Wootton currently rated a 10 and Gaithersburg HS currently rated a 3…

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Where do these ratings come from? Specify the source.

Usually those are derived from test scores which are correlated with parent affluence.

So a lower rating will just mean you have a more demographically mixed school.

Colleges look at SAT and GPA. Affluent children at a demographically poorer school can still get high SATs. Maybe they will need more private tutoring.

A lower rating is based on test scores. Which is student performance. and yes, is directly impacted by family influence/involvement. The less family involvement in a school-the lower the score.

Niche/Great schools. everyone wants to say the ratings don’t matter but again-colleges DO in fact look at them.

Colleges do look at them, but not in the way you are insinuating. Attending a higher-ranked school does not improve your chances of admission, and a lower-ranked school does not lower them. If anything, it is the opposite. A kid coming out of a less-segregated school, with strong grades, extracurriculars, and test scores, is going to be prioritized over the 50th kid in the same cohort from a high ranked school, applying to the same schools, with the same course load, test scores, and extracurriculars.

This. What a dummy the OP is

I had a colleague claim college degrees didn't matter either (he didn't have one). Of course he left the job long ago. Also knew a PhD who got his degree from a no-name college in the middle of nowhere. It's embarrassing when he meets a real PhD from a good school and can't hold an intelligent conversation.

School rankings drive prosperity. Educated parents or parents who care about their children's education are drawn towards highly-ranked schools. Similarly, elite colleges keep an eye on high school rankings since schools that don't groom elite academic programs don't prepare their students well. Top schools don't want to waste their time teaching basics that a mediocre college can teach.

But that's not the MCPS CO. I've met a few MCPS Central Office staff that are pure prima donnas. They push their own personal social agendas into school politics and honestly are ruining the school system for all parents. Most of them are part of the "equity over equality" crowd that senior administration is afraid to fire. In my opinion, these folks push their personal agendas over their professional responsibilities as educators. They're dangerous and harmful to children's' futures.

I think this anti-academic attitude will spell the end of MCPS as a national-level school system. It will go the way of other public schools as "where poor people send their kids to keep them out of jail". Private schools will fill the void once that happens and, like many other public school districts, will likely never recover.

It's sad no one will stand up and fire these folks. It is what it is I guess.

This post is fan fiction.

[Anonymous]

There's data on college acceptances by school. I don't see the wealthy schools having an advantage in college admissions. They do have more kids apply to higher ranked schools, but the percentages of kids (that apply) that get in vary by college and don't show a consistent trend of certain schools having a large admissions advantage.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Where do these ratings come from? Specify the source.

Usually those are derived from test scores which are correlated with parent affluence.

So a lower rating will just mean you have a more demographically mixed school.

Colleges look at SAT and GPA. Affluent children at a demographically poorer school can still get high SATs. Maybe they will need more private tutoring.

A lower rating is based on test scores. Which is student performance. and yes, is directly impacted by family influence/involvement. The less family involvement in a school-the lower the score.

Niche/Great schools. everyone wants to say the ratings don’t matter but again-colleges DO in fact look at them.

Colleges do look at them, but not in the way you are insinuating. Attending a higher-ranked school does not improve your chances of admission, and a lower-ranked school does not lower them. If anything, it is the opposite. A kid coming out of a less-segregated school, with strong grades, extracurriculars, and test scores, is going to be prioritized over the 50th kid in the same cohort from a high ranked school, applying to the same schools, with the same course load, test scores, and extracurriculars.

This. What a dummy the OP is

I had a colleague claim college degrees didn't matter either (he didn't have one). Of course he left the job long ago. Also knew a PhD who got his degree from a no-name college in the middle of nowhere. It's embarrassing when he meets a real PhD from a good school and can't hold an intelligent conversation.

School rankings drive prosperity. Educated parents or parents who care about their children's education are drawn towards highly-ranked schools. Similarly, elite colleges keep an eye on high school rankings since schools that don't groom elite academic programs don't prepare their students well. Top schools don't want to waste their time teaching basics that a mediocre college can teach.

