Middle school magnet results?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Well, that is why they are called "magnets" isn't it? Because they can pull real nickels away from a pile of wooden ones?

Old analogy I know - but that was how they described magnets when they first started. No need for magnet if you already know all of your nickels are real.

Good point on how the terminology influences the student composition. Used to be G&T programs and I suspect most people still view it as a G&T program for all practical purposes.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Well, that is why they are called "magnets" isn't it? Because they can pull real nickels away from a pile of wooden ones?

Old analogy I know - but that was how they described magnets when they first started. No need for magnet if you already know all of your nickels are real.

Good point on how the terminology influences the student composition. Used to be G&T programs and I suspect most people still view it as a G&T program for all practical purposes.

Those are just a play of words. If that makes sense. GT program is what is being watered down for past few years.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Enough already with the "watering down" talk!

Please stop treating magnet programs like they are meant to sort already cut and polished diamonds from one pile to another. They are not. Magnet programs are meant to pick diamonds out of kimberlite.

Why is this contentious at all????????

What an irony

[Anonymous]

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:You are right it does show strong cohorts. It ALSO SHOWS that magnet quality has gone down and the Curriculum is in actuality being “watered down.”

I have read some version of this in various threads and feel the need to respond. You have no idea what is going on in these magnet programs. If you could see the breadth and depth of the curriculum, the creativity of the assignments, the rigor and challenge that stretch both understanding and knowledge, it would take your breath away. It's night and day compared to what's offered at a local MS. It makes a CTY class feel both inadequate and trivial. DC's critical thinking and writing has improved by leaps and bounds at Eastern. I assume a similar story is unfolding at TPMS.

This is the kind of education ALL of our kids deserve. We should be pushing MCPS to replicate this program in all middle schools.

Let me preface this by saying, yes all kids deserve this kind of education, but in the meantime this is what mcps will be doing to the magnet program in the coming years.
It will and has been watered down. When more and more people who aren’t adequately prepared or willing to do the intense work in the magnets because they are either not motivated or simply can’t do the work, the teacher and curriculum follow suit and in turn give easier and lesss challenging work to the students so that the lowest student can keep up. This is essentially watering down the prgm. Mkay do you understand what I am saying. Stay in your lane.

Can any 6th grade parents comment on this?
My child is in a non-lottery, universal screening grade. There are some families with siblings who attended the program a few years ago before the changes and they do say the classes look a bit different. In the past the magnets were a self-selected group. The students and their parents had to be pretty motivated to even apply and now it's more diverse. I don't mean just by race or SES but also but interests, background and strengths. You'll still find many drama kids and kids that are working on their novels in their spare time but it's not everyone. I'm sure some people think this is a bad thing.

What you are looking at is BOE watering down the magnet programs. They will continue to do so to the level that eventually they will be able to kill it showing no progress and value in keeping these programs. This is not by accident. This is their plan if you read between the lines in BOE meetings.

The thing is they aren't watering down anything. It turns out the 85% do just fine.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Enough already with the "watering down" talk!

Please stop treating magnet programs like they are meant to sort already cut and polished diamonds from one pile to another. They are not. Magnet programs are meant to pick diamonds out of kimberlite.

Why is this contentious at all????????

Oy.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:You are right it does show strong cohorts. It ALSO SHOWS that magnet quality has gone down and the Curriculum is in actuality being “watered down.”

I have read some version of this in various threads and feel the need to respond. You have no idea what is going on in these magnet programs. If you could see the breadth and depth of the curriculum, the creativity of the assignments, the rigor and challenge that stretch both understanding and knowledge, it would take your breath away. It's night and day compared to what's offered at a local MS. It makes a CTY class feel both inadequate and trivial. DC's critical thinking and writing has improved by leaps and bounds at Eastern. I assume a similar story is unfolding at TPMS.

This is the kind of education ALL of our kids deserve. We should be pushing MCPS to replicate this program in all middle schools.

Let me preface this by saying, yes all kids deserve this kind of education, but in the meantime this is what mcps will be doing to the magnet program in the coming years.
It will and has been watered down. When more and more people who aren’t adequately prepared or willing to do the intense work in the magnets because they are either not motivated or simply can’t do the work, the teacher and curriculum follow suit and in turn give easier and lesss challenging work to the students so that the lowest student can keep up. This is essentially watering down the prgm. Mkay do you understand what I am saying. Stay in your lane.

