Walls AP leaving DC

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:New in town here looking at high schools and based on math and English proficiency and college admissions Walls looks way better than Wilson What am I missing?? Thank you!

Current walls students had to test to get in and functions like a magnet school. Wilson is a normal public school.

But then why are people on this thread saying Wilson is as good as or better than Walls, academically? Isn't that just objectively not true?

Wilson is a much larger school than Walls and is also a neighborhood school. Perhaps one way of framing the question is: What opportunities and experiences will an excellent student have when you compare the two schools? It’s quite easy to see that a given excellent student might have a “better” experience at Wilson, which might have a wider variety of both excellent classes and extracurricular options vs a much smaller school with a selected population. As with any school, fit matters.

Exactly...using test scores to compare the two makes no sense. In fact, most parents that I know with kids at Walls say the student body is the best part about the school (and complain quite a bit about everything else)...and those who have kids at both Wilson and Walls (there are a LOT) say the small school may be a benefit for some, but not for others....and almost without exception say the teachers/opportunities were better at Wilson.

[Anonymous]

Go with Walls. At least there, you have an overall consistent high performing peer group.

The detracking with honors for all at Wilson has been a disaster.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Go with Walls. At least there, you have an overall consistent high performing peer group.

The detracking with honors for all at Wilson has been a disaster.

I completely disagree...I had one go through Walls and have one at Wilson now (we encouraged our second to go to Wilson over Walls because Walls was such a disappointment)--Walls teachers and admin were mediocre at best; the kids were smart, but not any smarter than the cohort my DS hangs with at Wilson (and the teaching has been a lot better). I don't think the "honors for all" thing for two classes (9th grade bio and English) has been a big deal...plenty of challenging classes and lots of very smart kids.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Go with Walls. At least there, you have an overall consistent high performing peer group.

The detracking with honors for all at Wilson has been a disaster.

I completely disagree...I had one go through Walls and have one at Wilson now (we encouraged our second to go to Wilson over Walls because Walls was such a disappointment)--Walls teachers and admin were mediocre at best; the kids were smart, but not any smarter than the cohort my DS hangs with at Wilson (and the teaching has been a lot better). I don't think the "honors for all" thing for two classes (9th grade bio and English) has been a big deal...plenty of challenging classes and lots of very smart kids.

No one cares about this except for a few angry DCUM parents. It’s really not an issue. My smart, motivated kid had great experiences in 9th grade English and Bio.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Go with Walls. At least there, you have an overall consistent high performing peer group.

The detracking with honors for all at Wilson has been a disaster.

I completely disagree...I had one go through Walls and have one at Wilson now (we encouraged our second to go to Wilson over Walls because Walls was such a disappointment)--Walls teachers and admin were mediocre at best; the kids were smart, but not any smarter than the cohort my DS hangs with at Wilson (and the teaching has been a lot better). I don't think the "honors for all" thing for two classes (9th grade bio and English) has been a big deal...plenty of challenging classes and lots of very smart kids.

I’m just curious because I’ve seen this posted on DCUM before but what about Walls teachers do you consider mediocre? Do they have certain strong programs?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Go with Walls. At least there, you have an overall consistent high performing peer group.

The detracking with honors for all at Wilson has been a disaster.

I completely disagree...I had one go through Walls and have one at Wilson now (we encouraged our second to go to Wilson over Walls because Walls was such a disappointment)--Walls teachers and admin were mediocre at best; the kids were smart, but not any smarter than the cohort my DS hangs with at Wilson (and the teaching has been a lot better). I don't think the "honors for all" thing for two classes (9th grade bio and English) has been a big deal...plenty of challenging classes and lots of very smart kids.

I’m just curious because I’ve seen this posted on DCUM before but what about Walls teachers do you consider mediocre? Do they have certain strong programs?

Walls parent here: a lot of complacent teachers. A few strong ones for sure but many who just phone it in or who think giving a ton of busy work is the same as giving challenging or creative/engaging work.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Go with Walls. At least there, you have an overall consistent high performing peer group.

The detracking with honors for all at Wilson has been a disaster.

I completely disagree...I had one go through Walls and have one at Wilson now (we encouraged our second to go to Wilson over Walls because Walls was such a disappointment)--Walls teachers and admin were mediocre at best; the kids were smart, but not any smarter than the cohort my DS hangs with at Wilson (and the teaching has been a lot better). I don't think the "honors for all" thing for two classes (9th grade bio and English) has been a big deal...plenty of challenging classes and lots of very smart kids.

No one cares about this except for a few angry DCUM parents. It’s really not an issue. My smart, motivated kid had great experiences in 9th grade English and Bio.

