What happened to Quince Orchard's USNews Rankings?

[Anonymous]

(And by good to know about the test scores, I mean it's upsetting that QO is possibly worse off academically then they seem on paper in the ranking systems, but I'm thankful I made this thread and got feedback from current parents/students).

[Anonymous]

Chiming in late. QO is a solid middle-of-the-road school. I'm with the other posters that the 5% math proficiency is a typo and someone needs to contact U.S. News. I don't believe any HS in MCPS has only a 5% math proficiency.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Chiming in late. QO is a solid middle-of-the-road school. I'm with the other posters that the 5% math proficiency is a typo and someone needs to contact U.S. News. I don't believe any HS in MCPS has only a 5% math proficiency.

USNews also claims that Wootton also has only 12% math proficiency which definitely isn't true. So I would say one of the earlier posters are right, there's something weird about how USNews is calculating math proficiency particularly. At least Wootton is still rated 179 nationwide despite this though, so maybe the math proficiency doesn't factor into their entire ranking much (??)

https://www.usnews.com/education/best-high-schools/maryland/districts/montgomery-county-public-schools/thomas-s-wootton-high-9149

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Chiming in late. QO is a solid middle-of-the-road school. I'm with the other posters that the 5% math proficiency is a typo and someone needs to contact U.S. News. I don't believe any HS in MCPS has only a 5% math proficiency.

USNews also claims that Wootton also has only 12% math proficiency which definitely isn't true. So I would say one of the earlier posters are right, there's something weird about how USNews is calculating math proficiency particularly. At least Wootton is still rated 179 nationwide despite this though, so maybe the math proficiency doesn't factor into their entire ranking much (??)

https://www.usnews.com/education/best-high-schools/maryland/districts/montgomery-county-public-schools/thomas-s-wootton-high-9149

As an earlier poster said, this is Algebra 1 proficiency. However, on the normal math track, Algebra 1 is taken in 8th grade. Thus, proficiency is extremely low at the HS because these students are at least 1 year behind in math.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Chiming in late. QO is a solid middle-of-the-road school. I'm with the other posters that the 5% math proficiency is a typo and someone needs to contact U.S. News. I don't believe any HS in MCPS has only a 5% math proficiency.

USNews also claims that Wootton also has only 12% math proficiency which definitely isn't true. So I would say one of the earlier posters are right, there's something weird about how USNews is calculating math proficiency particularly. At least Wootton is still rated 179 nationwide despite this though, so maybe the math proficiency doesn't factor into their entire ranking much (??)

https://www.usnews.com/education/best-high-schools/maryland/districts/montgomery-county-public-schools/thomas-s-wootton-high-9149

As an earlier poster said, this is Algebra 1 proficiency. However, on the normal math track, Algebra 1 is taken in 8th grade. Thus, proficiency is extremely low at the HS because these students are at least 1 year behind in math.

Sure but 1. Isn't that true of all schools, or at least all mcps schools? And 2. It's sad if the schools have students who are already behind in math skills do so poorly. They should be receiving more resources to bring them up. The numbers look like the school just wrote them off.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Chiming in late. QO is a solid middle-of-the-road school. I'm with the other posters that the 5% math proficiency is a typo and someone needs to contact U.S. News. I don't believe any HS in MCPS has only a 5% math proficiency.

USNews also claims that Wootton also has only 12% math proficiency which definitely isn't true. So I would say one of the earlier posters are right, there's something weird about how USNews is calculating math proficiency particularly. At least Wootton is still rated 179 nationwide despite this though, so maybe the math proficiency doesn't factor into their entire ranking much (??)

https://www.usnews.com/education/best-high-schools/maryland/districts/montgomery-county-public-schools/thomas-s-wootton-high-9149

As an earlier poster said, this is Algebra 1 proficiency. However, on the normal math track, Algebra 1 is taken in 8th grade. Thus, proficiency is extremely low at the HS because these students are at least 1 year behind in math.

