Applying to Walls from private middle school

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This. No filtering factor, not a remotely fair, thoughtful or serious admissions process. Queue DCPS loyalist shills who defend it.

How would you suggest the one part time admissions coordinator (that is not her only role at the school) filter through transcripts to judge how difficult a student’s coursework is? Honestly you all expect a school with no extra resources for admissions to run like a private school. It isn’t happening.

This is mentioned ad nauseum, but they can just... Bring back the same test they used to have before COVID.

THIS. The admissions burden would be less, as would the effect of the subjectivity inherent in teacher recs and interviews. It's weird to me that DC clings so strongly to PARCC/CAPE as the measure of school performance/kid learning and then... refuses to use it as criteria for its academically focused selective high schools.

[Anonymous]

DCPS is all about equity which means watering down standards across the board. There are plenty of bright students in every Ward of this city who are getting short-changed by these policies. It's more important to teach to the middle to the bottom of the class. Social promotion and easy grading doesn't help any of the kids. The admissions process being changed at Walls is yet another reflection of these equity goals. DCPS doesn't care if kids get in to Walls who are below grade level but still meet the GPA cut off due to the easy grading at their crappy middle school. They know a 3.8 at one school isn't always equal to a 3.8 at a different school and they don't care.

And before anyone accuses me of being the parent of a kid who didn't get into Walls, my oldest is only in middle school now so we aren't there just yet. I've been watching the stuff happening at Walls for a few years now as a potential option for high school. But it's seeming even more luck of the draw as the years go by.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Basis (DC charter, not private) refused to write recommendations for my child for Walls, it was in their best interest to not write them so kids would stay for HS.

That seems like something you should take up with the school. That’s actually pretty egregious if that’s true.

Several BASIS MS students went to Walls this year, as well as some who got in but did not go. Others went to private high schools. Presumably they all got the required recommendation letters from their teachers. Teachers may have had various reasons -- maybe fair, maybe not -- not to write every letter requested of them, but it's not true that they didn't write any.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:DCPS is all about equity which means watering down standards across the board. There are plenty of bright students in every Ward of this city who are getting short-changed by these policies. It's more important to teach to the middle to the bottom of the class. Social promotion and easy grading doesn't help any of the kids. The admissions process being changed at Walls is yet another reflection of these equity goals. DCPS doesn't care if kids get in to Walls who are below grade level but still meet the GPA cut off due to the easy grading at their crappy middle school. They know a 3.8 at one school isn't always equal to a 3.8 at a different school and they don't care.

And before anyone accuses me of being the parent of a kid who didn't get into Walls, my oldest is only in middle school now so we aren't there just yet. I've been watching the stuff happening at Walls for a few years now as a potential option for high school. But it's seeming even more luck of the draw as the years go by.

Might I suggest that you stop making assumptions and disparaging comments about the students who are actually enrolled at Walls? You are looking in from the outside and coming off as a real jerk. I have a kid at Walls and have found the student body to be bright, self-motivated, and extremely independent.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:DCPS is all about equity which means watering down standards across the board. There are plenty of bright students in every Ward of this city who are getting short-changed by these policies. It's more important to teach to the middle to the bottom of the class. Social promotion and easy grading doesn't help any of the kids. The admissions process being changed at Walls is yet another reflection of these equity goals. DCPS doesn't care if kids get in to Walls who are below grade level but still meet the GPA cut off due to the easy grading at their crappy middle school. They know a 3.8 at one school isn't always equal to a 3.8 at a different school and they don't care.

And before anyone accuses me of being the parent of a kid who didn't get into Walls, my oldest is only in middle school now so we aren't there just yet. I've been watching the stuff happening at Walls for a few years now as a potential option for high school. But it's seeming even more luck of the draw as the years go by.

Might I suggest that you stop making assumptions and disparaging comments about the students who are actually enrolled at Walls? You are looking in from the outside and coming off as a real jerk. I have a kid at Walls and have found the student body to be bright, self-motivated, and extremely independent.

NP. There are kids who are below grade level at Walls. That's a fact, not a dig. You can look at the data on this. There aren't tons, but there are some. And there are kids who are way above grade level who don't get in. The process is not designed to admit them. This is intentional. No one disputes this. The student body can still be very good overall.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Basis (DC charter, not private) refused to write recommendations for my child for Walls, it was in their best interest to not write them so kids would stay for HS.