+1
My DD's 9th grade bio teacher (who is also one of the Wilson AP bio teachers) was amazing and it was a fantastic, challenging class. The complaints about "honors for all" come from people who complain about everything and/or who think their "gifted" or "advanced" kids are entitled to always be in selective classes.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

But then why are people on this thread saying Wilson is as good as or better than Walls, academically? Isn't that just objectively not true?

Wilson is a much larger school than Walls and is also a neighborhood school. Perhaps one way of framing the question is: What opportunities and experiences will an excellent student have when you compare the two schools? It’s quite easy to see that a given excellent student might have a “better” experience at Wilson, which might have a wider variety of both excellent classes and extracurricular options vs a much smaller school with a selected population. As with any school, fit matters.

Good way to frame the question. But where is it ‘easy’ to see that the experience is better at Wilson? Other than subjective self reports, I mean. AP tests? Participation in math/science/humanities/chess/arts competitions or performances? College admissions? Scholarships, awards or other regional or national forms of recognition?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Go with Walls. At least there, you have an overall consistent high performing peer group.

The detracking with honors for all at Wilson has been a disaster.

I completely disagree...I had one go through Walls and have one at Wilson now (we encouraged our second to go to Wilson over Walls because Walls was such a disappointment)--Walls teachers and admin were mediocre at best; the kids were smart, but not any smarter than the cohort my DS hangs with at Wilson (and the teaching has been a lot better). I don't think the "honors for all" thing for two classes (9th grade bio and English) has been a big deal...plenty of challenging classes and lots of very smart kids.

No one cares about this except for a few angry DCUM parents. It’s really not an issue. My smart, motivated kid had great experiences in 9th grade English and Bio.

+1
My DD's 9th grade bio teacher (who is also one of the Wilson AP bio teachers) was amazing and it was a fantastic, challenging class. The complaints about "honors for all" come from people who complain about everything and/or who think their "gifted" or "advanced" kids are entitled to always be in selective classes.

That 9th grade honors bio teacher is truly amazing. Able to engage all the students in a truly challenging, thought provoking class.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

But then why are people on this thread saying Wilson is as good as or better than Walls, academically? Isn't that just objectively not true?

Wilson is a much larger school than Walls and is also a neighborhood school. Perhaps one way of framing the question is: What opportunities and experiences will an excellent student have when you compare the two schools? It’s quite easy to see that a given excellent student might have a “better” experience at Wilson, which might have a wider variety of both excellent classes and extracurricular options vs a much smaller school with a selected population. As with any school, fit matters.

Good way to frame the question. But where is it ‘easy’ to see that the experience is better at Wilson? Other than subjective self reports, I mean. AP tests? Participation in math/science/humanities/chess/arts competitions or performances? College admissions? Scholarships, awards or other regional or national forms of recognition?

The PP said that it was easy to see how an excellent student "might" have a better experience--and, yes, for all the reasons you suggest: the larger size means there are more clubs (some of which are really first-rate, e.g. robotics team, debate team, newspaper), more APs, more STEM...but some other students might do better in a smaller, less chaotic environment...I think the point is that it is not a given that Walls is better for bright, motivated students and, in fact, Wilson may be a better choice for many (and many top student do, in fact, choose Wilson over Walls when they are in boundary for Wilson).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:New in town here looking at high schools and based on math and English proficiency and college admissions Walls looks way better than Wilson What am I missing?? Thank you!

The average scores look bad because Wilson is essentially two schools in one building.

[Anonymous]

Someone correct me if I have this wrong, but I always understood that the strongest math students do not take the PARCC in high school because they are more advanced that the test levels. If that is correct, the high school PARCC math scores simply leave out the strongest math students in both schools so undercount math competency.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Go with Walls. At least there, you have an overall consistent high performing peer group.

The detracking with honors for all at Wilson has been a disaster.

I completely disagree...I had one go through Walls and have one at Wilson now (we encouraged our second to go to Wilson over Walls because Walls was such a disappointment)--Walls teachers and admin were mediocre at best; the kids were smart, but not any smarter than the cohort my DS hangs with at Wilson (and the teaching has been a lot better). I don't think the "honors for all" thing for two classes (9th grade bio and English) has been a big deal...plenty of challenging classes and lots of very smart kids.

This post reflects every Walls parent I have spoken with IRL. No one has had a positive report for me. I would only send a kid to Walls if they needed a smaller environment.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:New in town here looking at high schools and based on math and English proficiency and college admissions Walls looks way better than Wilson What am I missing?? Thank you!

The average scores look bad because Wilson is essentially two schools in one building.

Or…it’s one very big, comprehensive high school with a wide range of students.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Someone correct me if I have this wrong, but I always understood that the strongest math students do not take the PARCC in high school because they are more advanced that the test levels. If that is correct, the high school PARCC math scores simply leave out the strongest math students in both schools so undercount math competency.

Interesting point, but yes that is true.