MCPS High School Magnet Decisions

[Anonymous]

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Anonymous wrote:Sorry, that's 5 invited to Blair SMCS. Not sure about RMIB.

That is an unusually small number. I would suspect there are a lot more, but maybe kids are just not talking about it.

Remember that this year is the first year of MS magnet lottery graduates. Blair magnet has about 10% acceptance rate. 6 or 7 Blair SMCS acceptances from Takoma (not everyone would apply) may be all you can see.

I doubt it. Many of the magnet kids will have got in. Maybe less than previous years but it will certainly be in double digits. Someone somewhere else said maybe about 20. I think that’s likely.

That's not how statistics work

Actually it is exactly how stats work. Students from TPMS are always more likely to get in than from other schools (usually about a third get in). Partly because they have had three years of exceptional advanced teaching in STEM, partly because they already have experience commuting further than their home school and making new friends and are therefore more likely to both apply and accept than others also because of strong interest in STEM since 5th grade and their work ethic and motivation to join a magnet. This is the first year that some (not all) kids have not been as high achievers as in the past - so that factor may reduce the numbers that got in, but the other factors remain.

Have you heard of something called 'conditional probability'? There are about 1000 applicants. All of these applicants have interest in STEM. That's why they applied. The fact that TPMS students won a lottery 3 years ago don't make them more superior candidates.

Did you read what I wrote? Or just ignore it? There are other reasons as I stated. And I’m VERY confident that I will be proved correct (that the proportion of kids that got in this year is more than 20). Part of that is the track record of TKPK kids who got into the middle school magnet with lower scores than average (because of the set aside) but were still strong enough by the end of the three years to be accepted at Blair.

I’d put money on it if we weren’t anonymous.

This describes my oldest son. My son received a TPMS magnet lottery spot, our zone school, with a straight A report card and MAP scores in the 75-80% range in both math and reading. Above average but not elite. First year was tough, but he did well with some help from tutors. We found out in MS that he as a reading disability and got him support for it through a generous nonprofit. He improved in TPMS and got into Blair magnet with elite scores.

He is a senior now and has already been accepted to two top 20 schools. Waiting for a few other decisions. He will be a second-generation college student and I am so proud of him. My youngest son was also selected for the TMPS magnet, but his scores are above 95%, so we were not as surprised.

I am a single parent with three kids and with a disabled parent that my sons and I help care for. I'm thankful through the lottery system that my son got a chance to maximize his potential at TPMS magnet program.

No way 75-80% MAP would get into TMPS 7 years ago when Cogat was also used. Stop making up these fake success stories.

Responding to the prior poster. I don’t understand. What reason would I or anyone else have to make up a “success” story? Selfishly, as hard as we’ve worked, I would love to be in a position where I could make this up. It just doesn’t make sense to me.

[Anonymous]

The poster said that their home school is TPMS and there is a DIFFERENT process for the 25 seats that are dedicated at TPMS for these kids. I don't know what the process for that is but dont simply throw around accusations of troll and "no way 75-80%" without focusing on the details of the post.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The poster said that their home school is TPMS and there is a DIFFERENT process for the 25 seats that are dedicated at TPMS for these kids. I don't know what the process for that is but dont simply throw around accusations of troll and "no way 75-80%" without focusing on the details of the post.

Curiously half the TPMS kids that got into SMCS this year seem to be those inboundary kids.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The poster said that their home school is TPMS and there is a DIFFERENT process for the 25 seats that are dedicated at TPMS for these kids. I don't know what the process for that is but dont simply throw around accusations of troll and "no way 75-80%" without focusing on the details of the post.

I don't know why someone would make it up but it was not a lottery for inbounds either. They were selected just like the other kids but they were competing with themselves.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Sorry, that's 5 invited to Blair SMCS. Not sure about RMIB.

That is an unusually small number. I would suspect there are a lot more, but maybe kids are just not talking about it.

Remember that this year is the first year of MS magnet lottery graduates. Blair magnet has about 10% acceptance rate. 6 or 7 Blair SMCS acceptances from Takoma (not everyone would apply) may be all you can see.