But that's not the MCPS CO. I've met a few MCPS Central Office staff that are pure prima donnas. They push their own personal social agendas into school politics and honestly are ruining the school system for all parents. Most of them are part of the "equity over equality" crowd that senior administration is afraid to fire. In my opinion, these folks push their personal agendas over their professional responsibilities as educators. They're dangerous and harmful to children's' futures.

I think this anti-academic attitude will spell the end of MCPS as a national-level school system. It will go the way of other public schools as "where poor people send their kids to keep them out of jail". Private schools will fill the void once that happens and, like many other public school districts, will likely never recover.

It's sad no one will stand up and fire these folks. It is what it is I guess.

I don't think they are pushing equity at all. They barely invest any money to support kids from low income families. They just create policies that use an equality framework - like the lack of discipline in schools or grade inflation - to act like they care about equity. They don't even know what equity means.

I've been saying this for a little while now.

The policy at MCPS has been lowering the bar instead of raising the bottom. And they use more lax standards and discipline so numbers that people would be concerned about won't be high. But they're not doing anyone favors and/or preparing them for life after high school. What's some of the narratives they give? Oh these families will only go so far. So don't add additional burden to them by making their kids do homework at home. Or teach them a trade job, instead of preparing them for college.

Whereas other nearby school systems actually focus on the quality of education. They have special groups and initiatives for Black and Brown students to celebrate and encourage their academic achievements. For students that struggle in math classes, they offer an extra period of math for them. Then you see their results two or three years later, where they're doing fine in math without needing these extra classes anymore. True, maybe these other school systems are smaller and have the resources for these kind of things now and would struggle once they run into the same issues as MCPS. But in the near future, those school systems would serve my family better and when they need it more.

It's apparent too, where MCPS is declining in rankings when compared to other local school systems in several factors. State test scores, absences, chronic absence, wealth, etc.

[Anonymous]

+1 to above. I think "Honors for All" is an example of an "equality over equity" approach.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Where do these ratings come from? Specify the source.

Usually those are derived from test scores which are correlated with parent affluence.

So a lower rating will just mean you have a more demographically mixed school.

Colleges look at SAT and GPA. Affluent children at a demographically poorer school can still get high SATs. Maybe they will need more private tutoring.

A lower rating is based on test scores. Which is student performance. and yes, is directly impacted by family influence/involvement. The less family involvement in a school-the lower the score.

Niche/Great schools. everyone wants to say the ratings don’t matter but again-colleges DO in fact look at them.

Colleges do look at them, but not in the way you are insinuating. Attending a higher-ranked school does not improve your chances of admission, and a lower-ranked school does not lower them. If anything, it is the opposite. A kid coming out of a less-segregated school, with strong grades, extracurriculars, and test scores, is going to be prioritized over the 50th kid in the same cohort from a high ranked school, applying to the same schools, with the same course load, test scores, and extracurriculars.

This. What a dummy the OP is

I had a colleague claim college degrees didn't matter either (he didn't have one). Of course he left the job long ago. Also knew a PhD who got his degree from a no-name college in the middle of nowhere. It's embarrassing when he meets a real PhD from a good school and can't hold an intelligent conversation.

School rankings drive prosperity. Educated parents or parents who care about their children's education are drawn towards highly-ranked schools. Similarly, elite colleges keep an eye on high school rankings since schools that don't groom elite academic programs don't prepare their students well. Top schools don't want to waste their time teaching basics that a mediocre college can teach.

But that's not the MCPS CO. I've met a few MCPS Central Office staff that are pure prima donnas. They push their own personal social agendas into school politics and honestly are ruining the school system for all parents. Most of them are part of the "equity over equality" crowd that senior administration is afraid to fire. In my opinion, these folks push their personal agendas over their professional responsibilities as educators. They're dangerous and harmful to children's' futures.

I think this anti-academic attitude will spell the end of MCPS as a national-level school system. It will go the way of other public schools as "where poor people send their kids to keep them out of jail". Private schools will fill the void once that happens and, like many other public school districts, will likely never recover.

It's sad no one will stand up and fire these folks. It is what it is I guess.

I don't think they are pushing equity at all. They barely invest any money to support kids from low income families. They just create policies that use an equality framework - like the lack of discipline in schools or grade inflation - to act like they care about equity. They don't even know what equity means.

I've been saying this for a little while now.

