You and I are in agreement that they are still very highly represented, hence First World Problems.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Dropped by 8%, not dropped to 8%. According to that article, Asians are still at 24% of the G&T program, and so still over represented.

Doesn't anyone have a problem with the term "over represented" here for a minority group? Its really mind boggling. If they score high enough and have earned through a merit a spot then they deserve to be there.

Why is there a ceiling on minority achievement or more importantly why is it appropriate for the government to impose a ceiling on minority achievement? Perhaps Asians should just all have a certain % subtracted from their GPAs, SAT scores, and all other measurements to get them more in-line with what MoCo is willing to allow them to enjoy.

I don’t have a problem with it for a minority just as I wouldn’t have a problem with describing whites as overrepresented at a school. We’re a big, majority Hispanic public school system and it is simply not in the interest of the whole community to shut them out. If you increase some, you have to decrease others. And if those others are rich Asians from Potomac, I’m not too worried about them because they’ll be fine.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The number of students in the new peer cohort classes dwarfs the number of middle school magnet slots. This is a dramatic development. We love the peers and the teachers/content. Happy we turned down the long bus rides.

I agree it's wonderful, especially the commute part, but don't kid yourself that the level is the same as in the magnet program. The two are simply not comparable.

Yes but we already know what we have, and it, taken as a whole, is better for DC than either of the magnets. It may depend on what motivates a particular student to truly excel.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:So sick of people's false assertion that universal testing resulted in the selection of the best and brightest. If true, that would mean only a minuscule number of best and brightest are from Bethesda-Chevy Chase and Potomac. A more even split sure, but a minuscule number is not plausible. MCPS won't release the median scores of admitted students, as they've always done, for a good reason. Tippy-top scores were not they criterion--geographic diversity as a proxy for race (which didn't work out as well as MCPS had hoped), and evidence of brightness were. Very few of even the self-reported scores on DCUM were straight 99%ers in all metrics, unlike scores of "peer cohort" rejectees, most of whom also had the advantage of the rigorous CES curriculum to prepare them for the MS magnets.

Universal testing allowed ten fold the applicants into the pool this year which in the past was limited to a few kids whose parents nominated them. The selection was far more competitive and yielded more qualified students than ever before. Most parents complain because they can no longer easily game the results of this system the way they did in the past which mostly guaranteed their children admission.

That makes no sense but yet you keep saying it month after month.

Just cuz Harvard law school will take 10k universal auto-apply applicants instead of 4k deliberate applicants doesn’t mean anything. If anything it means the selection committee doesn’t get much time spent on them. It does however serve affirmative action goals, esp of hiding any actual criteria or cutoffs for final admittance. Just leave it fuzzy and mysterious. This will just push more top MCPS students to private high schools. And MCPS can continue its deterioration.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:So sick of people's false assertion that universal testing resulted in the selection of the best and brightest. If true, that would mean only a minuscule number of best and brightest are from Bethesda-Chevy Chase and Potomac. A more even split sure, but a minuscule number is not plausible. MCPS won't release the median scores of admitted students, as they've always done, for a good reason. Tippy-top scores were not they criterion--geographic diversity as a proxy for race (which didn't work out as well as MCPS had hoped), and evidence of brightness were. Very few of even the self-reported scores on DCUM were straight 99%ers in all metrics, unlike scores of "peer cohort" rejectees, most of whom also had the advantage of the rigorous CES curriculum to prepare them for the MS magnets.

Universal testing allowed ten fold the applicants into the pool this year which in the past was limited to a few kids whose parents nominated them. The selection was far more competitive and yielded more qualified students than ever before. Most parents complain because they can no longer easily game the results of this system the way they did in the past which mostly guaranteed their children admission.

That makes no sense but yet you keep saying it month after month.

Just cuz Harvard law school will take 10k universal auto-apply applicants instead of 4k deliberate applicants doesn’t mean anything. If anything it means the selection committee doesn’t get much time spent on them. It does however serve affirmative action goals, esp of hiding any actual criteria or cutoffs for final admittance. Just leave it fuzzy and mysterious. This will just push more top MCPS students to private high schools. And MCPS can continue its deterioration.

