MCPS Local Magnet Middle School

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

How will equity change the numbers? This small percentage of kids won't make a dent in the achievement gap. The state and feds look at the aggregate for each group. Even if the entire magnets were comprised of FARM and/or URM kids it wouldnt change the average scores across the county.

It doesn't but many in MCPS hate that millions are spent on educating pre-dominantly gifted asian students when that money could be going toward ending the achievement gap. This started back with Starr who pushed for the consultant engagement on the GT/Magnet program with an eye toward ending it. The end goal is shutting down the magnet program and using the funds elsewhere.
They've already gotten closer to that goal by lowering the academic qualifications of students in the magnets. The next step is to revise the magnet curriculum so that the less qualified kids can do well. The home schools will end up with he same watered down magnet curriculum. There will be no reason to bus a kid to a magnet anymore so money saved.

..... and the highest achievers who would have been in the true magnet program will flee to privates. This will help the overall goal of reducing the achievement gap by working top down.

Except that the highest achievers are in the magnets.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

How will equity change the numbers? This small percentage of kids won't make a dent in the achievement gap. The state and feds look at the aggregate for each group. Even if the entire magnets were comprised of FARM and/or URM kids it wouldnt change the average scores across the county.

It doesn't but many in MCPS hate that millions are spent on educating pre-dominantly gifted asian students when that money could be going toward ending the achievement gap. This started back with Starr who pushed for the consultant engagement on the GT/Magnet program with an eye toward ending it. The end goal is shutting down the magnet program and using the funds elsewhere.
They've already gotten closer to that goal by lowering the academic qualifications of students in the magnets. The next step is to revise the magnet curriculum so that the less qualified kids can do well. The home schools will end up with he same watered down magnet curriculum. There will be no reason to bus a kid to a magnet anymore so money saved.

..... and the highest achievers who would have been in the true magnet program will flee to privates. This will help the overall goal of reducing the achievement gap by working top down.

If my high achiever CES kid could stay at home middle school with an enriched curriculum that is similar to, but not quite as good as, the current magnet enrichment, I would be absolutely thrilled. I want DC with kids who can move at a similar pace, who actually care to learn, and in classes that have high expectations and decent challenges. I don’t care if it isn’t the HIGHEST challenge. Just basic decent school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:
..... and the highest achievers who would have been in the true magnet program will flee to privates. This will help the overall goal of reducing the achievement gap by working top down.

The "true magnet program".

I guess everybody who got in this year will attend a false magnet program. Or something.

(I don't think that people who say this kind of stuff know very much about how MCPS actually measures the achievement gap.)

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

How will equity change the numbers? This small percentage of kids won't make a dent in the achievement gap. The state and feds look at the aggregate for each group. Even if the entire magnets were comprised of FARM and/or URM kids it wouldnt change the average scores across the county.

It doesn't but many in MCPS hate that millions are spent on educating pre-dominantly gifted asian students when that money could be going toward ending the achievement gap. This started back with Starr who pushed for the consultant engagement on the GT/Magnet program with an eye toward ending it. The end goal is shutting down the magnet program and using the funds elsewhere.
They've already gotten closer to that goal by lowering the academic qualifications of students in the magnets. The next step is to revise the magnet curriculum so that the less qualified kids can do well. The home schools will end up with he same watered down magnet curriculum. There will be no reason to bus a kid to a magnet anymore so money saved.

..... and the highest achievers who would have been in the true magnet program will flee to privates. This will help the overall goal of reducing the achievement gap by working top down.

Well, what's stopping them now from 'fleeing to privates'?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

How will equity change the numbers? This small percentage of kids won't make a dent in the achievement gap. The state and feds look at the aggregate for each group. Even if the entire magnets were comprised of FARM and/or URM kids it wouldnt change the average scores across the county.

It doesn't but many in MCPS hate that millions are spent on educating pre-dominantly gifted asian students when that money could be going toward ending the achievement gap. This started back with Starr who pushed for the consultant engagement on the GT/Magnet program with an eye toward ending it. The end goal is shutting down the magnet program and using the funds elsewhere.
They've already gotten closer to that goal by lowering the academic qualifications of students in the magnets. The next step is to revise the magnet curriculum so that the less qualified kids can do well. The home schools will end up with he same watered down magnet curriculum. There will be no reason to bus a kid to a magnet anymore so money saved.

..... and the highest achievers who would have been in the true magnet program will flee to privates. This will help the overall goal of reducing the achievement gap by working top down.

Well, what's stopping them now from 'fleeing to privates'?

Very few privates off what the magnets did..

[Anonymous]

Well if you look at zillow, you'll notice that the several high school clusters in Howard county bordering MCPS are now 10s on GS. So yeah, high performers have already started leaving.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Well if you look at zillow, you'll notice that the several high school clusters in Howard county bordering MCPS are now 10s on GS. So yeah, high performers have already started leaving.

That's really, really not how statistical analysis works.