The policy at MCPS has been lowering the bar instead of raising the bottom. And they use more lax standards and discipline so numbers that people would be concerned about won't be high. But they're not doing anyone favors and/or preparing them for life after high school. What's some of the narratives they give? Oh these families will only go so far. So don't add additional burden to them by making their kids do homework at home. Or teach them a trade job, instead of preparing them for college.

Whereas other nearby school systems actually focus on the quality of education. They have special groups and initiatives for Black and Brown students to celebrate and encourage their academic achievements. For students that struggle in math classes, they offer an extra period of math for them. Then you see their results two or three years later, where they're doing fine in math without needing these extra classes anymore. True, maybe these other school systems are smaller and have the resources for these kind of things now and would struggle once they run into the same issues as MCPS. But in the near future, those school systems would serve my family better and when they need it more.

It's apparent too, where MCPS is declining in rankings when compared to other local school systems in several factors. State test scores, absences, chronic absence, wealth, etc.

Also forgot, in regards to sizes/resources Fairfax county outperforms MCPS in comparison to county wealth, absence rates, chronic absence rates and College Board assessment results. So the issue with MCPS isn't necessarily due to it's size.

[Anonymous]

Take a look at the MCAP Algebra 1 proficiency rate for these three middle schools for African American/Black:


https://reportcard.msde.maryland.gov/Graphs/#/Assessments/MathPerformance/UALG01/U/10/3/1/13/0512/2025
https://reportcard.msde.maryland.gov/Graphs/#/Assessments/MathPerformance/UALG01/U/10/3/1/15/0105/2025
https://reportcard.msde.maryland.gov/Graphs/#/Assessments/MathPerformance/UALG01/U/10/3/1/10/0716/2025

State: 10.9 percent

MCPS: 15.3 percent
Howard: 19.2 percent
Frederick: 20.2 percent

Ridgeview Middle School (Montgomery): 15.4 percent
Wilde Lake MS (Howard): 48 percent
Urbana MS (Frederick): 95 percent

For the African American/Black demographic percentages by school:

Ridgeview 135/722=18 percent
Wilde Lake 277/643=43 percent
Urbana 130/1090=12 percent

So the issue at MCPS/Montgomery County isn't necessarily race/demographic related. And the issue/solution isn't necessarily a Black/Brown issue.

Maybe a FARMS issue? For FARMS:

State: 10.3 percent

MCPS: 11 percent
Howard: 14.3 percent
Frederick: 13.3 percent

Ridgeview Middle School (Montgomery): 16.7 percent
Wilde Lake MS (Howard): 26.3 percent
Urbana MS (Frederick): 95 percent


For the FARMS percentages by school:

Ridgeview 299/702=42.6 percent
Wilde Lake 286/665=43 percent
Urbana 169/1097=15.4 percent


I don't know much about Wilde Lake Middle School. But Wilde Lake High has a reputation of being one of the weaker schools in Howard County. But their Black/African American population percentage is higher then Ridgeview's and their FARMS rate is about the same. But both of the student groups at Wilde Lake outperforms their counterparts at Ridgeview.

So what is the difference between the two schools and school systems and what they are doing?

All these things MCPS is doing and proposing, with the "equality", regional models, etc are not improving the quality of education for the students.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Take a look at the MCAP Algebra 1 proficiency rate for these three middle schools for African American/Black:


https://reportcard.msde.maryland.gov/Graphs/#/Assessments/MathPerformance/UALG01/U/10/3/1/13/0512/2025
https://reportcard.msde.maryland.gov/Graphs/#/Assessments/MathPerformance/UALG01/U/10/3/1/15/0105/2025
https://reportcard.msde.maryland.gov/Graphs/#/Assessments/MathPerformance/UALG01/U/10/3/1/10/0716/2025

State: 10.9 percent

MCPS: 15.3 percent
Howard: 19.2 percent
Frederick: 20.2 percent

Ridgeview Middle School (Montgomery): 15.4 percent
Wilde Lake MS (Howard): 48 percent
Urbana MS (Frederick): 95 percent

For the African American/Black demographic percentages by school:

Ridgeview 135/722=18 percent
Wilde Lake 277/643=43 percent
Urbana 130/1090=12 percent

So the issue at MCPS/Montgomery County isn't necessarily race/demographic related. And the issue/solution isn't necessarily a Black/Brown issue.

