I don't get it- very few CES kids get into magnet school?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:People still don't get it?
It no longer has anything to do with who is smarter, CES or non-CES. It is all about the COHORT!!!

Talk to your local middle school principle and ask the school to provide HIGH-QUALITY, ENRICHED education to the cohort!

This. They now put everyone who scores at an above average level into their “ qualified” pool and then use the peer cohort criteria to make the final decisions. It is no longer about which kids are the smartest per test scores or who have the greatest intellectual drive/thirst for knowledge per teacher recommendations and student essays
I just hope they don’t do this to the high school Magnet application process. There is less reason to worry about outliers in low performing high schools since every MCPS high school offers a robust selection of AP courses

Teacher/Parent recommendations were never a reliable or consistent metric.

[Anonymous]

The peer cohort criteria coupled with the enhanced classes is honestly a stroke of genius. It allows the county to serve those who will benefit most at the existing magnets while providing magnet-like education in places where a sufficient peer group exists without the expense of bussing. Sure, some parents are angry but this better serves the public good.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:People still don't get it?
It no longer has anything to do with who is smarter, CES or non-CES. It is all about the COHORT!!!

Talk to your local middle school principle and ask the school to provide HIGH-QUALITY, ENRICHED education to the cohort!

This. They now put everyone who scores at an above average level into their “ qualified” pool and then use the peer cohort criteria to make the final decisions. It is no longer about which kids are the smartest per test scores or who have the greatest intellectual drive/thirst for knowledge per teacher recommendations and student essays
I just hope they don’t do this to the high school Magnet application process. There is less reason to worry about outliers in low performing high schools since every MCPS high school offers a robust selection of AP courses

Teacher/Parent recommendations were never a reliable or consistent metric.

+1

Look, I get it. I have a kid who would dramatically benefit from the teacher/parent recommendations. Attentive, curious, easy to get along with, high-level and unique extracurriculars, etc.

But I also know that none of these things make my child more qualified for a magnet seat than a child who is more easily distracted, or has a tougher personality, or whose parents haven't had the resources to invest in 10,000 hours of practice by the age of 11.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:People still don't get it?
It no longer has anything to do with who is smarter, CES or non-CES. It is all about the COHORT!!!

Talk to your local middle school principle and ask the school to provide HIGH-QUALITY, ENRICHED education to the cohort!

This. They now put everyone who scores at an above average level into their “ qualified” pool and then use the peer cohort criteria to make the final decisions. It is no longer about which kids are the smartest per test scores or who have the greatest intellectual drive/thirst for knowledge per teacher recommendations and student essays
I just hope they don’t do this to the high school Magnet application process. There is less reason to worry about outliers in low performing high schools since every MCPS high school offers a robust selection of AP courses

I don't personally think this is a bad thing if it is in fact true. I'm not sure it's completely accurate since we don't have concrete information on this process, but if it were true, I wouldn't be upset about it. I think improving the quality of enriched education at local MS is a step in the right direction.

[Anonymous]

This is accurate, more or less. MCPS has described a two step selection process. First they identify "highly able" children (not "above average" as PP attests) based on some cut offs or composite scores they haven't released.

Kids who are FARMS or have ever had ESOL services get an extra boost.

They use this list to start looking at "peer cohort" and identify outliers. Last year they also went back after this and refined the group of selected kids again to make sure at least one child was included from every feeder school and to make sure the group is gender balanced.

They no longer rank the kids globally in the way they did in the past so they are no longer taking the kids who have the top 300 scores in the county or those whose teacher recommendations/essays show they have a thirst for more.

These are facts.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:This is accurate, more or less. MCPS has described a two step selection process. First they identify "highly able" children (not "above average" as PP attests) based on some cut offs or composite scores they haven't released.

Kids who are FARMS or have ever had ESOL services get an extra boost.

They use this list to start looking at "peer cohort" and identify outliers. Last year they also went back after this and refined the group of selected kids again to make sure at least one child was included from every feeder school and to make sure the group is gender balanced.

They no longer rank the kids globally in the way they did in the past so they are no longer taking the kids who have the top 300 scores in the county or those whose teacher recommendations/essays show they have a thirst for more.

These are facts.

Sounds like the county is trying to have the biggest positive impact on the most kids for the least cost which is kind of what they're supposed to do.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:This is accurate, more or less. MCPS has described a two step selection process. First they identify "highly able" children (not "above average" as PP attests) based on some cut offs or composite scores they haven't released.

Kids who are FARMS or have ever had ESOL services get an extra boost.

They use this list to start looking at "peer cohort" and identify outliers. Last year they also went back after this and refined the group of selected kids again to make sure at least one child was included from every feeder school and to make sure the group is gender balanced.

They no longer rank the kids globally in the way they did in the past so they are no longer taking the kids who have the top 300 scores in the county or those whose teacher recommendations/essays show they have a thirst for more.

These are facts.

The problem historically is kids with the highest scores from high SES areas are mostly able to achieve that through massive outside enrichment. They'll be fine no matter where they land. So looking to boost the kids who are doing well with fewer resources makes more sense.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This is accurate, more or less. MCPS has described a two step selection process. First they identify "highly able" children (not "above average" as PP attests) based on some cut offs or composite scores they haven't released.

Kids who are FARMS or have ever had ESOL services get an extra boost.