I doubt it. Many of the magnet kids will have got in. Maybe less than previous years but it will certainly be in double digits. Someone somewhere else said maybe about 20. I think that’s likely.

That's not how statistics work

Actually it is exactly how stats work. Students from TPMS are always more likely to get in than from other schools (usually about a third get in). Partly because they have had three years of exceptional advanced teaching in STEM, partly because they already have experience commuting further than their home school and making new friends and are therefore more likely to both apply and accept than others also because of strong interest in STEM since 5th grade and their work ethic and motivation to join a magnet. This is the first year that some (not all) kids have not been as high achievers as in the past - so that factor may reduce the numbers that got in, but the other factors remain.

Have you heard of something called 'conditional probability'? There are about 1000 applicants. All of these applicants have interest in STEM. That's why they applied. The fact that TPMS students won a lottery 3 years ago don't make them more superior candidates.

Did you read what I wrote? Or just ignore it? There are other reasons as I stated. And I’m VERY confident that I will be proved correct (that the proportion of kids that got in this year is more than 20). Part of that is the track record of TKPK kids who got into the middle school magnet with lower scores than average (because of the set aside) but were still strong enough by the end of the three years to be accepted at Blair.

I’d put money on it if we weren’t anonymous.

This describes my oldest son. My son received a TPMS magnet lottery spot, our zone school, with a straight A report card and MAP scores in the 75-80% range in both math and reading. Above average but not elite. First year was tough, but he did well with some help from tutors. We found out in MS that he as a reading disability and got him support for it through a generous nonprofit. He improved in TPMS and got into Blair magnet with elite scores.

He is a senior now and has already been accepted to two top 20 schools. Waiting for a few other decisions. He will be a second-generation college student and I am so proud of him. My youngest son was also selected for the TMPS magnet, but his scores are above 95%, so we were not as surprised.

I am a single parent with three kids and with a disabled parent that my sons and I help care for. I'm thankful through the lottery system that my son got a chance to maximize his potential at TPMS magnet program.

No way 75-80% MAP would get into TMPS 7 years ago when Cogat was also used. Stop making up these fake success stories.

And you know this how? It’s easier to get in in-boundary, and you have no idea what the criteria was then, nor what this kid’s Cogat score was. Of guess the Cogat score was high and he was squarely in the top 10 percent in the TKPK feeders which is what you needed to get in.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The poster said that their home school is TPMS and there is a DIFFERENT process for the 25 seats that are dedicated at TPMS for these kids. I don't know what the process for that is but dont simply throw around accusations of troll and "no way 75-80%" without focusing on the details of the post.

I don't know why someone would make it up but it was not a lottery for inbounds either. They were selected just like the other kids but they were competing with themselves.

Clearly she’s wrongly referring to it as a lottery, because it’s now several years later but that doesn’t mean it’s made up,

[Anonymous]

I don't think it's unreasonable that someone with 75-80th percentile map scores could have gotten into Blair's current senior class. It was an application process back then that had recommendations and other components. I think they also had Cogat so a child could have scored higher on Cogat.

I do think the story sounds made up, like an AI made it up without knowing all the facts. No way a parent would have mistakenly said it was a lottery when it wasn't back then.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The poster said that their home school is TPMS and there is a DIFFERENT process for the 25 seats that are dedicated at TPMS for these kids. I don't know what the process for that is but dont simply throw around accusations of troll and "no way 75-80%" without focusing on the details of the post.

I don't know why someone would make it up but it was not a lottery for inbounds either. They were selected just like the other kids but they were competing with themselves.

Clearly she’s wrongly referring to it as a lottery, because it’s now several years later but that doesn’t mean it’s made up,

The story just sounds really off, like an algorithm made it up to try to make it perfect but got a detail wrong. Not only is her child inbounds and scored low but she's also a single mom! And it's not just one child but two!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Sorry, that's 5 invited to Blair SMCS. Not sure about RMIB.

That is an unusually small number. I would suspect there are a lot more, but maybe kids are just not talking about it.

Remember that this year is the first year of MS magnet lottery graduates. Blair magnet has about 10% acceptance rate. 6 or 7 Blair SMCS acceptances from Takoma (not everyone would apply) may be all you can see.