Maybe a FARMS issue? For FARMS:

State: 10.3 percent

MCPS: 11 percent
Howard: 14.3 percent
Frederick: 13.3 percent

Ridgeview Middle School (Montgomery): 16.7 percent
Wilde Lake MS (Howard): 26.3 percent
Urbana MS (Frederick): 95 percent


For the FARMS percentages by school:

Ridgeview 299/702=42.6 percent
Wilde Lake 286/665=43 percent
Urbana 169/1097=15.4 percent


I don't know much about Wilde Lake Middle School. But Wilde Lake High has a reputation of being one of the weaker schools in Howard County. But their Black/African American population percentage is higher then Ridgeview's and their FARMS rate is about the same. But both of the student groups at Wilde Lake outperforms their counterparts at Ridgeview.

So what is the difference between the two schools and school systems and what they are doing?

All these things MCPS is doing and proposing, with the "equality", regional models, etc are not improving the quality of education for the students.

Fantastic digging and great questions. MCPS needs to be held accountable for its failures.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Where do these ratings come from? Specify the source.

Usually those are derived from test scores which are correlated with parent affluence.

So a lower rating will just mean you have a more demographically mixed school.

Colleges look at SAT and GPA. Affluent children at a demographically poorer school can still get high SATs. Maybe they will need more private tutoring.

A lower rating is based on test scores. Which is student performance. and yes, is directly impacted by family influence/involvement. The less family involvement in a school-the lower the score.

Niche/Great schools. everyone wants to say the ratings don’t matter but again-colleges DO in fact look at them.

Colleges do look at them, but not in the way you are insinuating. Attending a higher-ranked school does not improve your chances of admission, and a lower-ranked school does not lower them. If anything, it is the opposite. A kid coming out of a less-segregated school, with strong grades, extracurriculars, and test scores, is going to be prioritized over the 50th kid in the same cohort from a high ranked school, applying to the same schools, with the same course load, test scores, and extracurriculars.

This. What a dummy the OP is

I had a colleague claim college degrees didn't matter either (he didn't have one). Of course he left the job long ago. Also knew a PhD who got his degree from a no-name college in the middle of nowhere. It's embarrassing when he meets a real PhD from a good school and can't hold an intelligent conversation.

School rankings drive prosperity. Educated parents or parents who care about their children's education are drawn towards highly-ranked schools. Similarly, elite colleges keep an eye on high school rankings since schools that don't groom elite academic programs don't prepare their students well. Top schools don't want to waste their time teaching basics that a mediocre college can teach.

But that's not the MCPS CO. I've met a few MCPS Central Office staff that are pure prima donnas. They push their own personal social agendas into school politics and honestly are ruining the school system for all parents. Most of them are part of the "equity over equality" crowd that senior administration is afraid to fire. In my opinion, these folks push their personal agendas over their professional responsibilities as educators. They're dangerous and harmful to children's' futures.

I think this anti-academic attitude will spell the end of MCPS as a national-level school system. It will go the way of other public schools as "where poor people send their kids to keep them out of jail". Private schools will fill the void once that happens and, like many other public school districts, will likely never recover.

It's sad no one will stand up and fire these folks. It is what it is I guess.

I don't think they are pushing equity at all. They barely invest any money to support kids from low income families. They just create policies that use an equality framework - like the lack of discipline in schools or grade inflation - to act like they care about equity. They don't even know what equity means.

I've been saying this for a little while now.

The policy at MCPS has been lowering the bar instead of raising the bottom. And they use more lax standards and discipline so numbers that people would be concerned about won't be high. But they're not doing anyone favors and/or preparing them for life after high school. What's some of the narratives they give? Oh these families will only go so far. So don't add additional burden to them by making their kids do homework at home. Or teach them a trade job, instead of preparing them for college.

Whereas other nearby school systems actually focus on the quality of education. They have special groups and initiatives for Black and Brown students to celebrate and encourage their academic achievements. For students that struggle in math classes, they offer an extra period of math for them. Then you see their results two or three years later, where they're doing fine in math without needing these extra classes anymore. True, maybe these other school systems are smaller and have the resources for these kind of things now and would struggle once they run into the same issues as MCPS. But in the near future, those school systems would serve my family better and when they need it more.

