Stats on magnet enrollment by home school

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I found this info really fascinating. Any thoughts on what it means for the implications for the new regional magnets?

https://go.boarddocs.com/mabe/mcpsmd/Board.nsf/files/DJVQ56678E2B/$file/Attachment%20D%20SY2025%20Student%20Enrollment%20Countywide%20Programs%20250724.pdf

It’s interesting that Northwood has the most students leaving for countywide programs (232). I wonder if that’s an increase due to the holding school being incomplete and so far away from the actual school boundary.

Also, as somebody said in another thread, is the end goal to have the same number of kids entering a school for a special program as are leaving the school to attend a different program in another building?

And that won't happen. What they are actually trying to achieve is for students to NOT want to go to other programs and just stay at the home school that offers some program.

There are only two STEM magnets, and Wootton sends a whopping 105 to Blair, but 0 to < 10 to the other STEM magnets.

Some of it is due to proximity, but largely, IMO, it's due to the classes that are offered.

FWIW, my kids didn't/don't go to Blair magnet, but I don't think MCPS will be able to recreate Blair magnet and all of its very advanced course offerings at other schools. I'll say again - finding STEM teachers is difficult, even more so for these very advanced magnet level classes.

The programs will be watered down, and it will be a "magnet" in name only.

Well, your opinion is worthless and useless.
Wootton is not eligible for the other STEM magnet.

Oh, but your opinions are worthy and useful. LOL

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Why do so many kids from Churchill, WJ, and Wootton go to RMIB?

It's not just RMIB, they send a lot to Blair too. Are those 3 bad schools or something?

Those zones have most the tippy top students in the county.

What does "tippy top students" even mean? I can't imagine those schools have that many more gifted kids with high potential than other schools, most of which send less than 10 kids.

I'd believe kids in those areas have higher test scores or other accomplishments based on exposure though, between the elementary and middle schools and the exposure and support from better-off parents But that shouldn't affect admissions that much, should it-- what are the admissions criteria? The magnets are supposed to serve the smartest kids in the county, right? Not just provide extra resources and supports to kids who get ahead because of receiving more resources and support than kids of equal intelligence in poorer areas/families?

If the countywide magnets are actually serving the smartest, most capable kids of all backgrounds countywide, regardless of background, then I support them. But if they're essentially just helping 95th percentile kids from rich areas get more advantages than top 1-2% kids from poor areas because the richer kids score better on exposure-based tests like MAP or the like, then I have a huge problem with that

According to the stats they shared, only 8% of RMIB kids and 12% of Blair SMCS and Poolesville SMCS kids have ever qualified for FARMS (I believe the ever FARMS rate for the county as a whole is 46%), and they have way fewer Black and Hispanic kids than the county as a whole. So I highly doubt these magnet programs are actually using admissions criteria that select the most brilliant kids with the highest potential. Just smart kids that test we'll probably.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Why do so many kids from Churchill, WJ, and Wootton go to RMIB?

It's not just RMIB, they send a lot to Blair too. Are those 3 bad schools or something?

Those zones have most the tippy top students in the county.

What does "tippy top students" even mean? I can't imagine those schools have that many more gifted kids with high potential than other schools, most of which send less than 10 kids.

I'd believe kids in those areas have higher test scores or other accomplishments based on exposure though, between the elementary and middle schools and the exposure and support from better-off parents But that shouldn't affect admissions that much, should it-- what are the admissions criteria? The magnets are supposed to serve the smartest kids in the county, right? Not just provide extra resources and supports to kids who get ahead because of receiving more resources and support than kids of equal intelligence in poorer areas/families?

If the countywide magnets are actually serving the smartest, most capable kids of all backgrounds countywide, regardless of background, then I support them. But if they're essentially just helping 95th percentile kids from rich areas get more advantages than top 1-2% kids from poor areas because the richer kids score better on exposure-based tests like MAP or the like, then I have a huge problem with that

According to the stats they shared, only 8% of RMIB kids and 12% of Blair SMCS and Poolesville SMCS kids have ever qualified for FARMS (I believe the ever FARMS rate for the county as a whole is 46%), and they have way fewer Black and Hispanic kids than the county as a whole. So I highly doubt these magnet programs are actually using admissions criteria that select the most brilliant kids with the highest potential. Just smart kids that test well probably.

