Sidwell Obsession

[Anonymous]

TJ McDouche Blair, stop kidding yourself and go back to the public school forum.

I don't think the poster is kidding. I just checked out these facts. There correct.

[SAM2]

Anonymous wrote:It's very simple show us the beef. These numbers are not manipulated by legacy, siblings, money, haughty entitlement. We are talking pure and unadulterated academic and intellectual performance ... For TJ and Blair Magnet the facts speak for themselves ....

One positive thing I can say about Sidwell is that I very rarely see Sidwell parents acting like complete jackasses on DCUM. I've always respected that about the school. PP is acting like such an absolute putz that I'm not even sure if he's real.

But how about these pure and unadulterated numbers on Presidential Scholars and Presidential Scholar Candidates?: The Candidate designation is a straight function of SAT scores -- the top SAT scores in the state get designated as candidates. The Scholar awards are based on each candidate's full academic record. Judging is conducted by the US Department of Education.

Over the past 8 years, 4.98% of TJ students are Presidential Scholar Candidates, and 1.24% are designated Presidential Scholars. Those are very impressive numbers. Better than top boarding schools like Andover and Deerfield. Better even than Stuyvesant in NYC.

Sidwell's percentages over the past 8 years? 9.67% of Sidwell students are Presidential Scholar Candidates, and 2.20% are designated Presidential Scholars. Those percentages are almost twice as good as TJ's. And don't think it's only Sidwell. St. Albans is at 7.93%/1.32%. NCS is at 10.41%/0.65%.

I'm not trying to take anything away from TJ or Blair. Both are excellent programs (despite having some idiot students who have nothing better to do on Friday nights than post to parenting websites!). But it's pretty foolish to deny that there are other strong schools in the region.

Now listen to this advice, kid. Go swipe some booze from your parents' shelf. Sneak into a club to see a band. Get laid if you can. Play some computer games if you have to. But quit wasting your time here. You really should have better things to do. The rest of us have children and mortgages and frustrating jobs -- you really don't want to spend your time with us.

[Anonymous]

Are you saying that Sidwell and STA have higher annual PSAT, SAT and AP scores than Blair Magnet and TJ?

SAM2, you are clearly smoking something this Friday night.

[SAM2]

I'm saying there are some numbers that favor TJ (like NMSF%), and other numbers that favor other schools (like Presidential Scholar %). To claim that one school is clearly better than the other is just stupid. You should know better. You asked for metrics, and I supplied them.

Now please go do something young and foolish. Quit wasting your youth here.

[Anonymous]

How many candidates apply for Rhodes Scholarships at MIT versus Harvard? Harvard has the largest number of Rhodes Scholars of any American university.

How many candidates at TJ, Blair Magnet apply for Presidential Scholarships vs Sidwell, NCS or STA?

In fact, what is the average SAT score of students from D.C. vs MD or VA?

What is the average SAT score of the top 30 male and female subjects from D.C. vs MD or VA?

What are the average SAT scores of students at Blair Magnet, TJ vs Sidwell, NCS or STA?

[Anonymous]

I'm saying there are some numbers that favor TJ (like NMSF%), and other numbers that favor other schools (like Presidential Scholar %). To claim that one school is clearly better than the other is just stupid. You should know better. You asked for metrics, and I supplied them.

Now please go do something young and foolish. Quit wasting your youth here.

Since the sample size is larger for students taking SAT and PSAT vs applying for Presidential Scholarship this is by far a better metric for the whole population at these schools. I am surprised at you. You should no better than to pull wool over anyone's eyes. The latter metric is more robust given the much larger sample size of the student populations.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:One positive thing I can say about Sidwell is that I very rarely see Sidwell parents acting like complete jackasses on DCUM.

Um, if you read any of the threads on this forum concerning Sidwell, I seriously doubt you'd make that statement. The incessant "meathead" response from the Sidwell parents to anything that remotely portrays Sidwell in a negative light is particularly pathetic.

[Anonymous]

Nearly everyone in high school gets to take the PSAT and SAT. Not everyone chooses to fill out an extensive application with lots of essay questions to enter the Presidential Scholarship Sweepstakes on a State by State basis. I suspect in D.C. the private schools dominate give their monopoly of the education market. Not so in MD or VA.

[Anonymous]

Definetely marketed and groomed for at the District (D.C.) private schools---low hanging trophy fruit--in a relative uncompetitive zone.

[Anonymous]

The teenagers are in a frenzy on a site meant for 40 year old women.....what is wrong with this picture. Get off the computer and go get laid( if you can)

[Anonymous]

Since the sample size is larger for students taking SAT and PSAT vs applying for Presidential Scholarship this is by far a better metric for the whole population at these schools. I am surprised at you. You should no better than to pull wool over anyone's eyes. The latter metric is more robust given the much larger sample size of the student populations.

In the case, the raw data would be more revealing than some derivative of SAT based on region (State) and a subsequent volunteer application process

[Anonymous]

The teenagers are in a frenzy on a site meant for 40 year old women.....what is wrong with this picture. Get off the computer and go get laid( if you can)

What's your hang up around getting laid. This seems your most favorite refrain this evening. Is this what we have to look forward to in menopause?

[Anonymous]

The teenagers are in a frenzy on a site meant for 40 year old women.....what is wrong with this picture. Get off the computer and go get laid( if you can)

Please speak for yourself. I'm not sure DCUM is a site meant for 40-year-old women. Where did you get your information from?

[SAM2]

Gee, I seem to have touched a nerve, huh?

You should read more about the Presidential Scholar procedure. Every student in the US that takes the SAT is automatically "entered" in the contest for candidate status, and being named candidate is based purely on SAT scores. There is no application for candidate status that I know of. So the sample is quite robust. For true Presidential Scholar status (the next step), there is an application. But are you seriously trying to tell me that TJ students can't be bothered to fill out an application to apply for one of the top academic awards in the nation? I doubt that.

I see your posts about Rhodes Scholars and SAT averages and the like. If you have that data for all schools, I'd like to see it. Thanks.

I also see your "meathead" post. Are you the same person who's been posting all the football and swimming threads?

[Anonymous]

SAM2: Please tell the readership the whole story. Candidacy is based on SAT scores however these scores will vary from State to State and District. The top 30 SAT scores in Mississippi or
D.C. may be lower than the top 30 SAT scores in MD, MA or VA. The schools you mention compared to TJ and Blair Magnet are all in D.C., correct? If these private schools you site had residential status in VA and MD do you really believe the data you present will stay the same? Hardly. The raw scores and means eliminates this confounder. Thus, if you want to compare SAT scores (a basis for Presidential Scholarship) between schools in 3 States why not just look at the raw scores.