Sure but 1. Isn't that true of all schools, or at least all mcps schools? And 2. It's sad if the schools have students who are already behind in math skills do so poorly. They should be receiving more resources to bring them up. The numbers look like the school just wrote them off.

Yep. Just bring them up.

[Anonymous]

Well, it must have been a fluke because Usnews released their 2022 rankings a few weeks ago and QO was bumped back to 965. It's still sliding in a downward trajectory, but it's not sub-2000 level bad.

https://www.usnews.com/education/best-high-schools/maryland/districts/montgomery-county-public-schools/quince-orchard-high-school-9163

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:PP with two younger kids (pre-K) looking at purchasing a home in the Quince Orchard or Wootton districts. We are leaning towards the QO area as you can get a better value of house for your money there it seems, and the neighborhood itself seems like a nice place. It seems like many PPs on this forum like QO too as a school overall, though some note Wootton is strictly better academic-wise but perhaps with a bit more pressure at times.

The one main concerning thing we've seen with QO is the Usnews ranking, which I've found to be a pretty good indicator of ranking at least regarding the different high schools we went to growing up. Anything above 1,000 tends to be a decent school.

It looks like back in 2019 QO was ranked a very respectable 533 in the nation.
https://patch.com/maryland/bethesda-chevychase/u-s-news-high-school-rankings-2019-heres-how-montgomery-fared

However in 2021, QO was ranked an atrocious 2,796 nationwide.
https://www.usnews.com/education/best-high-schools/maryland/districts/montgomery-county-public-schools/quince-orchard-high-school-9163

Did something happen, like a rezoning that lowered the quality of incoming students? I also see that the Math proficiency here is listed a paltry 5%, maybe is a typo that led to this low ranking?

We recognize that kids will do well based more so on their upbringing and personality rather than the raw quality of a school. However, a child's friends are extremely important and can really affect their outlook on life. Growing up I personally had a friend who probably would have gotten into trouble in the forms of drugs and early sex, if she had not been with the more studious-inclined friend group who persuaded her to avoid those things until after high school. We want to be sure that if we do move to the QO area, that DC will have the opportunity to easily surround themselves with friends who are academically inclined vs snoozing in class or worse.

Not at all. The methods they use for ranking are meaningless. The school is the same. Please move on.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Chiming in late. QO is a solid middle-of-the-road school. I'm with the other posters that the 5% math proficiency is a typo and someone needs to contact U.S. News. I don't believe any HS in MCPS has only a 5% math proficiency.

USNews also claims that Wootton also has only 12% math proficiency which definitely isn't true. So I would say one of the earlier posters are right, there's something weird about how USNews is calculating math proficiency particularly. At least Wootton is still rated 179 nationwide despite this though, so maybe the math proficiency doesn't factor into their entire ranking much (??)

https://www.usnews.com/education/best-high-schools/maryland/districts/montgomery-county-public-schools/thomas-s-wootton-high-9149

As an earlier poster said, this is Algebra 1 proficiency. However, on the normal math track, Algebra 1 is taken in 8th grade. Thus, proficiency is extremely low at the HS because these students are at least 1 year behind in math.

Yes, they might be taking it a year later, but the school should be able to help more than 5% of the kids taking Algebra 1 (regardless of how large the cohort is) understand Algebra 1.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:PP with two younger kids (pre-K) looking at purchasing a home in the Quince Orchard or Wootton districts. We are leaning towards the QO area as you can get a better value of house for your money there it seems, and the neighborhood itself seems like a nice place. It seems like many PPs on this forum like QO too as a school overall, though some note Wootton is strictly better academic-wise but perhaps with a bit more pressure at times.

The one main concerning thing we've seen with QO is the Usnews ranking, which I've found to be a pretty good indicator of ranking at least regarding the different high schools we went to growing up. Anything above 1,000 tends to be a decent school.