You don’t sound very smart. Low farm and fewer black and Hispanic equal not using admission criteria that select most brilliant kids with highest potential? What kind of logic is that?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Why do so many kids from Churchill, WJ, and Wootton go to RMIB?

It's not just RMIB, they send a lot to Blair too. Are those 3 bad schools or something?

Those zones have most the tippy top students in the county.

What does "tippy top students" even mean? I can't imagine those schools have that many more gifted kids with high potential than other schools, most of which send less than 10 kids.

I'd believe kids in those areas have higher test scores or other accomplishments based on exposure though, between the elementary and middle schools and the exposure and support from better-off parents But that shouldn't affect admissions that much, should it-- what are the admissions criteria? The magnets are supposed to serve the smartest kids in the county, right? Not just provide extra resources and supports to kids who get ahead because of receiving more resources and support than kids of equal intelligence in poorer areas/families?

If the countywide magnets are actually serving the smartest, most capable kids of all backgrounds countywide, regardless of background, then I support them. But if they're essentially just helping 95th percentile kids from rich areas get more advantages than top 1-2% kids from poor areas because the richer kids score better on exposure-based tests like MAP or the like, then I have a huge problem with that

According to the stats they shared, only 8% of RMIB kids and 12% of Blair SMCS and Poolesville SMCS kids have ever qualified for FARMS (I believe the ever FARMS rate for the county as a whole is 46%), and they have way fewer Black and Hispanic kids than the county as a whole. So I highly doubt these magnet programs are actually using admissions criteria that select the most brilliant kids with the highest potential. Just smart kids that test well probably.

You don’t sound very smart. Low farm and fewer black and Hispanic equal not using admission criteria that select most brilliant kids with highest potential? What kind of logic is that?

What, you think that 80-90% of the smartest kids in the county come from the 1/3 of county kids who are white or Asian? Nope, but I bet 80-90% of kids who test the best do.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Why do so many kids from Churchill, WJ, and Wootton go to RMIB?

It's not just RMIB, they send a lot to Blair too. Are those 3 bad schools or something?

Those zones have most the tippy top students in the county.

What does "tippy top students" even mean? I can't imagine those schools have that many more gifted kids with high potential than other schools, most of which send less than 10 kids.

I'd believe kids in those areas have higher test scores or other accomplishments based on exposure though, between the elementary and middle schools and the exposure and support from better-off parents But that shouldn't affect admissions that much, should it-- what are the admissions criteria? The magnets are supposed to serve the smartest kids in the county, right? Not just provide extra resources and supports to kids who get ahead because of receiving more resources and support than kids of equal intelligence in poorer areas/families?

If the countywide magnets are actually serving the smartest, most capable kids of all backgrounds countywide, regardless of background, then I support them. But if they're essentially just helping 95th percentile kids from rich areas get more advantages than top 1-2% kids from poor areas because the richer kids score better on exposure-based tests like MAP or the like, then I have a huge problem with that

According to the stats they shared, only 8% of RMIB kids and 12% of Blair SMCS and Poolesville SMCS kids have ever qualified for FARMS (I believe the ever FARMS rate for the county as a whole is 46%), and they have way fewer Black and Hispanic kids than the county as a whole. So I highly doubt these magnet programs are actually using admissions criteria that select the most brilliant kids with the highest potential. Just smart kids that test well probably.

You don’t sound very smart. Low farm and fewer black and Hispanic equal not using admission criteria that select most brilliant kids with highest potential? What kind of logic is that?

What, you think that 80-90% of the smartest kids in the county come from the 1/3 of county kids who are white or Asian? Nope, but I bet 80-90% of kids who test the best do.

More Asians and whites = the system selects for test-takers, not the most brilliant kids with real potential. That logic sounds pretty racist.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Why do so many kids from Churchill, WJ, and Wootton go to RMIB?

It's not just RMIB, they send a lot to Blair too. Are those 3 bad schools or something?