[Anonymous]

The new system made people unhappy last year, so they rolled out pilot enriched curriculum to a broader group of middle schools.

There are no results from the pilot program yet, so this year's group will be pilot year 2.

If you are not happy, organize and lobby the BOE with significant numbers of unhappy parents.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If I knew my kid, who scored 99% on quantitative and 99% on nonverbal CogAT, would get high-level math instruction at his home middle school, I would be fine sending him there. However, I've been reading that even the enriched class instruction level varies by school, and that our home school is particularly low, and is pretty much the same as previous "regular" math classes there, with the "regular" math classes being that much lower now. Last year's class couldn't actually make up a real "cohort" of advanced students. Either the central office lied and just put the "top" kids together, or so many moved away (I know of 2 who were at CES for 5th grade, got rejected form magnets, and moved) that they no longer had 20 qualified students. Regardless, the teacher has been working to keep the lowest students at minimum levels, while the higher-level students are bored and worried about their chances at Blair SMAC in 2 years. From what I've heard about the world studies class, they throw a few extra facts at them, but it's not significantly different, either.

One mom currently at that school, whose child is in the enriched math class, said she's planning on moving her family after this school year because she's compared what her child is learning to friends' kids at other 6th grade enriched math and it's not even close. She wants to move to the Sligo MS area.

I feel really sorry for anyone moving to MoCo in the summer after the decisions have been made for spots, or changing schools between middle school grades, as their options are severely limited.

Is that 99% MCPS average? If so, are you appealing--clearly, your child is an outlier? Seems like your kid doesn't have a large cohort and I am surprised your child wasn't at least waitlisted for TPMS.

Yes, MCPS averages for quantitative and nonverbal. (Verbal national was 97%, but MCPS verbal was only 83%, so I didn't list that.) Yes, we are appealing.

[Anonymous]

It boggles my mind that people still blame Starr—who left years ago. Obviously his replacement is the one taking this on—either that or the BOE has always made these types of decisions and the super is kind of a figurehead.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If I knew my kid, who scored 99% on quantitative and 99% on nonverbal CogAT, would get high-level math instruction at his home middle school, I would be fine sending him there. However, I've been reading that even the enriched class instruction level varies by school, and that our home school is particularly low, and is pretty much the same as previous "regular" math classes there, with the "regular" math classes being that much lower now. Last year's class couldn't actually make up a real "cohort" of advanced students. Either the central office lied and just put the "top" kids together, or so many moved away (I know of 2 who were at CES for 5th grade, got rejected form magnets, and moved) that they no longer had 20 qualified students. Regardless, the teacher has been working to keep the lowest students at minimum levels, while the higher-level students are bored and worried about their chances at Blair SMAC in 2 years. From what I've heard about the world studies class, they throw a few extra facts at them, but it's not significantly different, either.

One mom currently at that school, whose child is in the enriched math class, said she's planning on moving her family after this school year because she's compared what her child is learning to friends' kids at other 6th grade enriched math and it's not even close. She wants to move to the Sligo MS area.

I feel really sorry for anyone moving to MoCo in the summer after the decisions have been made for spots, or changing schools between middle school grades, as their options are severely limited.

Is that 99% MCPS average? If so, are you appealing--clearly, your child is an outlier? Seems like your kid doesn't have a large cohort and I am surprised your child wasn't at least waitlisted for TPMS.

Yes, MCPS averages for quantitative and nonverbal. (Verbal national was 97%, but MCPS verbal was only 83%, so I didn't list that.) Yes, we are appealing.

Good luck!

[Anonymous]

Except that the highest achievers are in the magnets.

Genuinely curious here. You know that this isn't true. MCPS has been clear that with the cohort criteria high achieving kids from high performing schools will get rejected while lower scoring kids from lower performing schools will get in.

What are you gaining from lying about something that even MCPS isn't disputing?

[Anonymous]

Just personal observation, no statistics,

Two asian families with young children I know decided to buy houses in Howard county instead of Montgomery after they heard the MCPS action last year, even that means more commute..

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Well if you look at zillow, you'll notice that the several high school clusters in Howard county bordering MCPS are now 10s on GS. So yeah, high performers have already started leaving.

That's really, really not how statistical analysis works.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Except that the highest achievers are in the magnets.

Genuinely curious here. You know that this isn't true. MCPS has been clear that with the cohort criteria high achieving kids from high performing schools will get rejected while lower scoring kids from lower performing schools will get in.

What are you gaining from lying about something that even MCPS isn't disputing?

Not PP, but the point is that zero feeder middle schools sent no kids under the revised system. This suggests that the highest performers in each cohort were selected. Yes, it means kids are being graded on a curve, but that's not the same as what is being alleged.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Except that the highest achievers are in the magnets.

Genuinely curious here. You know that this isn't true. MCPS has been clear that with the cohort criteria high achieving kids from high performing schools will get rejected while lower scoring kids from lower performing schools will get in.

What are you gaining from lying about something that even MCPS isn't disputing?

If they say it enough times, maybe people will believe it.....