It looks like back in 2019 QO was ranked a very respectable 533 in the nation.
https://patch.com/maryland/bethesda-chevychase/u-s-news-high-school-rankings-2019-heres-how-montgomery-fared

However in 2021, QO was ranked an atrocious 2,796 nationwide.
https://www.usnews.com/education/best-high-schools/maryland/districts/montgomery-county-public-schools/quince-orchard-high-school-9163

Did something happen, like a rezoning that lowered the quality of incoming students? I also see that the Math proficiency here is listed a paltry 5%, maybe is a typo that led to this low ranking?

We recognize that kids will do well based more so on their upbringing and personality rather than the raw quality of a school. However, a child's friends are extremely important and can really affect their outlook on life. Growing up I personally had a friend who probably would have gotten into trouble in the forms of drugs and early sex, if she had not been with the more studious-inclined friend group who persuaded her to avoid those things until after high school. We want to be sure that if we do move to the QO area, that DC will have the opportunity to easily surround themselves with friends who are academically inclined vs snoozing in class or worse.

Not at all. The methods they use for ranking are meaningless. The school is the same. Please move on.

No. Parents want to discuss this. It's you that needs to move on.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Qo is a sports oriented school. Not an academically oriented school. You will find many parents who choose to live within the qo boundaries send their children to private. In return, the county pulls students in from far away for the equity initiative.

Quince Orchard does very well in sports because the school spirit is far superior than the rest of the high schools. When you have great school spirit you tend to have a lot of athletes going out for teams. In the ho him schools there are a lot of athletes who can’t be bothered to try out for the teams.

Many parents send theirs to private? Stats please.

In a previous thread, DCUM said QO uses ringers on sports teams.

Bulliis uses ringers on sports teams.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:As a parent of high schoolers… I think you have a narrow perspective on this. My kids go to an MCPS school that would frighten you, and they are nonetheless surrounded by bright, responsible, high achieving kids. By high school, kids choose the subgroups they want to be in. There is a “bad crowd” at every school. Raise your children right so they have no interest in joining it.

Some schools have larger bad crowds. Others have larger good crowds. Also which kids gets a pass by the bad crowds depends on the dichotomy of the school. In some schools the bad crowds define the school. Pretending like it doesn’t matter seems to me like trying to rationalize your choices and how they affect your kids. That said how much could you know about success if the best you could do is one of the “frightening“ schools so I’m not sure anyone should listen to your words of “wisdom”

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:As a parent of high schoolers… I think you have a narrow perspective on this. My kids go to an MCPS school that would frighten you, and they are nonetheless surrounded by bright, responsible, high achieving kids. By high school, kids choose the subgroups they want to be in. There is a “bad crowd” at every school. Raise your children right so they have no interest in joining it.

Some schools have larger bad crowds. Others have larger good crowds. Also which kids gets a pass by the bad crowds depends on the dichotomy of the school. In some schools the bad crowds define the school. Pretending like it doesn’t matter seems to me like trying to rationalize your choices and how they affect your kids. That said how much could you know about success if the best you could do is one of the “frightening“ schools so I’m not sure anyone should listen to your words of “wisdom”

This kid went to quince orchard. Just saying -

While a student at Quince Orchard High School in Gaithersburg, Maryland, Wakhare worked in the Applied and Computational Mathematics Division at the National Institute of Standards and Technology. When he traveled to Florida to attend the 2016 International Conference on Number Theory, he met Christophe Vignat, a professor of physics at the Université Paris-Saclay and an invited professor of mathematics at Tulane University.

Since that chance meeting, Vignat and Wakhare have collaborated on several papers on number theory and combinatorics—a branch of mathematics that focuses on counting.

“Tanay is an exceptionally talented young mathematician—by far the best student I have ever met in my career,” Vignat said. “He has a very promising future in mathematics.”

Wakhare has published 12 research papers, submitted eight papers for publication and is preparing two additional papers for publication.