It's apparent too, where MCPS is declining in rankings when compared to other local school systems in several factors. State test scores, absences, chronic absence, wealth, etc.

The challenge is the incorrect idea that these same things don't exist at MCPS when they do. There are groups like the Black & Brown coalition, Identity, NAACP parent's council, Minority scholars program, etc. Plenty of student have resource classes, or pull out from reading and math specialist. There are actually some EML students that move through the levels and exit the language program.

Yes MCPS has things that need to be improved and need to change. It also has things that the other school systems don't like a huge array of special programs and magnets. Ask people if they are willing to give those up to get more of the things you speak of? However, they will go to a new school system and just accept that those things don't exist.

[Anonymous]

I also wanted to throw in Pyle (from MCPS) to compare with Urbana Middle School.

Similar to the comparison with between Ridgeview and Wilde Lake MS, Urbana MS has a higher FARMS rate and a larger population of Black/African American in both percentages and numbers. But the students at Urbana MS outperform their counterparts at Pyle as well.

https://reportcard.msde.maryland.gov/Graphs/#/Assessments/MathPerformance/UALG01/U/10/3/1/15/0428/2025

For Pyle MS:

FARMS:
proficiency rate 71.4 percent
enrollment population: 94/1261=7.5 percent


Black/African American:
proficiency rate: 50 percent
enrollment population: 71/1259=6 percent

Don't get my wrong, a 71.4 proficiency rate is great. But Urbana still did better with 95 percent.

[Anonymous]

I have NEVER heard of a college looking at a high school rating. Don’t get caught up in that nonsense. They look at where your kid is in his class like top 5%, etc. they look at gpa and test scores, Teacher recommendations, essays and everything else on the application. Anyway, I have confidence that your kid will be top of his class at Wootton if it is downgraded (horror of horrors!!!)

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Where do these ratings come from? Specify the source.

Usually those are derived from test scores which are correlated with parent affluence.

So a lower rating will just mean you have a more demographically mixed school.

Colleges look at SAT and GPA. Affluent children at a demographically poorer school can still get high SATs. Maybe they will need more private tutoring.

A lower rating is based on test scores. Which is student performance. and yes, is directly impacted by family influence/involvement. The less family involvement in a school-the lower the score.

Niche/Great schools. everyone wants to say the ratings don’t matter but again-colleges DO in fact look at them.

Colleges do look at them, but not in the way you are insinuating. Attending a higher-ranked school does not improve your chances of admission, and a lower-ranked school does not lower them. If anything, it is the opposite. A kid coming out of a less-segregated school, with strong grades, extracurriculars, and test scores, is going to be prioritized over the 50th kid in the same cohort from a high ranked school, applying to the same schools, with the same course load, test scores, and extracurriculars.

This. What a dummy the OP is

I had a colleague claim college degrees didn't matter either (he didn't have one). Of course he left the job long ago. Also knew a PhD who got his degree from a no-name college in the middle of nowhere. It's embarrassing when he meets a real PhD from a good school and can't hold an intelligent conversation.

School rankings drive prosperity. Educated parents or parents who care about their children's education are drawn towards highly-ranked schools. Similarly, elite colleges keep an eye on high school rankings since schools that don't groom elite academic programs don't prepare their students well. Top schools don't want to waste their time teaching basics that a mediocre college can teach.

But that's not the MCPS CO. I've met a few MCPS Central Office staff that are pure prima donnas. They push their own personal social agendas into school politics and honestly are ruining the school system for all parents. Most of them are part of the "equity over equality" crowd that senior administration is afraid to fire. In my opinion, these folks push their personal agendas over their professional responsibilities as educators. They're dangerous and harmful to children's' futures.

I think this anti-academic attitude will spell the end of MCPS as a national-level school system. It will go the way of other public schools as "where poor people send their kids to keep them out of jail". Private schools will fill the void once that happens and, like many other public school districts, will likely never recover.

It's sad no one will stand up and fire these folks. It is what it is I guess.

I don't think they are pushing equity at all. They barely invest any money to support kids from low income families. They just create policies that use an equality framework - like the lack of discipline in schools or grade inflation - to act like they care about equity. They don't even know what equity means.