They use this list to start looking at "peer cohort" and identify outliers. Last year they also went back after this and refined the group of selected kids again to make sure at least one child was included from every feeder school and to make sure the group is gender balanced.

They no longer rank the kids globally in the way they did in the past so they are no longer taking the kids who have the top 300 scores in the county or those whose teacher recommendations/essays show they have a thirst for more.

These are facts.

The problem historically is kids with the highest scores from high SES areas are mostly able to achieve that through massive outside enrichment. They'll be fine no matter where they land. So looking to boost the kids who are doing well with fewer resources makes more sense.

I think this is a story that people tell themselves to feel better. Most high SES people are smart and well educated; they generally have smart kids. That's the biggest factor.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:People still don't get it?
It no longer has anything to do with who is smarter, CES or non-CES. It is all about the COHORT!!!

Talk to your local middle school principle and ask the school to provide HIGH-QUALITY, ENRICHED education to the cohort!

This. They now put everyone who scores at an above average level into their “ qualified” pool and then use the peer cohort criteria to make the final decisions. It is no longer about which kids are the smartest per test scores or who have the greatest intellectual drive/thirst for knowledge per teacher recommendations and student essays
I just hope they don’t do this to the high school Magnet application process. There is less reason to worry about outliers in low performing high schools since every MCPS high school offers a robust selection of AP courses

Teacher/Parent recommendations were never a reliable or consistent metric.

+1

Look, I get it. I have a kid who would dramatically benefit from the teacher/parent recommendations. Attentive, curious, easy to get along with, high-level and unique extracurriculars, etc.

But I also know that none of these things make my child more qualified for a magnet seat than a child who is more easily distracted, or has a tougher personality, or whose parents haven't had the resources to invest in 10,000 hours of practice by the age of 11.

This is so well said. I could have written it myself. I had one child go through CES to Eastern Humanities to Blair CAP and my second just started CES. I know the new system might mean that my second won't have as high chance to get into the magnets, but I can see that it is an ultimately more equitable way of choosing kids who really need to be pulled out to get the enrichment they could so use.

[Anonymous]

What if the county is implementing theses things, these ways, to say, 'we're tired of your bullshit over-prepping because we really want these programs to be used by the kids they were designed for'? I have a CES kid and was literally asked by another CES parent in the late fall 'Which (not if, not are you, not do you) programs (plural!) are you using to prep your kid for the MS magnet test?'. It was gross. I replied with 'We're prepping with a good night sleep and a big breakfast'. As it turns out, it seems a good breakfast is stronger than prep courses.

Give the programs back to the kids who need it and keep it away from the kids whose parents can buy it.

[Anonymous]

Give me a break. Get off your elitist high horse. Maybe their child actually NEEDS a magnet. Maybe their child is checked out at school otherwise or has an IQ of 160 and is otherwise depressed and unhappy. Maybe their family is dirt poor and they see the magnets as their way to a better life.

I do not prep my child but I see nothing wrong with prepping and I think if it helps their child they deserve to get in. You act like it's easy for these kids to go to these programs and study. They work hard. Their parents sacrifice other opportunities to send them to these classes. If they do well they deserve to get in.

I'm from NY where most of the kids who go to Bronx Science and Brooklyn Tech and Sty are poor and their parents managed to squeeze money out of their budget to take prep classes. FWIW, many of the poorest families are Asian.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Give me a break. Get off your elitist high horse. Maybe their child actually NEEDS a magnet. Maybe their child is checked out at school otherwise or has an IQ of 160 and is otherwise depressed and unhappy. Maybe their family is dirt poor and they see the magnets as their way to a better life.

I do not prep my child but I see nothing wrong with prepping and I think if it helps their child they deserve to get in. You act like it's easy for these kids to go to these programs and study. They work hard. Their parents sacrifice other opportunities to send them to these classes. If they do well they deserve to get in.

I'm from NY where most of the kids who go to Bronx Science and Brooklyn Tech and Sty are poor and their parents managed to squeeze money out of their budget to take prep classes. FWIW, many of the poorest families are Asian.

Children that NEED a magnet should test into it just fine if it's a level playing field, correct?

Mucking up the waters with prepped kids would be counterintuitive to that, correct?

Who do you really want the program to be for? The kids that need it to get in, or the kids that are driven and prepped by their parents money to get in?

[Anonymous]

Is there still a large cut out at the Takoma Park magnet for kids from TP? Is TP considered a cluster that has the advantage of the no cohort designation for purposes of Eastern?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Is there still a large cut out at the Takoma Park magnet for kids from TP? Is TP considered a cluster that has the advantage of the no cohort designation for purposes of Eastern?

There is still a carve out for kids zoned for TPMS, which means most but not all of Takoma Park and a slice of Silver Spring.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Is there still a large cut out at the Takoma Park magnet for kids from TP? Is TP considered a cluster that has the advantage of the no cohort designation for purposes of Eastern?

There is still a carve out for kids zoned for TPMS, which means most but not all of Takoma Park and a slice of Silver Spring.

Yes, and it doesn't change anything for the majority of kids. The 25 set aside kids are already zoned for the area. They don't change the building capacity because they would have attended the school anyway. It's not like taking away the set aside will increase the number of magnet seats (100) for non-zoned kids.