MacArthur Scorecard
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Anonymous
| Wow! So teaching and learning leaves alot to be desired. |
Anonymous
DP but it’s a new school and only 30% in bounds because Hardy kids could go to J-R. Let’s see once they start feeding in. Maybe they’ll all bail for private but it’s still really early. |
Anonymous
The entire IB population couldn't all bail for private even if they wanted to, which they won't. The test scores may give me pause if I had a 7th or 8th grader at Hardy, but now that MacArthur is the only destination school for Eaton, Key, Mann, Stoddert, and Hyde-Addison, those parents, IB and OOB, are going to have the same expectations they do of Hardy now. Not an exact replica, but comparable academic offerings and standards. Not even saying I would avoid the school currently, just that if your kid is 5 years from high school still, I would feel confident Mac will be past all of the start up and growing pains you're seeing reflected in the test scores now. |
Anonymous
| Post is 7 days old and not a single post from a current family. Crickets. |
Anonymous
This is only its second year, last year there were 238 kids (not sure what the number is this year). Not sure I would necessarily expect anyone from the school to be hanging around here. |
Anonymous
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Current parent. We're happy at MacArthur. We've been K-12 DCPS, so we've adapted to a bit of chaos over the years, but here are my thoughts:
Pro's: - kid is happy and that's the most important thing - communication from school is frequent (Sunday emails are helpful) - AP teachers seem to be very strong; these seem to be the classes where my kid is learning and enjoying - really like the admin we've interacted with (principal and one of the APs) Con's: - no theater program... yet. I know that it's a new school, but this was a disappointment - entry through the metal detectors some days can be a real headache (IDK if this is construction related or not) - they said Parent Square was coming and it hasn't yet The truth is that, right now, MacArthur is Title I and its test scores reflect this. Kids are coming from all over and the education backgrounds of the current students really seem to vary. My kid says that they have class with kids who challenge them and with kids who seem to really struggle with basic concepts. It's mixed. One thing that I've seen, personally: I dropped my kid off late one day after dr's appointment, and SO MANY MacArthur students were casually getting off the bus 45+ minutes after school started. I don't really know how you can be 45 minutes late for school and be a successful student whose learning is going to translate into strong test scores. I think, sadly, that MacArthur's test scores will be lower like this... until suddenly they're not. IB parents will buy in and kids from Hardy and its strong elementary feeders will be majority of the student body. This means test scores will go up. Our kid was too old for this to be the case, but it's still working out really well for us. |
Anonymous
| This is exactly how it went down at Hardy, right around 2019. |
Anonymous
+1. This is why I'm mostly confident in MacArthur. Now that it's the only feeder pathway for Hardy, it will quickly achieve the same parent buy-in that Hardy achieved a few years ago. Maybe not next year, but within the next few years. That is assuming the school leadership and teacher body remain strong. A change in leadership for the worse could tank IB parent confidence. |
Anonymous
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It’s anecdotal but my 8th grader at Hardy says almost everyone she k owes is applying to some sort of private for next year.
My other child graduated 2 years ago from Hardy when JR was still an option and did not have the same experience with so many peers applying to privates. I think a lot of parents who are on the front end of this change are skeptical (given these types of posts looking for information). |
Anonymous
And what is your plan for your 8th grader next year? If you’re also going private, it stands to reason you’re experiencing an attention bias in your observations. Also as the previous poster wisely said, it is likely MacArthur will have lower scores until suddenly it doesn’t. All of Hardy’s 8th graders can’t go private - there’s not enough private school seats nor do all families (including the IB ones) have the funds for that. I’m sure some of the higher income families will peel off next year but it’s likely many of them already would. It will be the middle class and lower income families with strong students that have no other option that will improve MacArthur til it’s good enough for those with choices. That will take some time. |
Anonymous
I dunno. My 8th grade DC is applying to a handful of privates and we can't afford it. My child is strong academically and sees that MacArthur has dismal performance so far. Sounds like MacA did a great job of getting solid teachers, but starting by giving 2 years of students the option of J-R was a mistake. In future years it will be fine, but, no, this year's 8th graders are not excited about it. |
Anonymous
This 100% |
Anonymous
| 7th grade Hardy parent here. We are planning for MacArthur and feel good about it. Not sure I would have felt the same for starting my kid there this year or last year, but we feel that after another year it will be a great place for our DC. Agree that ending the J-R option will have an immensely positive impact and that MacArthur is going to be a fantastic school within a few years |
Anonymous
+1. Title 1 Low performing Limited clubs, extracurriculars, sports Horrendous location with potential 2 hour plus RT bus ride What positives exactly does the school have? A small percentage of families might do a 2 hour commute to a really great school. But to a school with the above characteristics??? |
Anonymous
Most IB families wouldn’t have a 2 hour commute or anything close to it though? |