I've been saying this for a little while now.

The policy at MCPS has been lowering the bar instead of raising the bottom. And they use more lax standards and discipline so numbers that people would be concerned about won't be high. But they're not doing anyone favors and/or preparing them for life after high school. What's some of the narratives they give? Oh these families will only go so far. So don't add additional burden to them by making their kids do homework at home. Or teach them a trade job, instead of preparing them for college.

Whereas other nearby school systems actually focus on the quality of education. They have special groups and initiatives for Black and Brown students to celebrate and encourage their academic achievements. For students that struggle in math classes, they offer an extra period of math for them. Then you see their results two or three years later, where they're doing fine in math without needing these extra classes anymore. True, maybe these other school systems are smaller and have the resources for these kind of things now and would struggle once they run into the same issues as MCPS. But in the near future, those school systems would serve my family better and when they need it more.

It's apparent too, where MCPS is declining in rankings when compared to other local school systems in several factors. State test scores, absences, chronic absence, wealth, etc.

The challenge is the incorrect idea that these same things don't exist at MCPS when they do. There are groups like the Black & Brown coalition, Identity, NAACP parent's council, Minority scholars program, etc. Plenty of student have resource classes, or pull out from reading and math specialist. There are actually some EML students that move through the levels and exit the language program.

Yes MCPS has things that need to be improved and need to change. It also has things that the other school systems don't like a huge array of special programs and magnets. Ask people if they are willing to give those up to get more of the things you speak of? However, they will go to a new school system and just accept that those things don't exist.

I'd be okay with them shelving the six regional model and use the funds that would've been used for that to provide the programs and resources described. As well as putting it towards school renovations.

They can also eliminate the language immersion programs. There are a good amount of families who participate in it because they have an interest for their students to learn the language. But a good portion of families use it as a way to have their students enroll in another school because they're not happy with the school zoned for the area they live in.

The countywide and magnet programs were a reason why we chose to live in MCPS. But MCPS is proposing to eliminate them anyways. People say that they'll still exist in the six regional model. But I don't see them being any better then the current IB programs at the other schools outside of RM.

People at other school systems think it doesn't make sense how MCPS offers this many opportunities for students to attend schools other then the school assigned for their residence.

They may have a point. But I also don't think MCPS should be changing their current county wide programs because it's one of the strong points of MCPS.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Where do these ratings come from? Specify the source.

Usually those are derived from test scores which are correlated with parent affluence.

So a lower rating will just mean you have a more demographically mixed school.

Colleges look at SAT and GPA. Affluent children at a demographically poorer school can still get high SATs. Maybe they will need more private tutoring.

A lower rating is based on test scores. Which is student performance. and yes, is directly impacted by family influence/involvement. The less family involvement in a school-the lower the score.

Niche/Great schools. everyone wants to say the ratings don’t matter but again-colleges DO in fact look at them.

Colleges do look at them, but not in the way you are insinuating. Attending a higher-ranked school does not improve your chances of admission, and a lower-ranked school does not lower them. If anything, it is the opposite. A kid coming out of a less-segregated school, with strong grades, extracurriculars, and test scores, is going to be prioritized over the 50th kid in the same cohort from a high ranked school, applying to the same schools, with the same course load, test scores, and extracurriculars.

This. What a dummy the OP is

I had a colleague claim college degrees didn't matter either (he didn't have one). Of course he left the job long ago. Also knew a PhD who got his degree from a no-name college in the middle of nowhere. It's embarrassing when he meets a real PhD from a good school and can't hold an intelligent conversation.

School rankings drive prosperity. Educated parents or parents who care about their children's education are drawn towards highly-ranked schools. Similarly, elite colleges keep an eye on high school rankings since schools that don't groom elite academic programs don't prepare their students well. Top schools don't want to waste their time teaching basics that a mediocre college can teach.

But that's not the MCPS CO. I've met a few MCPS Central Office staff that are pure prima donnas. They push their own personal social agendas into school politics and honestly are ruining the school system for all parents. Most of them are part of the "equity over equality" crowd that senior administration is afraid to fire. In my opinion, these folks push their personal agendas over their professional responsibilities as educators. They're dangerous and harmful to children's' futures.

