2016 Best DC Metro Area High Schools

[Anonymous]

Some of those SAT scores are really old.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Some of those SAT scores are really old.

Maybe. But I doubt that the makeup of the student bodies change enough to significantly change the SAT. The list ranks the schools objectively based on several measures. Seems like methodology to me. I am impressed by the performance by the private schools, particularly Sidwell and the Cathedral schools..

[Anonymous]

Yeah, a few. What are you gonna do though? Some of the private schools do their best to hide them. Nobody has them.

Anonymous wrote:Some of those SAT scores are really old.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Some of those SAT scores are really old.

Maybe. But I doubt that the makeup of the student bodies change enough to significantly change the SAT. The list ranks the schools objectively based on several measures. Seems like methodology to me. I am impressed by the performance by the private schools, particularly Sidwell and the Cathedral schools..

Seems like sound methodology to me.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Data used on college attendances is off by an order of magnitude for the top privates. Anyone who knows anything about these schools would recognize this instantly as a red flag and throw everything else out.

Are you saying that 140% of Sidwell students attend a top-15 college or that only 1.4% of them attend such a college?

[Anonymous]

hahaha

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Data used on college attendances is off by an order of magnitude for the top privates. Anyone who knows anything about these schools would recognize this instantly as a red flag and throw everything else out.

Are you saying that 140% of Sidwell students attend a top-15 college or that only 1.4% of them attend such a college?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:hahaha

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Data used on college attendances is off by an order of magnitude for the top privates. Anyone who knows anything about these schools would recognize this instantly as a red flag and throw everything else out.

Are you saying that 140% of Sidwell students attend a top-15 college or that only 1.4% of them attend such a college?

Probably 140%

[Anonymous]

Mike just curious did you count VA publics? I'm surprsed Langley and McLean aren't on here. Also agree upthread commenters about diverse schools like Stuart, TC or Wilson. In most cases, they are equally with the top performers. Everyone the AP track at TC is more rigorous than SSSAS and that have better shots at top colleges from TC and similar schools than Sidwell or STA/NCS.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Hey Sam,

This is Mike from Lotus Prep - a parent just sent me the link to this thread. I'm a bit surprised by your message here....

Anonymous wrote:FWIW, I think that LotusPrep site pulled my data sets from the DCUM FAQ. I don't have any connection to LotusPrep and don't know anything about them. As I've explained in many threads, I think the data is useful but needs to be used with caution and context. HTH

Sam2

Hi Mike. My position remains the same as from our email exchange. I've got no problem if you want to copy the data I posted and use it for your own purposes. I'm even happy and impressed if you expand on it and make it better. But I do want to make clear that I don't know anything about LotusPrep or have any connection to LotusPrep. I just don't want there to be any mistaken belief that because you're using some of the data sets I created, I'm somehow endorsing your product. I suspect you're a good guy and your company is doing good things, but I just don't know anything about it. Make sense? Are we all good?

Sam2

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Mike just curious did you count VA publics? I'm surprsed Langley and McLean aren't on here. Also agree upthread commenters about diverse schools like Stuart, TC or Wilson. In most cases, they are equally with the top performers. Everyone the AP track at TC is more rigorous than SSSAS and that have better shots at top colleges from TC and similar schools than Sidwell or STA/NCS.

Do you have any data to support your claim?

[Anonymous]

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Anonymous wrote:TJ's % in top 15 colleges would be significantly higher (maybe 16 - 22%) if Columbia, Stanford, Caltech, Berkeley, Michigan, Northwestern, CMU were added.

Wouldn't every school's % in the top 15 be higher too? You don't get to change the rules for just TJ, you know ....

True, but I think TJ sends relatively large number of students to these schools each year especially Michigan (around 28), CMU (around 24), Stanford (around 10), Berkeley (around 10) definitely more than LACs.

Maybe, but I suspect most of those schools send relatively large numbers of students to all of those colleges. Michigan seems to be a pretty popular safety school among the private high schoolers.
I'm sure if we had perfect information about all the colleges attended by every high schooler, then each school could game the list to maximize its percentage by cherry-picking which colleges to include. But that seems like a pointless exercise, IMHO.

I am not sure if Michigan could be considered as a safety school for private high schoolers. Maybe for those in the top 10% but not for most of the students.

Agree. Shows PP's clueless.

Really? I recall lots of threads talking about how Michigan is almost always the college with the largest number of applications from Sidwell, and the largest number of acceptances. And then just a few months ago, someone claimed that 6-7 kids from Sidwell attend Michigan every year. http://www.dcurbanmom.com/jforum/posts/list/25/504626.page If true, that sure sounds like a safety school. And I'd imagine that other top private schools have similar success at the same colleges.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Mike just curious did you count VA publics? I'm surprsed Langley and McLean aren't on here. Also agree upthread commenters about diverse schools like Stuart, TC or Wilson. In most cases, they are equally with the top performers. Everyone the AP track at TC is more rigorous than SSSAS and that have better shots at top colleges from TC and similar schools than Sidwell or STA/NCS.

Do you have any data to support your claim?

Not wholly scientific

Compare TC Williams: http://www.acps.k12.va.us/news2014/nr2014061602.php to SSSAS: http://bbk12e1-cdn.myschoolcdn.com/ftpimages/93/misc/misc_119670.jpg

Lots of similar schools. More on the LAC side at SSSAS which makes b/c more $. Ivies roughly equivalent with TC edging out SSSAS with a Princeton and MIT. Similar UVA & W&M numbers. More so on the TC side. More kids means more diversity.

[Anonymous]

I'm PP. I don't know much about downtown schools or Potomac so maybe those are better than TC?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I'm PP. I don't know much about downtown schools or Potomac so maybe those are better than TC?

Yes, they are, by a long shot. Though a student can be very successful and get a great academic, and athletic and arts, education at SSSAS as well.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I think this list short changes diverse schools like TC or FCPS schools like Stuart. Their SATs are not going to be as high homogeneous schools The top students at those schools can compete with top students at Sidwell or TJ for that matter. This list sounds like a conspiracy on the part of private schools and the magnets for more applications.

That is similar to the point about % being misleading (which PPs didn't understand).