Those zones have most the tippy top students in the county.

What does "tippy top students" even mean? I can't imagine those schools have that many more gifted kids with high potential than other schools, most of which send less than 10 kids.

I'd believe kids in those areas have higher test scores or other accomplishments based on exposure though, between the elementary and middle schools and the exposure and support from better-off parents But that shouldn't affect admissions that much, should it-- what are the admissions criteria? The magnets are supposed to serve the smartest kids in the county, right? Not just provide extra resources and supports to kids who get ahead because of receiving more resources and support than kids of equal intelligence in poorer areas/families?

If the countywide magnets are actually serving the smartest, most capable kids of all backgrounds countywide, regardless of background, then I support them. But if they're essentially just helping 95th percentile kids from rich areas get more advantages than top 1-2% kids from poor areas because the richer kids score better on exposure-based tests like MAP or the like, then I have a huge problem with that

According to the stats they shared, only 8% of RMIB kids and 12% of Blair SMCS and Poolesville SMCS kids have ever qualified for FARMS (I believe the ever FARMS rate for the county as a whole is 46%), and they have way fewer Black and Hispanic kids than the county as a whole. So I highly doubt these magnet programs are actually using admissions criteria that select the most brilliant kids with the highest potential. Just smart kids that test well probably.

You don’t sound very smart. Low farm and fewer black and Hispanic equal not using admission criteria that select most brilliant kids with highest potential? What kind of logic is that?

What, you think that 80-90% of the smartest kids in the county come from the 1/3 of county kids who are white or Asian? Nope, but I bet 80-90% of kids who test the best do.

More Asians and whites = the system selects for test-takers, not the most brilliant kids with real potential. That logic sounds pretty racist.

Wait, you're saying that you think the magnets do accurately select the very smartest kids in the county, meaning you think that almost all of the smartest kids in the county are white and Asian and the magnets are correct to conclude that there are very few brilliant Black or Hispanic high schoolers in MCPS? And you''re suggesting *I'm* the one who's racist?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Why do so many kids from Churchill, WJ, and Wootton go to RMIB?

It's not just RMIB, they send a lot to Blair too. Are those 3 bad schools or something?

Those zones have most the tippy top students in the county.

What does "tippy top students" even mean? I can't imagine those schools have that many more gifted kids with high potential than other schools, most of which send less than 10 kids.

I'd believe kids in those areas have higher test scores or other accomplishments based on exposure though, between the elementary and middle schools and the exposure and support from better-off parents But that shouldn't affect admissions that much, should it-- what are the admissions criteria? The magnets are supposed to serve the smartest kids in the county, right? Not just provide extra resources and supports to kids who get ahead because of receiving more resources and support than kids of equal intelligence in poorer areas/families?

If the countywide magnets are actually serving the smartest, most capable kids of all backgrounds countywide, regardless of background, then I support them. But if they're essentially just helping 95th percentile kids from rich areas get more advantages than top 1-2% kids from poor areas because the richer kids score better on exposure-based tests like MAP or the like, then I have a huge problem with that

According to the stats they shared, only 8% of RMIB kids and 12% of Blair SMCS and Poolesville SMCS kids have ever qualified for FARMS (I believe the ever FARMS rate for the county as a whole is 46%), and they have way fewer Black and Hispanic kids than the county as a whole. So I highly doubt these magnet programs are actually using admissions criteria that select the most brilliant kids with the highest potential. Just smart kids that test well probably.

You don’t sound very smart. Low farm and fewer black and Hispanic equal not using admission criteria that select most brilliant kids with highest potential? What kind of logic is that?

What, you think that 80-90% of the smartest kids in the county come from the 1/3 of county kids who are white or Asian? Nope, but I bet 80-90% of kids who test the best do.

More Asians and whites = the system selects for test-takers, not the most brilliant kids with real potential. That logic sounds pretty racist.

Wait, you're saying that you think the magnets do accurately select the very smartest kids in the county, meaning you think that almost all of the smartest kids in the county are white and Asian and the magnets are correct to conclude that there are very few brilliant Black or Hispanic high schoolers in MCPS? And you''re suggesting *I'm* the one who's racist?