Can any 6th grade parents comment on this?
My child is in a non-lottery, universal screening grade. There are some families with siblings who attended the program a few years ago before the changes and they do say the classes look a bit different. In the past the magnets were a self-selected group. The students and their parents had to be pretty motivated to even apply and now it's more diverse. I don't mean just by race or SES but also but interests, background and strengths. You'll still find many drama kids and kids that are working on their novels in their spare time but it's not everyone. I'm sure some people think this is a bad thing.

What you are looking at is BOE watering down the magnet programs. They will continue to do so to the level that eventually they will be able to kill it showing no progress and value in keeping these programs. This is not by accident. This is their plan if you read between the lines in BOE meetings.

The thing is they aren't watering down anything. It turns out the 85% do just fine.

I don't agree with the watering down comment but I don't think we know yet.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:You are right it does show strong cohorts. It ALSO SHOWS that magnet quality has gone down and the Curriculum is in actuality being “watered down.”

I have read some version of this in various threads and feel the need to respond. You have no idea what is going on in these magnet programs. If you could see the breadth and depth of the curriculum, the creativity of the assignments, the rigor and challenge that stretch both understanding and knowledge, it would take your breath away. It's night and day compared to what's offered at a local MS. It makes a CTY class feel both inadequate and trivial. DC's critical thinking and writing has improved by leaps and bounds at Eastern. I assume a similar story is unfolding at TPMS.

This is the kind of education ALL of our kids deserve. We should be pushing MCPS to replicate this program in all middle schools.

Let me preface this by saying, yes all kids deserve this kind of education, but in the meantime this is what mcps will be doing to the magnet program in the coming years.
It will and has been watered down. When more and more people who aren’t adequately prepared or willing to do the intense work in the magnets because they are either not motivated or simply can’t do the work, the teacher and curriculum follow suit and in turn give easier and lesss challenging work to the students so that the lowest student can keep up. This is essentially watering down the prgm. Mkay do you understand what I am saying. Stay in your lane.

Can any 6th grade parents comment on this?
My child is in a non-lottery, universal screening grade. There are some families with siblings who attended the program a few years ago before the changes and they do say the classes look a bit different. In the past the magnets were a self-selected group. The students and their parents had to be pretty motivated to even apply and now it's more diverse. I don't mean just by race or SES but also but interests, background and strengths. You'll still find many drama kids and kids that are working on their novels in their spare time but it's not everyone. I'm sure some people think this is a bad thing.

What you are looking at is BOE watering down the magnet programs. They will continue to do so to the level that eventually they will be able to kill it showing no progress and value in keeping these programs. This is not by accident. This is their plan if you read between the lines in BOE meetings.

The thing is they aren't watering down anything. It turns out the 85% do just fine.

I don't agree with the watering down comment but I don't think we know yet.

Makes sense mathematically. 2>1, 95>85.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:You are right it does show strong cohorts. It ALSO SHOWS that magnet quality has gone down and the Curriculum is in actuality being “watered down.”

I have read some version of this in various threads and feel the need to respond. You have no idea what is going on in these magnet programs. If you could see the breadth and depth of the curriculum, the creativity of the assignments, the rigor and challenge that stretch both understanding and knowledge, it would take your breath away. It's night and day compared to what's offered at a local MS. It makes a CTY class feel both inadequate and trivial. DC's critical thinking and writing has improved by leaps and bounds at Eastern. I assume a similar story is unfolding at TPMS.

This is the kind of education ALL of our kids deserve. We should be pushing MCPS to replicate this program in all middle schools.

Let me preface this by saying, yes all kids deserve this kind of education, but in the meantime this is what mcps will be doing to the magnet program in the coming years.
It will and has been watered down. When more and more people who aren’t adequately prepared or willing to do the intense work in the magnets because they are either not motivated or simply can’t do the work, the teacher and curriculum follow suit and in turn give easier and lesss challenging work to the students so that the lowest student can keep up. This is essentially watering down the prgm. Mkay do you understand what I am saying. Stay in your lane.