He has also taught multiple Student Initiated Courses—known as STICs—on number theory. The STICs program allows UMD students to design and teach for-credit courses with a faculty member’s guidance.

“Professors have their areas of expertise, but students also have really niche, very relevant knowledge,” Wakhare said.

In fall 2017, he began teaching the Department of Mathematics’ first STIC, the “Mathematics of Ramanujan,” about an Indian pioneer in number theory. While the topic may sound complex to a non-math major, Wakhare developed the course to make it more approachable to peers from all majors. He went on to teach other STICs such as “Proofs from the Book” and “The Mathematics of Erdos,” both on the study of counting.

“Tanay is a genuine phenomenon, a force of nature—the definition of a fearless Terp,” said Richard Bell, a UMD associate professor of history who serves as the university’s faculty advisor for United Kingdom fellowships. “The award of the Churchill Scholarship is well-deserved recognition for one of the brightest and most gifted young mathematicians working today.”

At the campus commencement ceremony in May, Wakhare will receive the 2020 University Medal—the highest honor the university can bestow on a graduate. After his time at Cambridge comes to an end, Wakhare plans to earn his Ph.D. and pursue a research career

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:As a parent of high schoolers… I think you have a narrow perspective on this. My kids go to an MCPS school that would frighten you, and they are nonetheless surrounded by bright, responsible, high achieving kids. By high school, kids choose the subgroups they want to be in. There is a “bad crowd” at every school. Raise your children right so they have no interest in joining it.

Some schools have larger bad crowds. Others have larger good crowds. Also which kids gets a pass by the bad crowds depends on the dichotomy of the school. In some schools the bad crowds define the school. Pretending like it doesn’t matter seems to me like trying to rationalize your choices and how they affect your kids. That said how much could you know about success if the best you could do is one of the “frightening“ schools so I’m not sure anyone should listen to your words of “wisdom”

This kid went to quince orchard. Just saying -

While a student at Quince Orchard High School in Gaithersburg, Maryland, Wakhare worked in the Applied and Computational Mathematics Division at the National Institute of Standards and Technology. When he traveled to Florida to attend the 2016 International Conference on Number Theory, he met Christophe Vignat, a professor of physics at the Université Paris-Saclay and an invited professor of mathematics at Tulane University.

Since that chance meeting, Vignat and Wakhare have collaborated on several papers on number theory and combinatorics—a branch of mathematics that focuses on counting.

“Tanay is an exceptionally talented young mathematician—by far the best student I have ever met in my career,” Vignat said. “He has a very promising future in mathematics.”

Wakhare has published 12 research papers, submitted eight papers for publication and is preparing two additional papers for publication.

He has also taught multiple Student Initiated Courses—known as STICs—on number theory. The STICs program allows UMD students to design and teach for-credit courses with a faculty member’s guidance.

“Professors have their areas of expertise, but students also have really niche, very relevant knowledge,” Wakhare said.

In fall 2017, he began teaching the Department of Mathematics’ first STIC, the “Mathematics of Ramanujan,” about an Indian pioneer in number theory. While the topic may sound complex to a non-math major, Wakhare developed the course to make it more approachable to peers from all majors. He went on to teach other STICs such as “Proofs from the Book” and “The Mathematics of Erdos,” both on the study of counting.

“Tanay is a genuine phenomenon, a force of nature—the definition of a fearless Terp,” said Richard Bell, a UMD associate professor of history who serves as the university’s faculty advisor for United Kingdom fellowships. “The award of the Churchill Scholarship is well-deserved recognition for one of the brightest and most gifted young mathematicians working today.”

At the campus commencement ceremony in May, Wakhare will receive the 2020 University Medal—the highest honor the university can bestow on a graduate. After his time at Cambridge comes to an end, Wakhare plans to earn his Ph.D. and pursue a research career

Bruh. All savants and geniuses go to school somewhere. Trust me, going to qo didn't "make" anyone a genius.