MCPS GT Acceptance Letters

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:No letter today; only coupons for pizza. How can a team of teachers recommend a student if they don't know the child's abilities one-on-one?

10:33 here. That's the crux. The teachers have to hand in a questionnaire in early December, and with the number of students in their class, they cannot get to know each one very well. I know DS's teacher has a much better idea of his abilities now than before Christmas. Too late for the questionnaire. No criticism of the HGC application process actually, I just wish the student-teacher ratio was better. I would more taxes for that!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:In our school 5 of the 7 (last year) were from 1 class (5 3rd grade classes at the school). My guess is that teacher was a good writer.

My guess is that the kids were good test takers. I'm not convinced the teacher writeup counts for much.

[Anonymous]

Letters must have been mailed this week. Appeals are due in under three weeks:

http://news.montgomeryschoolsmd.org/quicknotes/deadline-to-accept-or-appeal-highly-gifted-center-decisions-is-april-4/

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:In our school 5 of the 7 (last year) were from 1 class (5 3rd grade classes at the school). My guess is that teacher was a good writer.

My guess is that the kids were good test takers. I'm not convinced the teacher writeup counts for much.

Similar in our school. 4 of 7 accepted were from the same class. I actually think that that class had more high achieving students. Throughout the year that class had by far the most students who were pulled out for enrichment. I don't think it had anything to do with the teacher, particularly since they met as a team to decide.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:In our school 5 of the 7 (last year) were from 1 class (5 3rd grade classes at the school). My guess is that teacher was a good writer.

My guess is that the kids were good test takers. I'm not convinced the teacher writeup counts for much.

They go purely by test scores.

[Anonymous]

Do many parents appeal? Would you appeal or not? I am inclined to not appeal. Surely, the decision makers know the program and want the students to be successful. Right??

[Anonymous]

Do many parents appeal? Would you appeal or not? I am inclined to not appeal. Surely, the decision makers know the program and want the students to be successful. Right??

If you want a space then you should appeal. It doesn't hurt. It may not make a difference but you could win a spot. A large % of students are qualified for GT spots but spots are very limited. One of the aspects for choice is gender, race, personality, and other non-qualifying characteristics so they have a balanced class.

[Anonymous]

They often put the super high students all in one class so that they have a peer group to work with so it makes sense that several kids from one class will all make it in.

[Anonymous]

I disagree..they spread the top kids out so it won't give the appearance of tracking or a "high class"/"low class". No one cares about the effect on the students.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:They often put the super high students all in one class so that they have a peer group to work with so it makes sense that several kids from one class will all make it in.

Yes, they do that at our school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:What I told myself when my daughter applied was that if she didn't get in, it could easily have to do with the competition and how good they were, not how good she was. And, they also told us during the informations session about the program (this was 2011) that how many kids they pick from each elementary depends on a number of different factors that have nothing to do with the candidates - like they won't take so many kids from a school that it will cause that grade to lose a classroom the next year.

So, it might not be about your individual child. And if you truly think they have the wrong idea of your kid, appeal. It might make your kid's application float to the top of the wait pool if you can argue why their needs can't be met in the home school.

I hadn't thought about that. My DDs 3rd grade class as a whole is very small. Right now they have 3 very small classes, if a couple leave they may not have the numbers to continue to support the need for three classrooms. Ugh. One more crazy thing to think about.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:They often put the super high students all in one class so that they have a peer group to work with so it makes sense that several kids from one class will all make it in.

+1 This was my first impression too - it seems likely that at that school - they are grouping some of the kids between 2nd and 3rd. This may not be the practice at all schools in MoCo but I can see scenarios where this might make sense.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:They often put the super high students all in one class so that they have a peer group to work with so it makes sense that several kids from one class will all make it in.

Yes, they do that at our school.

It depends on the school. In our area, one principal does try to put all the advanced kids in one class which is really fantastic for them. In another school, the principal actively tries to spread them out as much as possible. In this school, the 'top' reading group in a class would have quite a range of kids which can be a little boring for the best readers since the books and assignments are typically not challenging enough.

[Anonymous]

No letter today; only coupons for pizza. How can a team of teachers recommend a student if they don't know the child's abilities one-on-one?

This is where teacher's and PTA pet's come in and why only the median score is released. This is precisely the wiggle room the Principals and third grade teachers use for manipulation. I am not complaining but presenting the plain facts. This is critical in the setting and a huge supply/demand imbalance in the the system.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

No letter today; only coupons for pizza. How can a team of teachers recommend a student if they don't know the child's abilities one-on-one?

This is where teacher's and PTA pet's come in and why only the median score is released. This is precisely the wiggle room the Principals and third grade teachers use for manipulation. I am not complaining but presenting the plain facts. This is critical in the setting and a huge supply/demand imbalance in the the system.

Well, no, you're not presenting facts, you're offering your personal theory. Doesn't necessarily mean you're wrong, though.