That seems like something you should take up with the school. That’s actually pretty egregious if that’s true.

Several BASIS MS students went to Walls this year, as well as some who got in but did not go. Others went to private high schools. Presumably they all got the required recommendation letters from their teachers. Teachers may have had various reasons -- maybe fair, maybe not -- not to write every letter requested of them, but it's not true that they didn't write any.

This. BASIS sends some kids to Walls every year. The teachers/admin don't go out of their way to guide kids through the process, but some kids get in (and have rec letters, etc, sent) every year.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:DCPS is all about equity which means watering down standards across the board. There are plenty of bright students in every Ward of this city who are getting short-changed by these policies. It's more important to teach to the middle to the bottom of the class. Social promotion and easy grading doesn't help any of the kids. The admissions process being changed at Walls is yet another reflection of these equity goals. DCPS doesn't care if kids get in to Walls who are below grade level but still meet the GPA cut off due to the easy grading at their crappy middle school. They know a 3.8 at one school isn't always equal to a 3.8 at a different school and they don't care.

And before anyone accuses me of being the parent of a kid who didn't get into Walls, my oldest is only in middle school now so we aren't there just yet. I've been watching the stuff happening at Walls for a few years now as a potential option for high school. But it's seeming even more luck of the draw as the years go by.

Might I suggest that you stop making assumptions and disparaging comments about the students who are actually enrolled at Walls? You are looking in from the outside and coming off as a real jerk. I have a kid at Walls and have found the student body to be bright, self-motivated, and extremely independent.

NP. There are kids who are below grade level at Walls. That's a fact, not a dig. You can look at the data on this. There aren't tons, but there are some. And there are kids who are way above grade level who don't get in. The process is not designed to admit them. This is intentional. No one disputes this. The student body can still be very good overall.

I think almost 1/3rd of the kids at Walls are below grade level in math from some data I looked at last year. For a selective high school, those stats are terrible and an absolute reflection of equity and how the student body is not as academically inclined.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:DCPS is all about equity which means watering down standards across the board. There are plenty of bright students in every Ward of this city who are getting short-changed by these policies. It's more important to teach to the middle to the bottom of the class. Social promotion and easy grading doesn't help any of the kids. The admissions process being changed at Walls is yet another reflection of these equity goals. DCPS doesn't care if kids get in to Walls who are below grade level but still meet the GPA cut off due to the easy grading at their crappy middle school. They know a 3.8 at one school isn't always equal to a 3.8 at a different school and they don't care.

And before anyone accuses me of being the parent of a kid who didn't get into Walls, my oldest is only in middle school now so we aren't there just yet. I've been watching the stuff happening at Walls for a few years now as a potential option for high school. But it's seeming even more luck of the draw as the years go by.

Might I suggest that you stop making assumptions and disparaging comments about the students who are actually enrolled at Walls? You are looking in from the outside and coming off as a real jerk. I have a kid at Walls and have found the student body to be bright, self-motivated, and extremely independent.

DP. What PP above says is absolutely correct about equity. I don’t see any assumptions or disparaging comments.

Sure there are bright students at Walls but you can’t dispute data which is objective that there are students there who are below grade level and not so bright.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There is something truly wrong with an application school admissions process for a supposedly academic school that favors “easy As” from grade inflated schools rather than potentially lower grades from much tougher courses/schools. Where is the incentive for students to challenge themselves? Why is it better to exclude the more capable students? Certainly not all will be excluded, but it seems a great many.

Wow. Don’t assume the kids coming from public middle schools are taking “easy A” classes and not challenging themselves. Many of the admitted students from DCPS middles took high school math in 7th and 8th.

But it's crazy that a kid at SH makes the choice to turn down school-recommended math acceleration to guarantee an A in order to meet the Walls cut-off. I know 2 kids who did exactly that last year. That's a terrible incentive to create for DCPS students.

Agree that this is crazy. I also wonder about the adults in the lives of these children.

If you are attending SH - your feeder is Eastern. This is your default option.
If you need to take a different math in 7th grade to improve your options - it is a smart decision.

That’s crazy. So have your kid cruise and basically waste 3 years doing so instead of learning more so he has a chance to get into Walls.

It’s not a smart decision and your goals are all wrong.

You completely screw your self for the SAT.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Complaining about this problem on this board will get you no where.