I think this anti-academic attitude will spell the end of MCPS as a national-level school system. It will go the way of other public schools as "where poor people send their kids to keep them out of jail". Private schools will fill the void once that happens and, like many other public school districts, will likely never recover.

It's sad no one will stand up and fire these folks. It is what it is I guess.

I don't think they are pushing equity at all. They barely invest any money to support kids from low income families. They just create policies that use an equality framework - like the lack of discipline in schools or grade inflation - to act like they care about equity. They don't even know what equity means.

I've been saying this for a little while now.

The policy at MCPS has been lowering the bar instead of raising the bottom. And they use more lax standards and discipline so numbers that people would be concerned about won't be high. But they're not doing anyone favors and/or preparing them for life after high school. What's some of the narratives they give? Oh these families will only go so far. So don't add additional burden to them by making their kids do homework at home. Or teach them a trade job, instead of preparing them for college.

Whereas other nearby school systems actually focus on the quality of education. They have special groups and initiatives for Black and Brown students to celebrate and encourage their academic achievements. For students that struggle in math classes, they offer an extra period of math for them. Then you see their results two or three years later, where they're doing fine in math without needing these extra classes anymore. True, maybe these other school systems are smaller and have the resources for these kind of things now and would struggle once they run into the same issues as MCPS. But in the near future, those school systems would serve my family better and when they need it more.

It's apparent too, where MCPS is declining in rankings when compared to other local school systems in several factors. State test scores, absences, chronic absence, wealth, etc.

The challenge is the incorrect idea that these same things don't exist at MCPS when they do. There are groups like the Black & Brown coalition, Identity, NAACP parent's council, Minority scholars program, etc. Plenty of student have resource classes, or pull out from reading and math specialist. There are actually some EML students that move through the levels and exit the language program.

Yes MCPS has things that need to be improved and need to change. It also has things that the other school systems don't like a huge array of special programs and magnets. Ask people if they are willing to give those up to get more of the things you speak of? However, they will go to a new school system and just accept that those things don't exist.

The Black and Brown Coalition is two people that meet with nonprofits to advocate for Black and Brown students but they don't provide direct services. MCPS does fund some services provided by nonprofits but services specifically targeting Black students are few and far between. A lot are focused on Latino students. Services for EML students are primarily funded by federal and state dollars. MCPS like every other school system is required to provide these services. MCPS does provide pull out interventions but IME these are limited and we had to hire a tutor because my kid is below grade level but not getting an intervention.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I have NEVER heard of a college looking at a high school rating. Don’t get caught up in that nonsense. They look at where your kid is in his class like top 5%, etc. they look at gpa and test scores, Teacher recommendations, essays and everything else on the application. Anyway, I have confidence that your kid will be top of his class at Wootton if it is downgraded (horror of horrors!!!)

You don’t think colleges take in account how different it is to be at the top of the class at a rural school in say…Arkansas as compared to a top high school in NYC?? Ok. I can’t help you then.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I have NEVER heard of a college looking at a high school rating. Don’t get caught up in that nonsense. They look at where your kid is in his class like top 5%, etc. they look at gpa and test scores, Teacher recommendations, essays and everything else on the application. Anyway, I have confidence that your kid will be top of his class at Wootton if it is downgraded (horror of horrors!!!)

You don’t think colleges take in account how different it is to be at the top of the class at a rural school in say…Arkansas as compared to a top high school in NYC?? Ok. I can’t help you then.

The data on MCPS college admissions published in Bethesda Today shows no clear trend of students wealthy schools having an advantage in admissions

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Where do these ratings come from? Specify the source.

Usually those are derived from test scores which are correlated with parent affluence.

So a lower rating will just mean you have a more demographically mixed school.

Colleges look at SAT and GPA. Affluent children at a demographically poorer school can still get high SATs. Maybe they will need more private tutoring.

A lower rating is based on test scores. Which is student performance. and yes, is directly impacted by family influence/involvement. The less family involvement in a school-the lower the score.

Niche/Great schools. everyone wants to say the ratings don’t matter but again-colleges DO in fact look at them.

