3rd Grade CSES testing

[Anonymous]

They decoupled Pine Crest and Oak View so that some elementary schools feed to one and some to the other - no more dividing kids up! This is definitely an improvement.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Just got a mailing from MCPS that Barnsley will now only serve Rockville, RM, and Wheaton. WJ will got to Chevy Chase with BCC and Whitman. Cold Spring unchanged.

Does this mean that the current WJ cluster 4th graders at Barnsley will go to Chevy Chase for Grade 5?

I have a child at Barnsley in 4th grade, but we live in one of the other three clusters. Just wondering if there will be two classes next year rather than three. Seems like a relatively large number of children in my kid's class from WJ cluster elementary schools.

I went to the meeting at RM tonight. Meredith Casper said current 4th graders stay where they are for 5th grade next year.

Not the PP, but was also wondering this. Thank you.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Did anyone else notice that the letter said parents will have the option to decline consideration but they don't mention the reverse? They were saying a few months ago you could opt in to testing but that was conspicuously absent from the letter.

That's because you got the selection letter, not the "you will be well served at your home school" letter.

[Anonymous]

No they haven’t sent them out.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Did anyone else notice that the letter said parents will have the option to decline consideration but they don't mention the reverse? They were saying a few months ago you could opt in to testing but that was conspicuously absent from the letter.

That's because you got the selection letter, not the "you will be well served at your home school" letter.

DP. I don't think 'the selection' letters are out yet. I think we all got the same informational letter today.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Did anyone else notice that the letter said parents will have the option to decline consideration but they don't mention the reverse? They were saying a few months ago you could opt in to testing but that was conspicuously absent from the letter.

At the meeting they said parents could request either, and there would be a simple way to do it on the letter sent to all third grade families.

Does that mean I'd have to explicitly consent to testing and send the letter back to them, if my child is identified? If testing happens at school, does that mean the school will be given a list of third-graders to test? What if some consent letters get lost in the mail?

In the past, when parents 'nominated' their kids, it was obvious that they wanted their children tested. Now it gets murkier.

I'm also pretty upset about the changed boundaries. My child goes to Luxmanor ES, and the ride from to Chevy Chase during rush hour would be terrible. Sure, the new catchment area will 'cut down on travel time' for kids in Bethesda/Chevy Chase, but we are getting the sharp end of the stick here. Not only the competition is higher at BCC/Whitman and it's harder to get in, the commute will be crazy.

UGH!

Don't you just have to get to the bus stop and back? Plus, isn't Luxmanor undergoing a Rev-Ex next year and all of you will be travelling to Grosvenor Center for 1 1/2 years?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Did anyone else notice that the letter said parents will have the option to decline consideration but they don't mention the reverse? They were saying a few months ago you could opt in to testing but that was conspicuously absent from the letter.

That's because you got the selection letter, not the "you will be well served at your home school" letter.

DP. I don't think 'the selection' letters are out yet. I think we all got the same informational letter today.

Ok, that makes sense. When you get the selection or non-selection letter, there will be a tear off portion at the bottom of each letter, which do different things depending on the original letter. For those who are selected, sending in the tear off portion indicates that you DECLINE testing. For those with the "home school" version, sending in the tear off portion means that you want testing.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Did anyone else notice that the letter said parents will have the option to decline consideration but they don't mention the reverse? They were saying a few months ago you could opt in to testing but that was conspicuously absent from the letter.

At the meeting they said parents could request either, and there would be a simple way to do it on the letter sent to all third grade families.

Does that mean I'd have to explicitly consent to testing and send the letter back to them, if my child is identified? If testing happens at school, does that mean the school will be given a list of third-graders to test? What if some consent letters get lost in the mail?

In the past, when parents 'nominated' their kids, it was obvious that they wanted their children tested. Now it gets murkier.

I'm also pretty upset about the changed boundaries. My child goes to Luxmanor ES, and the ride from to Chevy Chase during rush hour would be terrible. Sure, the new catchment area will 'cut down on travel time' for kids in Bethesda/Chevy Chase, but we are getting the sharp end of the stick here. Not only the competition is higher at BCC/Whitman and it's harder to get in, the commute will be crazy.

UGH!

If it's like the 5th grade testing for Takoma Park and Eastern magnets, if invited to test, kids ARE tested unless you explicitly notify the school that you do not want your child tested.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Did anyone else notice that the letter said parents will have the option to decline consideration but they don't mention the reverse? They were saying a few months ago you could opt in to testing but that was conspicuously absent from the letter.

At the meeting they said parents could request either, and there would be a simple way to do it on the letter sent to all third grade families.

Does that mean I'd have to explicitly consent to testing and send the letter back to them, if my child is identified? If testing happens at school, does that mean the school will be given a list of third-graders to test? What if some consent letters get lost in the mail?

In the past, when parents 'nominated' their kids, it was obvious that they wanted their children tested. Now it gets murkier.

I'm also pretty upset about the changed boundaries. My child goes to Luxmanor ES, and the ride from to Chevy Chase during rush hour would be terrible. Sure, the new catchment area will 'cut down on travel time' for kids in Bethesda/Chevy Chase, but we are getting the sharp end of the stick here. Not only the competition is higher at BCC/Whitman and it's harder to get in, the commute will be crazy.

UGH!

Don't you just have to get to the bus stop and back? Plus, isn't Luxmanor undergoing a Rev-Ex next year and all of you will be travelling to Grosvenor Center for 1 1/2 years?

Not the PP, but the bus rides for kids at the HGCs can be terrible. The one route at our HGC doesn’t drop the kids off u til 5:30. Many parents have to drive their kids to avoid ridiculously long days.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Just got a mailing from MCPS that Barnsley will now only serve Rockville, RM, and Wheaton. WJ will got to Chevy Chase with BCC and Whitman. Cold Spring unchanged.

But of course. Staying at 70% capacity with only white or Asian rich kids is the only option.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Just got a mailing from MCPS that Barnsley will now only serve Rockville, RM, and Wheaton. WJ will got to Chevy Chase with BCC and Whitman. Cold Spring unchanged.

That is a huge change. Why haven't they communicated this to others? They have to increase the number of students at Chevy Chase or else it would be grossly unfair to students in those three clusters. I suspect they are doing this for racial reasons. They are making it less competitive at Barnesley which is more diverse and more competitive at Chevy Chase which has mostly white and Asian students.

Which means middle class white kids in RM have no shot at CSES, nor should they want to go. It will be a dumbed down curriculum to make it diverse.

[Anonymous]

13:44 - give me a break. Barnsley is already very diverse. RM kids probably have a better chance when the whole class of WJ kids currently taking up space there gets moved over to CC. How WJ kids will fare with Whitman and BCC - who knows?

[Anonymous]

The last time we had data regarding test scores for the different centers was 2 years ago. Last year, MCPS stopped providing. http://www.dcurbanmom.com/jforum/posts/list/60/542276.page#8568833

Medians for accepted students:

Barnsley V 132 Q 134 NV 127
CC: V 137 Q 135 NV 129

[Anonymous]

Those numbers don’t tell the whole story. If WJ high scorers in the pool, they are likely just as competitive at CC. AEI should test hypothesis before moving students.

[Anonymous]

NP who is new to all this.

Do the 4/5 magnet enrichment centers pulling from non-Ws (take Barnsley for example, after you remove WJ's population) still have much academically stronger student cohort than what you would see in 4/5th grade neighborhood schools in the W clusters? I assume the answer is still yes by a significant margin, or is that not necessarily the case?