So you say. In real life there are now many more students in magnet versions of courses at their home middle schools than students in the actual MS magnets. The peer group dynamics and qualifications are just fine. With this change, the MS are meaningfully better than last year for
families with strong academic values.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:So sick of people's false assertion that universal testing resulted in the selection of the best and brightest. If true, that would mean only a minuscule number of best and brightest are from Bethesda-Chevy Chase and Potomac. A more even split sure, but a minuscule number is not plausible. MCPS won't release the median scores of admitted students, as they've always done, for a good reason. Tippy-top scores were not they criterion--geographic diversity as a proxy for race (which didn't work out as well as MCPS had hoped), and evidence of brightness were. Very few of even the self-reported scores on DCUM were straight 99%ers in all metrics, unlike scores of "peer cohort" rejectees, most of whom also had the advantage of the rigorous CES curriculum to prepare them for the MS magnets.

Universal testing allowed ten fold the applicants into the pool this year which in the past was limited to a few kids whose parents nominated them. The selection was far more competitive and yielded more qualified students than ever before. Most parents complain because they can no longer easily game the results of this system the way they did in the past which mostly guaranteed their children admission.

That makes no sense but yet you keep saying it month after month.

Just cuz Harvard law school will take 10k universal auto-apply applicants instead of 4k deliberate applicants doesn’t mean anything. If anything it means the selection committee doesn’t get much time spent on them. It does however serve affirmative action goals, esp of hiding any actual criteria or cutoffs for final admittance. Just leave it fuzzy and mysterious. This will just push more top MCPS students to private high schools. And MCPS can continue its deterioration.

This. We seem to be heading in the same direction as California's once vaunted public school system. The road to mediocrity is paved with good intentions

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Seems like if there was more funding towards education they could grow the magnet program and admit all the rich whites and asians that used to get in and the FARMS, ESOL, and minority students who didn't used to have a fair shot.

This is called private school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:So sick of people's false assertion that universal testing resulted in the selection of the best and brightest. If true, that would mean only a minuscule number of best and brightest are from Bethesda-Chevy Chase and Potomac. A more even split sure, but a minuscule number is not plausible. MCPS won't release the median scores of admitted students, as they've always done, for a good reason. Tippy-top scores were not they criterion--geographic diversity as a proxy for race (which didn't work out as well as MCPS had hoped), and evidence of brightness were. Very few of even the self-reported scores on DCUM were straight 99%ers in all metrics, unlike scores of "peer cohort" rejectees, most of whom also had the advantage of the rigorous CES curriculum to prepare them for the MS magnets.

Universal testing allowed ten fold the applicants into the pool this year which in the past was limited to a few kids whose parents nominated them. The selection was far more competitive and yielded more qualified students than ever before. Most parents complain because they can no longer easily game the results of this system the way they did in the past which mostly guaranteed their children admission.

That makes no sense but yet you keep saying it month after month.

Just cuz Harvard law school will take 10k universal auto-apply applicants instead of 4k deliberate applicants doesn’t mean anything. If anything it means the selection committee doesn’t get much time spent on them. It does however serve affirmative action goals, esp of hiding any actual criteria or cutoffs for final admittance. Just leave it fuzzy and mysterious. This will just push more top MCPS students to private high schools. And MCPS can continue its deterioration.

This. We seem to be heading in the same direction as California's once vaunted public school system. The road to mediocrity is paved with good intentions

Oh absolutely. The only ball MCPS has eyes on is Hispanic ESOL/black achievement gap versus Asians/whites. Maybe with enough dollars they can overcome the cultural differences and simultaneously bring down the top and boost up the broad big bottom.

[Anonymous]

There is no proof that more highly qualified students were admitted. Period.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

This. We seem to be heading in the same direction as California's once vaunted public school system. The road to mediocrity is paved with good intentions

California's once vaunted public school system became unvaunted because of Proposition 13. I don't see anything like that currently happening in Montgomery County. Do you?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The number of students in the new peer cohort classes dwarfs the number of middle school magnet slots. This is a dramatic development. We love the peers and the teachers/content. Happy we turned down the long bus rides.

I agree it's wonderful, especially the commute part, but don't kid yourself that the level is the same as in the magnet program. The two are simply not comparable.

+1 When my now 8th grader was coming back to our home MS, I was glad to hear that DC would be in "honors" classes, and even met with the Principal, the teachers and the other parents of former HGC students regarding "enriched" classes. Two years later, it is a complete joke. So pardon me for being highly skeptical. Lots of pretty words and talk; very little action. The "enrichment" is anemic.