I’m just following your logic, but it doesn’t hold up. If you think the magnet programs aren’t selecting the smartest kids, then back it up with actual evidence. Just pointing out that most students are White or Asian doesn’t prove the process is flawed. Blair is a nationally recognized STEM magnet with a long track record of success as it consistently admits top talent who go on to win national and international academic competitions. You’re being racist by focusing on races only.

[Anonymous]

Does anyone know how they actually select students for these programs? They can't have time to interview them all, can they? Do they use intelligence tests or something like that? At the elementary and middle school levels they mostly use MAP scores which don't really tell you much about intelligence or potential (just what topics kids have been exposed to and retained), but they must have something better for high school, right?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Why do so many kids from Churchill, WJ, and Wootton go to RMIB?

It's not just RMIB, they send a lot to Blair too. Are those 3 bad schools or something?

Those zones have most the tippy top students in the county.

What does "tippy top students" even mean? I can't imagine those schools have that many more gifted kids with high potential than other schools, most of which send less than 10 kids.

I'd believe kids in those areas have higher test scores or other accomplishments based on exposure though, between the elementary and middle schools and the exposure and support from better-off parents But that shouldn't affect admissions that much, should it-- what are the admissions criteria? The magnets are supposed to serve the smartest kids in the county, right? Not just provide extra resources and supports to kids who get ahead because of receiving more resources and support than kids of equal intelligence in poorer areas/families?

If the countywide magnets are actually serving the smartest, most capable kids of all backgrounds countywide, regardless of background, then I support them. But if they're essentially just helping 95th percentile kids from rich areas get more advantages than top 1-2% kids from poor areas because the richer kids score better on exposure-based tests like MAP or the like, then I have a huge problem with that

According to the stats they shared, only 8% of RMIB kids and 12% of Blair SMCS and Poolesville SMCS kids have ever qualified for FARMS (I believe the ever FARMS rate for the county as a whole is 46%), and they have way fewer Black and Hispanic kids than the county as a whole. So I highly doubt these magnet programs are actually using admissions criteria that select the most brilliant kids with the highest potential. Just smart kids that test well probably.

You don’t sound very smart. Low farm and fewer black and Hispanic equal not using admission criteria that select most brilliant kids with highest potential? What kind of logic is that?

What, you think that 80-90% of the smartest kids in the county come from the 1/3 of county kids who are white or Asian? Nope, but I bet 80-90% of kids who test the best do.

More Asians and whites = the system selects for test-takers, not the most brilliant kids with real potential. That logic sounds pretty racist.

Wait, you're saying that you think the magnets do accurately select the very smartest kids in the county, meaning you think that almost all of the smartest kids in the county are white and Asian and the magnets are correct to conclude that there are very few brilliant Black or Hispanic high schoolers in MCPS? And you''re suggesting *I'm* the one who's racist?

I’m just following your logic, but it doesn’t hold up. If you think the magnet programs aren’t selecting the smartest kids, then back it up with actual evidence. Just pointing out that most students are White or Asian doesn’t prove the process is flawed. Blair is a nationally recognized STEM magnet with a long track record of success as it consistently admits top talent who go on to win national and international academic competitions. You’re being racist by focusing on races only.

I'm confused. Unless you believe that some races are more intelligent than others (which I would define as racist), how can you believe that a process that selects Asian and white kids much more often than Black and Hispanic kids is accurately selecting the kids with the greatest innate intelligence and true potential, rather than being skewed by kids' access to resources and exposure to strong education in these areas which then gets displayed in test scores? This is frankly a challenging tendency to overcome in any school selection process.

(I never said that Blair doesn't select many highly gifted kids capable of winning national competitions, and this is not inconsistent with that. The question is whether, besides selecting the truly brilliant white/Asian/richer kids who are not necessarily enough to fill a whole class on their own, the programs also successfully identify and select the brilliant Black and Hispanic kids as well, or whether those kids mostly get beaten out by the "just bright" Asian/white/richer kids instead due to higher test scores or the like. The numbers strongly suggest the latter.)

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Why do so many kids from Churchill, WJ, and Wootton go to RMIB?