Can any 6th grade parents comment on this?
My child is in a non-lottery, universal screening grade. There are some families with siblings who attended the program a few years ago before the changes and they do say the classes look a bit different. In the past the magnets were a self-selected group. The students and their parents had to be pretty motivated to even apply and now it's more diverse. I don't mean just by race or SES but also but interests, background and strengths. You'll still find many drama kids and kids that are working on their novels in their spare time but it's not everyone. I'm sure some people think this is a bad thing.

What you are looking at is BOE watering down the magnet programs. They will continue to do so to the level that eventually they will be able to kill it showing no progress and value in keeping these programs. This is not by accident. This is their plan if you read between the lines in BOE meetings.

The thing is they aren't watering down anything. It turns out the 85% do just fine.

I don't agree with the watering down comment but I don't think we know yet.

Makes sense mathematically. 2>1, 95>85.

NBA rosters show an average height of 6-foot-6

But the very tallest of them last year (7-foot-6) was the lowest paid of them all.

Use your math to explain that

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:You are right it does show strong cohorts. It ALSO SHOWS that magnet quality has gone down and the Curriculum is in actuality being “watered down.”

I have read some version of this in various threads and feel the need to respond. You have no idea what is going on in these magnet programs. If you could see the breadth and depth of the curriculum, the creativity of the assignments, the rigor and challenge that stretch both understanding and knowledge, it would take your breath away. It's night and day compared to what's offered at a local MS. It makes a CTY class feel both inadequate and trivial. DC's critical thinking and writing has improved by leaps and bounds at Eastern. I assume a similar story is unfolding at TPMS.

This is the kind of education ALL of our kids deserve. We should be pushing MCPS to replicate this program in all middle schools.

Let me preface this by saying, yes all kids deserve this kind of education, but in the meantime this is what mcps will be doing to the magnet program in the coming years.
It will and has been watered down. When more and more people who aren’t adequately prepared or willing to do the intense work in the magnets because they are either not motivated or simply can’t do the work, the teacher and curriculum follow suit and in turn give easier and lesss challenging work to the students so that the lowest student can keep up. This is essentially watering down the prgm. Mkay do you understand what I am saying. Stay in your lane.

Can any 6th grade parents comment on this?
My child is in a non-lottery, universal screening grade. There are some families with siblings who attended the program a few years ago before the changes and they do say the classes look a bit different. In the past the magnets were a self-selected group. The students and their parents had to be pretty motivated to even apply and now it's more diverse. I don't mean just by race or SES but also but interests, background and strengths. You'll still find many drama kids and kids that are working on their novels in their spare time but it's not everyone. I'm sure some people think this is a bad thing.

What you are looking at is BOE watering down the magnet programs. They will continue to do so to the level that eventually they will be able to kill it showing no progress and value in keeping these programs. This is not by accident. This is their plan if you read between the lines in BOE meetings.

The thing is they aren't watering down anything. It turns out the 85% do just fine.

I don't agree with the watering down comment but I don't think we know yet.

Makes sense mathematically. 2>1, 95>85.

Yes but when 95 just means some kid attended Doc LI's it really means 85 = 95.

[Anonymous]

Whether or not you did a prep class does not matter

You speak as though these tests were pipettes and as though MCPS was creating designer DNA babies.

It is just middle school folks.

[Anonymous]

MCPS is simply incapable of addressing the problem with limited seats in "magnet" programs when there are so many capable kids. The very fact that there are so few parents that turn down an invitation to TPMS or Eastern is all that one needs to see for evidence. MCPS lies through their teeth about enrichment at local MS when we can all see that they dont even offer computer science education at any local MS other than the magnets. If "magnets" cannot accommodate the highly capable kids, MCPS should just offer parents the option to drive their kids to the "W" feeder middle schools (where the affluence helps raise the bar) or time to start charters.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:MCPS is simply incapable of addressing the problem with limited seats in "magnet" programs when there are so many capable kids. The very fact that there are so few parents that turn down an invitation to TPMS or Eastern is all that one needs to see for evidence. MCPS lies through their teeth about enrichment at local MS when we can all see that they dont even offer computer science education at any local MS other than the magnets. If "magnets" cannot accommodate the highly capable kids, MCPS should just offer parents the option to drive their kids to the "W" feeder middle schools (where the affluence helps raise the bar) or time to start charters.

That isn't true. There are middle school computer science classes available as electives.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:You are right it does show strong cohorts. It ALSO SHOWS that magnet quality has gone down and the Curriculum is in actuality being “watered down.”