Yes, it is a problem, and not just for private school kids. Some years the cut off is higher and some years it is lower.

Every year exceptionally qualified students don't make it in. There just aren't enough spaces for all who are qualified.

The current process for admissions does not particularly select for the absolute best students.

Bringing back the requirement for an admissions test (any admissions test) would be one way to have an apples to apples means to test for entrance.

As it is now, lots of good students are admitted.

It's also possible now that certain schools are privileged over others regardless of whether they are better at educating their students.

Schools that don't have teachers who write good admissions letters are not setting their students up for success.

Schools like Basis who tend to give worse grades (perhaps in part so that their kids won't leave for greener pastures) are also not helping their students get into SWW (or other application schools).

I feel that someone taking no honors classes from a lousy school like Stuart Hobson isn’t qualified. Sorry. That said maybe our current school is a better fit anyway.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:You will have to wait and see if the kids who passed on math acceleration get in. I suspect kids who did advanced math will on average do slightly better on recommendations, interviews, and ultimately admissions. Skipping the more advanced middle math path is likely to long-term hold most students back (no Algebra in 8th means no calculus before college).

It’s going to kill your SAT math score. I mean you’ll spend thousands just trying to teach your kid enough calculus for a so so score.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:You will have to wait and see if the kids who passed on math acceleration get in. I suspect kids who did advanced math will on average do slightly better on recommendations, interviews, and ultimately admissions. Skipping the more advanced middle math path is likely to hold most students back (no Algebra in 8th means no calculus before college).

The admissions rubric for transcripts says they don't look at advanced classes. It's not something the interviewer is accessing or asking about. If they wanted to use math level, they'd use it directly. They're not sneaking it in through other parts of the process.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:You will have to wait and see if the kids who passed on math acceleration get in. I suspect kids who did advanced math will on average do slightly better on recommendations, interviews, and ultimately admissions. Skipping the more advanced middle math path is likely to long-term hold most students back (no Algebra in 8th means no calculus before college).

It’s going to kill your SAT math score. I mean you’ll spend thousands just trying to teach your kid enough calculus for a so so score.

The SAT only goes up to Geometry and coordinate Geometry, so has algebra, arithmetic, probability, too. No calculus or trigonometry, unless it's drastically changed since I was a SAT (and GRE) tutor.

Accelerating too fast actually results in kids being too far out from Geometry and Algebra when they take the SAT (like a kid who take calc in 10th or even 11th), so they need to relearn that stuff before the SAT.

[Anonymous]

The kids at SH who made this decision were solid but not spectacular math students (mid to high 4s on PARCC in math) who were on the medium acceleration track (basically 6th & 7th grade math combined). About half the kids who come out of the track then head to 8th grade math and half do normal 7th. They both were recommended to head to 8th and decided to do 7th again because it was the difference between a guaranteed A and a possible A- and/or having to dedicate disproportionate resources to that class. Kids’ parents point out they can catch back up to the accelerated path with Mathnasium + summer math maybe even by 8th, since that doesn’t count for Walls entry; definitely by 9th. I think it’s a big flaw in the system, but I don’t think the parents are crazy.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:DCPS is all about equity which means watering down standards across the board. There are plenty of bright students in every Ward of this city who are getting short-changed by these policies. It's more important to teach to the middle to the bottom of the class. Social promotion and easy grading doesn't help any of the kids. The admissions process being changed at Walls is yet another reflection of these equity goals. DCPS doesn't care if kids get in to Walls who are below grade level but still meet the GPA cut off due to the easy grading at their crappy middle school. They know a 3.8 at one school isn't always equal to a 3.8 at a different school and they don't care.

And before anyone accuses me of being the parent of a kid who didn't get into Walls, my oldest is only in middle school now so we aren't there just yet. I've been watching the stuff happening at Walls for a few years now as a potential option for high school. But it's seeming even more luck of the draw as the years go by.

Might I suggest that you stop making assumptions and disparaging comments about the students who are actually enrolled at Walls? You are looking in from the outside and coming off as a real jerk. I have a kid at Walls and have found the student body to be bright, self-motivated, and extremely independent.

DP. What PP above says is absolutely correct about equity. I don’t see any assumptions or disparaging comments.

Sure there are bright students at Walls but you can’t dispute data which is objective that there are students there who are below grade level and not so bright.

There have always been some kids below grade level at Walls. There were kids who got 50% on the math admissions who were admitted.