It's not just RMIB, they send a lot to Blair too. Are those 3 bad schools or something?

Those zones have most the tippy top students in the county.

What does "tippy top students" even mean? I can't imagine those schools have that many more gifted kids with high potential than other schools, most of which send less than 10 kids.

I'd believe kids in those areas have higher test scores or other accomplishments based on exposure though, between the elementary and middle schools and the exposure and support from better-off parents But that shouldn't affect admissions that much, should it-- what are the admissions criteria? The magnets are supposed to serve the smartest kids in the county, right? Not just provide extra resources and supports to kids who get ahead because of receiving more resources and support than kids of equal intelligence in poorer areas/families?

If the countywide magnets are actually serving the smartest, most capable kids of all backgrounds countywide, regardless of background, then I support them. But if they're essentially just helping 95th percentile kids from rich areas get more advantages than top 1-2% kids from poor areas because the richer kids score better on exposure-based tests like MAP or the like, then I have a huge problem with that

According to the stats they shared, only 8% of RMIB kids and 12% of Blair SMCS and Poolesville SMCS kids have ever qualified for FARMS (I believe the ever FARMS rate for the county as a whole is 46%), and they have way fewer Black and Hispanic kids than the county as a whole. So I highly doubt these magnet programs are actually using admissions criteria that select the most brilliant kids with the highest potential. Just smart kids that test well probably.

You don’t sound very smart. Low farm and fewer black and Hispanic equal not using admission criteria that select most brilliant kids with highest potential? What kind of logic is that?

What, you think that 80-90% of the smartest kids in the county come from the 1/3 of county kids who are white or Asian? Nope, but I bet 80-90% of kids who test the best do.

More Asians and whites = the system selects for test-takers, not the most brilliant kids with real potential. That logic sounds pretty racist.

Wait, you're saying that you think the magnets do accurately select the very smartest kids in the county, meaning you think that almost all of the smartest kids in the county are white and Asian and the magnets are correct to conclude that there are very few brilliant Black or Hispanic high schoolers in MCPS? And you''re suggesting *I'm* the one who's racist?

I’m just following your logic, but it doesn’t hold up. If you think the magnet programs aren’t selecting the smartest kids, then back it up with actual evidence. Just pointing out that most students are White or Asian doesn’t prove the process is flawed. Blair is a nationally recognized STEM magnet with a long track record of success as it consistently admits top talent who go on to win national and international academic competitions. You’re being racist by focusing on races only.

I'm confused. Unless you believe that some races are more intelligent than others (which I would define as racist), how can you believe that a process that selects Asian and white kids much more often than Black and Hispanic kids is accurately selecting the kids with the greatest innate intelligence and true potential, rather than being skewed by kids' access to resources and exposure to strong education in these areas which then gets displayed in test scores? This is frankly a challenging tendency to overcome in any school selection process.

(I never said that Blair doesn't select many highly gifted kids capable of winning national competitions, and this is not inconsistent with that. The question is whether, besides selecting the truly brilliant white/Asian/richer kids who are not necessarily enough to fill a whole class on their own, the programs also successfully identify and select the brilliant Black and Hispanic kids as well, or whether those kids mostly get beaten out by the "just bright" Asian/white/richer kids instead due to higher test scores or the like. The numbers strongly suggest the latter.)

You’re still solely focusing on race. Many students excel in math and science competitions are selected, winning national/international Olympiads each year. Over 10 students are admitted to MIT annually, not because of their race, but because of their academic merit. The admissions process emphasizes MAP scores, grades and extracurricular achievements. It effectively identifies top-performing students who succeed in academic competitions due to their hard work and talent, not their racial background.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Why do so many kids from Churchill, WJ, and Wootton go to RMIB?

It's not just RMIB, they send a lot to Blair too. Are those 3 bad schools or something?

Those zones have most the tippy top students in the county.

What does "tippy top students" even mean? I can't imagine those schools have that many more gifted kids with high potential than other schools, most of which send less than 10 kids.