I doubt it. Many of the magnet kids will have got in. Maybe less than previous years but it will certainly be in double digits. Someone somewhere else said maybe about 20. I think that’s likely.

That's not how statistics work

Actually it is exactly how stats work. Students from TPMS are always more likely to get in than from other schools (usually about a third get in). Partly because they have had three years of exceptional advanced teaching in STEM, partly because they already have experience commuting further than their home school and making new friends and are therefore more likely to both apply and accept than others also because of strong interest in STEM since 5th grade and their work ethic and motivation to join a magnet. This is the first year that some (not all) kids have not been as high achievers as in the past - so that factor may reduce the numbers that got in, but the other factors remain.

Have you heard of something called 'conditional probability'? There are about 1000 applicants. All of these applicants have interest in STEM. That's why they applied. The fact that TPMS students won a lottery 3 years ago don't make them more superior candidates.

Did you read what I wrote? Or just ignore it? There are other reasons as I stated. And I’m VERY confident that I will be proved correct (that the proportion of kids that got in this year is more than 20). Part of that is the track record of TKPK kids who got into the middle school magnet with lower scores than average (because of the set aside) but were still strong enough by the end of the three years to be accepted at Blair.

I’d put money on it if we weren’t anonymous.

This describes my oldest son. My son received a TPMS magnet lottery spot, our zone school, with a straight A report card and MAP scores in the 75-80% range in both math and reading. Above average but not elite. First year was tough, but he did well with some help from tutors. We found out in MS that he as a reading disability and got him support for it through a generous nonprofit. He improved in TPMS and got into Blair magnet with elite scores.

He is a senior now and has already been accepted to two top 20 schools. Waiting for a few other decisions. He will be a second-generation college student and I am so proud of him. My youngest son was also selected for the TMPS magnet, but his scores are above 95%, so we were not as surprised.

I am a single parent with three kids and with a disabled parent that my sons and I help care for. I'm thankful through the lottery system that my son got a chance to maximize his potential at TPMS magnet program.

No way 75-80% MAP would get into TMPS 7 years ago when Cogat was also used. Stop making up these fake success stories.

And you know this how? It’s easier to get in in-boundary, and you have no idea what the criteria was then, nor what this kid’s Cogat score was. Of guess the Cogat score was high and he was squarely in the top 10 percent in the TKPK feeders which is what you needed to get in.

I’m the original poster to this sub thread. I am sorry I am not familiar with the specific criteria for why he got in, but I understand that they reserve slots for Takoma Park kids who are performing at a certain level. My son always commented that everyone in his cohort was sharp, so maybe the emphasis on scores in this case is overrated? His core friends, who are also mostly at Blair now, were from quite a distance away from the school (Bethesda, Twinbrook). I have him take the bus to see them, it’s nice to get a day off like today but I do not have time to drive him around the county.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The poster said that their home school is TPMS and there is a DIFFERENT process for the 25 seats that are dedicated at TPMS for these kids. I don't know what the process for that is but dont simply throw around accusations of troll and "no way 75-80%" without focusing on the details of the post.

I don't know why someone would make it up but it was not a lottery for inbounds either. They were selected just like the other kids but they were competing with themselves.

Clearly she’s wrongly referring to it as a lottery, because it’s now several years later but that doesn’t mean it’s made up,

The story just sounds really off, like an algorithm made it up to try to make it perfect but got a detail wrong. Not only is her child inbounds and scored low but she's also a single mom! And it's not just one child but two!

Yes I am proud of my boys! Also at least from my reading of the scores, they weren’t considered low. The letter referenced above average. But I understand from him that some of his friends scored much higher. I didn’t know it was an issue for an above average kid to get in. I was just responding to a post that resonated with me.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The poster said that their home school is TPMS and there is a DIFFERENT process for the 25 seats that are dedicated at TPMS for these kids. I don't know what the process for that is but dont simply throw around accusations of troll and "no way 75-80%" without focusing on the details of the post.

I don't know why someone would make it up but it was not a lottery for inbounds either. They were selected just like the other kids but they were competing with themselves.