I have read some version of this in various threads and feel the need to respond. You have no idea what is going on in these magnet programs. If you could see the breadth and depth of the curriculum, the creativity of the assignments, the rigor and challenge that stretch both understanding and knowledge, it would take your breath away. It's night and day compared to what's offered at a local MS. It makes a CTY class feel both inadequate and trivial. DC's critical thinking and writing has improved by leaps and bounds at Eastern. I assume a similar story is unfolding at TPMS.

This is the kind of education ALL of our kids deserve. We should be pushing MCPS to replicate this program in all middle schools.

Let me preface this by saying, yes all kids deserve this kind of education, but in the meantime this is what mcps will be doing to the magnet program in the coming years.
It will and has been watered down. When more and more people who aren’t adequately prepared or willing to do the intense work in the magnets because they are either not motivated or simply can’t do the work, the teacher and curriculum follow suit and in turn give easier and lesss challenging work to the students so that the lowest student can keep up. This is essentially watering down the prgm. Mkay do you understand what I am saying. Stay in your lane.

Can any 6th grade parents comment on this?
My child is in a non-lottery, universal screening grade. There are some families with siblings who attended the program a few years ago before the changes and they do say the classes look a bit different. In the past the magnets were a self-selected group. The students and their parents had to be pretty motivated to even apply and now it's more diverse. I don't mean just by race or SES but also but interests, background and strengths. You'll still find many drama kids and kids that are working on their novels in their spare time but it's not everyone. I'm sure some people think this is a bad thing.

What you are looking at is BOE watering down the magnet programs. They will continue to do so to the level that eventually they will be able to kill it showing no progress and value in keeping these programs. This is not by accident. This is their plan if you read between the lines in BOE meetings.

The thing is they aren't watering down anything. It turns out the 85% do just fine.

I don't agree with the watering down comment but I don't think we know yet.

Makes sense mathematically. 2>1, 95>85.

Yes but when 95 just means some kid attended Doc LI's it really means 85 = 95.

Excuses

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:You are right it does show strong cohorts. It ALSO SHOWS that magnet quality has gone down and the Curriculum is in actuality being “watered down.”

I have read some version of this in various threads and feel the need to respond. You have no idea what is going on in these magnet programs. If you could see the breadth and depth of the curriculum, the creativity of the assignments, the rigor and challenge that stretch both understanding and knowledge, it would take your breath away. It's night and day compared to what's offered at a local MS. It makes a CTY class feel both inadequate and trivial. DC's critical thinking and writing has improved by leaps and bounds at Eastern. I assume a similar story is unfolding at TPMS.

This is the kind of education ALL of our kids deserve. We should be pushing MCPS to replicate this program in all middle schools.

Let me preface this by saying, yes all kids deserve this kind of education, but in the meantime this is what mcps will be doing to the magnet program in the coming years.
It will and has been watered down. When more and more people who aren’t adequately prepared or willing to do the intense work in the magnets because they are either not motivated or simply can’t do the work, the teacher and curriculum follow suit and in turn give easier and lesss challenging work to the students so that the lowest student can keep up. This is essentially watering down the prgm. Mkay do you understand what I am saying. Stay in your lane.

Can any 6th grade parents comment on this?
My child is in a non-lottery, universal screening grade. There are some families with siblings who attended the program a few years ago before the changes and they do say the classes look a bit different. In the past the magnets were a self-selected group. The students and their parents had to be pretty motivated to even apply and now it's more diverse. I don't mean just by race or SES but also but interests, background and strengths. You'll still find many drama kids and kids that are working on their novels in their spare time but it's not everyone. I'm sure some people think this is a bad thing.

What you are looking at is BOE watering down the magnet programs. They will continue to do so to the level that eventually they will be able to kill it showing no progress and value in keeping these programs. This is not by accident. This is their plan if you read between the lines in BOE meetings.

The thing is they aren't watering down anything. It turns out the 85% do just fine.

I don't agree with the watering down comment but I don't think we know yet.

Makes sense mathematically. 2>1, 95>85.

NBA rosters show an average height of 6-foot-6

But the very tallest of them last year (7-foot-6) was the lowest paid of them all.

Use your math to explain that

You just proved the point. All NBAers are in the 99 percentile height category.