I'd believe kids in those areas have higher test scores or other accomplishments based on exposure though, between the elementary and middle schools and the exposure and support from better-off parents But that shouldn't affect admissions that much, should it-- what are the admissions criteria? The magnets are supposed to serve the smartest kids in the county, right? Not just provide extra resources and supports to kids who get ahead because of receiving more resources and support than kids of equal intelligence in poorer areas/families?

If the countywide magnets are actually serving the smartest, most capable kids of all backgrounds countywide, regardless of background, then I support them. But if they're essentially just helping 95th percentile kids from rich areas get more advantages than top 1-2% kids from poor areas because the richer kids score better on exposure-based tests like MAP or the like, then I have a huge problem with that

High intelligence, high performance people tend to cluster together and raise their kids together. People who care about education find each other. The differences are stark.
If a smart kid hasn't learned anything much by 8th grade, that's a tragedy but throwing them into an advanced accelerated program isn't going to help. They need something to help them catch up.

People like to tell themselves that, but I don't buy it. Rich schools don't just so happen to have 5-10 times the number of profoundly gifted kids as poor schools. But they do often have many more kids who are bright and get lots of supports to succeed and access accelerated material and score high on exposure-based tests like MAP.

And no one's saying that smart kids who are behind grade level/"haven't learned anything much" by 8th grade should be admitted into advanced programs. Just that bright rich kids who test better than profoundly gifted, slightly-ahead-of-grade level poor kids shouldn't get all the spots and leave the highly gifted poor kids behind with the justification that the poor kids can just take AP classes and that'll be fine.

So you're going to throw these unsung genius kids, identified by some mysterious process, into the same classes with years worth of additional preparation and demonstrated ability?
because these using? And these geniuses will somehow learn all the material they skipped?

Despite the fact that this was already tried with the TPMS lottery, and was an abject failure?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Why do so many kids from Churchill, WJ, and Wootton go to RMIB?

It's not just RMIB, they send a lot to Blair too. Are those 3 bad schools or something?

Those zones have most the tippy top students in the county.

What does "tippy top students" even mean? I can't imagine those schools have that many more gifted kids with high potential than other schools, most of which send less than 10 kids.

I'd believe kids in those areas have higher test scores or other accomplishments based on exposure though, between the elementary and middle schools and the exposure and support from better-off parents But that shouldn't affect admissions that much, should it-- what are the admissions criteria? The magnets are supposed to serve the smartest kids in the county, right? Not just provide extra resources and supports to kids who get ahead because of receiving more resources and support than kids of equal intelligence in poorer areas/families?

If the countywide magnets are actually serving the smartest, most capable kids of all backgrounds countywide, regardless of background, then I support them. But if they're essentially just helping 95th percentile kids from rich areas get more advantages than top 1-2% kids from poor areas because the richer kids score better on exposure-based tests like MAP or the like, then I have a huge problem with that

According to the stats they shared, only 8% of RMIB kids and 12% of Blair SMCS and Poolesville SMCS kids have ever qualified for FARMS (I believe the ever FARMS rate for the county as a whole is 46%), and they have way fewer Black and Hispanic kids than the county as a whole. So I highly doubt these magnet programs are actually using admissions criteria that select the most brilliant kids with the highest potential. Just smart kids that test well probably.

You don’t sound very smart. Low farm and fewer black and Hispanic equal not using admission criteria that select most brilliant kids with highest potential? What kind of logic is that?

What, you think that 80-90% of the smartest kids in the county come from the 1/3 of county kids who are white or Asian? Nope, but I bet 80-90% of kids who test the best do.

More Asians and whites = the system selects for test-takers, not the most brilliant kids with real potential. That logic sounds pretty racist.

Wait, you're saying that you think the magnets do accurately select the very smartest kids in the county, meaning you think that almost all of the smartest kids in the county are white and Asian and the magnets are correct to conclude that there are very few brilliant Black or Hispanic high schoolers in MCPS? And you''re suggesting *I'm* the one who's racist?

I’m just following your logic, but it doesn’t hold up. If you think the magnet programs aren’t selecting the smartest kids, then back it up with actual evidence. Just pointing out that most students are White or Asian doesn’t prove the process is flawed. Blair is a nationally recognized STEM magnet with a long track record of success as it consistently admits top talent who go on to win national and international academic competitions. You’re being racist by focusing on races only.