Colleges do look at them, but not in the way you are insinuating. Attending a higher-ranked school does not improve your chances of admission, and a lower-ranked school does not lower them. If anything, it is the opposite. A kid coming out of a less-segregated school, with strong grades, extracurriculars, and test scores, is going to be prioritized over the 50th kid in the same cohort from a high ranked school, applying to the same schools, with the same course load, test scores, and extracurriculars.

This. What a dummy the OP is

I had a colleague claim college degrees didn't matter either (he didn't have one). Of course he left the job long ago. Also knew a PhD who got his degree from a no-name college in the middle of nowhere. It's embarrassing when he meets a real PhD from a good school and can't hold an intelligent conversation.

School rankings drive prosperity. Educated parents or parents who care about their children's education are drawn towards highly-ranked schools. Similarly, elite colleges keep an eye on high school rankings since schools that don't groom elite academic programs don't prepare their students well. Top schools don't want to waste their time teaching basics that a mediocre college can teach.

But that's not the MCPS CO. I've met a few MCPS Central Office staff that are pure prima donnas. They push their own personal social agendas into school politics and honestly are ruining the school system for all parents. Most of them are part of the "equity over equality" crowd that senior administration is afraid to fire. In my opinion, these folks push their personal agendas over their professional responsibilities as educators. They're dangerous and harmful to children's' futures.

I think this anti-academic attitude will spell the end of MCPS as a national-level school system. It will go the way of other public schools as "where poor people send their kids to keep them out of jail". Private schools will fill the void once that happens and, like many other public school districts, will likely never recover.

It's sad no one will stand up and fire these folks. It is what it is I guess.

I don't think they are pushing equity at all. They barely invest any money to support kids from low income families. They just create policies that use an equality framework - like the lack of discipline in schools or grade inflation - to act like they care about equity. They don't even know what equity means.

I've been saying this for a little while now.

The policy at MCPS has been lowering the bar instead of raising the bottom. And they use more lax standards and discipline so numbers that people would be concerned about won't be high. But they're not doing anyone favors and/or preparing them for life after high school. What's some of the narratives they give? Oh these families will only go so far. So don't add additional burden to them by making their kids do homework at home. Or teach them a trade job, instead of preparing them for college.

Whereas other nearby school systems actually focus on the quality of education. They have special groups and initiatives for Black and Brown students to celebrate and encourage their academic achievements. For students that struggle in math classes, they offer an extra period of math for them. Then you see their results two or three years later, where they're doing fine in math without needing these extra classes anymore. True, maybe these other school systems are smaller and have the resources for these kind of things now and would struggle once they run into the same issues as MCPS. But in the near future, those school systems would serve my family better and when they need it more.

It's apparent too, where MCPS is declining in rankings when compared to other local school systems in several factors. State test scores, absences, chronic absence, wealth, etc.

The challenge is the incorrect idea that these same things don't exist at MCPS when they do. There are groups like the Black & Brown coalition, Identity, NAACP parent's council, Minority scholars program, etc. Plenty of student have resource classes, or pull out from reading and math specialist. There are actually some EML students that move through the levels and exit the language program.

Yes MCPS has things that need to be improved and need to change. It also has things that the other school systems don't like a huge array of special programs and magnets. Ask people if they are willing to give those up to get more of the things you speak of? However, they will go to a new school system and just accept that those things don't exist.

The Black and Brown Coalition is two people that meet with nonprofits to advocate for Black and Brown students but they don't provide direct services. MCPS does fund some services provided by nonprofits but services specifically targeting Black students are few and far between. A lot are focused on Latino students. Services for EML students are primarily funded by federal and state dollars. MCPS like every other school system is required to provide these services. MCPS does provide pull out interventions but IME these are limited and we had to hire a tutor because my kid is below grade level but not getting an intervention.

Being required by law to provide specific services is not the same as having the resources (monetary or personnel) to provide said services.

A lot are focused on Latino students because that is a growing population of students and amount of students who need interventions and supports. Is MCPS supposed to ignore this? If Black students want more supports they should become a very loud voice. Brenda Wolfe is on the BOE, there is the NAACP Parent's Council, there are groups in schools. There are people advocating on their behalf of black and minority students on the county council.

Everyone wants to take their ball and go somewhere else instead of digging in where needed.