Clearly she’s wrongly referring to it as a lottery, because it’s now several years later but that doesn’t mean it’s made up,

The story just sounds really off, like an algorithm made it up to try to make it perfect but got a detail wrong. Not only is her child inbounds and scored low but she's also a single mom! And it's not just one child but two!

Yes I am proud of my boys! Also at least from my reading of the scores, they weren’t considered low. The letter referenced above average. But I understand from him that some of his friends scored much higher. I didn’t know it was an issue for an above average kid to get in. I was just responding to a post that resonated with me.

Congrats again to your son and to you for supporting him. Sorry that some posters have responded negatively. In the person you responded to and know that some Takoma park kids that were admitted to the magnet were accepted with lower scores than others and still have done exceedingly well, so your story fits.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The poster said that their home school is TPMS and there is a DIFFERENT process for the 25 seats that are dedicated at TPMS for these kids. I don't know what the process for that is but dont simply throw around accusations of troll and "no way 75-80%" without focusing on the details of the post.

I don't know why someone would make it up but it was not a lottery for inbounds either. They were selected just like the other kids but they were competing with themselves.

Clearly she’s wrongly referring to it as a lottery, because it’s now several years later but that doesn’t mean it’s made up,

The story just sounds really off, like an algorithm made it up to try to make it perfect but got a detail wrong. Not only is her child inbounds and scored low but she's also a single mom! And it's not just one child but two!

Yes I am proud of my boys! Also at least from my reading of the scores, they weren’t considered low. The letter referenced above average. But I understand from him that some of his friends scored much higher. I didn’t know it was an issue for an above average kid to get in. I was just responding to a post that resonated with me.

Congrats again to your son and to you for supporting him. Sorry that some posters have responded negatively. In the person you responded to and know that some Takoma park kids that were admitted to the magnet were accepted with lower scores than others and still have done exceedingly well, so your story fits.

Thank you for that and for the explanation. I guess I never saw the scores thing as an issue.

I had a chance to peruse this site for a time to better understand why someone would even think I’m being dishonest about a such a simple topic. I understand now that there are sensitivities regarding who is deserving to be in MCPS MS and HS magnet programs, and a general feeling from some people that the county permits what are believed to be “unqualified” (Black?) minorities to get spots in these schools over predominantly White and Asian children, which tend to score higher on the tests in question. I never revealed my ethnicity (nor does it fit the concern) but I better understand why my story may irritate some.

TBH it kind of makes me sad that people walk around concerned about this. I always thought these selective MS/HS programs, as well as colleges, were more focused on making sure their prospective students have a baseline level of competency to do well in their programs. If you meet that baseline, and the school does not admit solely based on standardized test scores in a sequential order, does it matter if you are one point above the level or 20? And how would you determine who is really more deserving? Especially if selection is subject to a lottery. I don’t have answers to this, but it does confuse me.

[Anonymous]

NP. I did not very carefully read the responses to your post, but I think people reacted to your post because you said your child got into TPMS with lottery and he/she is a HS senior now. That does not add up since MS lottery is only 3 and a half years old. You may have typed the word lottery inadvertently, but that's the reason I think.

[Anonymous]

It is very disturbing/disheartening for some of the parents to insinuate that "Black" kids are in these programs to fill spots. FYI, try asking your kids how these so-called "Black" children are performing. I have a Black child who is high performing and I must say performs better than some of your children. Let us give all children a benefit of doubt. I am a strong believer in all kids being able and capable given the proper support and environment. No wonder "Black" students feel the need to constantly validate themselves in these types of programs. The parents are out here sending kids into these program assuming "Black" children are less than. Please stop!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:It is very disturbing/disheartening for some of the parents to insinuate that "Black" kids are in these programs to fill spots. FYI, try asking your kids how these so-called "Black" children are performing. I have a Black child who is high performing and I must say performs better than some of your children. Let us give all children a benefit of doubt. I am a strong believer in all kids being able and capable given the proper support and environment. No wonder "Black" students feel the need to constantly validate themselves in these types of programs. The parents are out here sending kids into these program assuming "Black" children are less than. Please stop!

Ignore the crazy posters implying this. Those of us who have kids in the program know that everyone who has a place is worthy of that place and very high achieving,