I'm confused. Unless you believe that some races are more intelligent than others (which I would define as racist), how can you believe that a process that selects Asian and white kids much more often than Black and Hispanic kids is accurately selecting the kids with the greatest innate intelligence and true potential, rather than being skewed by kids' access to resources and exposure to strong education in these areas which then gets displayed in test scores? This is frankly a challenging tendency to overcome in any school selection process.

(I never said that Blair doesn't select many highly gifted kids capable of winning national competitions, and this is not inconsistent with that. The question is whether, besides selecting the truly brilliant white/Asian/richer kids who are not necessarily enough to fill a whole class on their own, the programs also successfully identify and select the brilliant Black and Hispanic kids as well, or whether those kids mostly get beaten out by the "just bright" Asian/white/richer kids instead due to higher test scores or the like. The numbers strongly suggest the latter.)

Your depth of ignorance is so great that it's not really worth trying to explain. People in MCPS aren't uniformly randomly created and then assigned a race. They come from families with their own personal histories and reason for migration, and intelligence and academic ability is largely heritable. On average, the reason a Chinese person is in MCPS and the reason a Hispanic person is statistically very different.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I found this info really fascinating. Any thoughts on what it means for the implications for the new regional magnets?

https://go.boarddocs.com/mabe/mcpsmd/Board.nsf/files/DJVQ56678E2B/$file/Attachment%20D%20SY2025%20Student%20Enrollment%20Countywide%20Programs%20250724.pdf

It’s interesting that Northwood has the most students leaving for countywide programs (232). I wonder if that’s an increase due to the holding school being incomplete and so far away from the actual school boundary.

Also, as somebody said in another thread, is the end goal to have the same number of kids entering a school for a special program as are leaving the school to attend a different program in another building?

And that won't happen. What they are actually trying to achieve is for students to NOT want to go to other programs and just stay at the home school that offers some program.

There are only two STEM magnets, and Wootton sends a whopping 105 to Blair, but 0 to < 10 to the other STEM magnets.

Some of it is due to proximity, but largely, IMO, it's due to the classes that are offered.

FWIW, my kids didn't/don't go to Blair magnet, but I don't think MCPS will be able to recreate Blair magnet and all of its very advanced course offerings at other schools. I'll say again - finding STEM teachers is difficult, even more so for these very advanced magnet level classes.

The programs will be watered down, and it will be a "magnet" in name only.

Well, your opinion is worthless and useless.
Wootton is not eligible for the other STEM magnet.

Oh, but your opinions are worthy and useful. LOL

True facts are more worthy than opinions based on ignorant misunderstanding.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Does anyone know how they actually select students for these programs? They can't have time to interview them all, can they? Do they use intelligence tests or something like that? At the elementary and middle school levels they mostly use MAP scores which don't really tell you much about intelligence or potential (just what topics kids have been exposed to and retained), but they must have something better for high school, right?

MAP scores for a floor of competence, demonstrated achievement and interest via observed performance in school and extra curriculars, and a short personal statement of interest.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Does anyone know how they actually select students for these programs? They can't have time to interview them all, can they? Do they use intelligence tests or something like that? At the elementary and middle school levels they mostly use MAP scores which don't really tell you much about intelligence or potential (just what topics kids have been exposed to and retained), but they must have something better for high school, right?

They used to use Cogat instead of MAP, but I think they didn't like that white/Asian students typically did better in Cogat, so they thought if they switched to MAP it would capture more URM kids.

Here's the thing though, MCPS own numbers show that, statistically, white/Asian students do better in MAP, as well.

So, then MCPS tried the "no peer cohort at the home school criteria" admissions for the MS, and provided "enriched" classes at the home school, but that failed, too, because as people have stated, you can't mirror the success of the magnet programs without the same curriculum, trained teachers, and the peer cohort.

So, now they are trying for regional programs at the HS level, but again, that won't work out as well because again, you can't recreate a magnet program across all six regions without the qualified teachers, especially in STEM, and the peer cohort of top students from the county.