If you left APS for private…

[Anonymous]

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Anonymous wrote:We sent our kids to APS all the way through 8th and then private Big3 HS. Our kids did very well and had no issue coming from APS, they were well prepared. But, our private HS experience was vastly different than our public school friend at W&L and Yorktown. To each their own, but we were very happy for the children to experience the rigor of private for the HS years. I would not send my kids to private ES and expect some big difference…unless I was at a not great ES or alternatively my kid had a lot of needs. Just my two cents.

Was it mostly a difference in academic rigor between your experience and your friends W&L/Yorktown experiences?

Academic and social differences. I wouldn’t pay for private school for a different social experience, however. Plenty of great/bright kids in APS that I would’ve been more than happy for my kids to socialize with. Some weirdos in both systems so whatever; sort of a wash and kid dependent.

Academically, there were many differences but two biggest for us were: (1) amount of homework and (2) writing. My kids were doing 1.5-3 hours of homework starting in 9. Nothing like this for kids’ APS peers. Freshman/sophomore years in APS, kids peers in APS were still not really doing homework. This meant there lives were very different. My kids didn’t have free time in the same way that APS kids do. Many families don’t want this, I get it. Next, the writing. My kids were writing many page papers starting in 9, many times per year, with significant feedback/editing from their teachers with multiple rounds of submission. This wasn’t possible in APS and wasn’t the experience of my children’s peers.

Weird. My kid in private had less homework than friends in public for 9th/10th. WL kids started doing APs in 9th and/or were doing IB.

By 11th, it seemed about the same.

My post was specific to my children’s experience at a Big3 private. I am certain you could find a range of different experiences at the various private schools across DC.

Your kids were doing APs in 9th?

That’s fairly common in APS, at least with families I know. It makes sense considering you can start high school credit classes in 7th grade.

Public is more advanced in math, though the quality of instruction is a concern. But the curriculum is well defined.

But it is “toss into deep end” from no-homework MS to AP HS.

Which MS did your kids attend?

Our kids have/had homework at DHMS.

Homework at DHMS is just classwork that is not finished. My kid always completed it in the allotted classtime.

Do they assign class-wide novels now? It was all "readers choice" and excerpts then. We were there in earlier years when it was a bit unpolished (but Principal was and is a gem).

What about weeks long projects, such as researching a topic and building a display and presenting on it?

Yes— my kid has had all of those (class wide novels, papers, weeks long projects) that have to be done at home. The intensified classes are more work than the classes used to be.

Yes, they started intensified this year at DHMS right? That is great. We are considering what to do for our elementary, and were hoping to stay with DHMS and then figure out high school.

How well does DHMS coach on executive function (such as setuping binder folders for every class, running a daily planner and calendar, setting due dates and breaking up projects into smaller manageable dated tasks)?

Dhms does a great job with that. They have a binder for all classes, and are expected to clean it out regularly and put things in it. They check that your kid is using their agenda. My kid still has executive functioning missteps (mostly because I think all middle school boys do), but that’s more due to him not using the tools given him. For example, he will just throw things into his binder or put them in the section for the wrong class. Or write down his homework in his agenda but not actually look at his agenda when starting his homework.

[Anonymous]

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Anonymous wrote:We sent our kids to APS all the way through 8th and then private Big3 HS. Our kids did very well and had no issue coming from APS, they were well prepared. But, our private HS experience was vastly different than our public school friend at W&L and Yorktown. To each their own, but we were very happy for the children to experience the rigor of private for the HS years. I would not send my kids to private ES and expect some big difference…unless I was at a not great ES or alternatively my kid had a lot of needs. Just my two cents.

Was it mostly a difference in academic rigor between your experience and your friends W&L/Yorktown experiences?

Academic and social differences. I wouldn’t pay for private school for a different social experience, however. Plenty of great/bright kids in APS that I would’ve been more than happy for my kids to socialize with. Some weirdos in both systems so whatever; sort of a wash and kid dependent.

Academically, there were many differences but two biggest for us were: (1) amount of homework and (2) writing. My kids were doing 1.5-3 hours of homework starting in 9. Nothing like this for kids’ APS peers. Freshman/sophomore years in APS, kids peers in APS were still not really doing homework. This meant there lives were very different. My kids didn’t have free time in the same way that APS kids do. Many families don’t want this, I get it. Next, the writing. My kids were writing many page papers starting in 9, many times per year, with significant feedback/editing from their teachers with multiple rounds of submission. This wasn’t possible in APS and wasn’t the experience of my children’s peers.

Weird. My kid in private had less homework than friends in public for 9th/10th. WL kids started doing APs in 9th and/or were doing IB.

By 11th, it seemed about the same.

My post was specific to my children’s experience at a Big3 private. I am certain you could find a range of different experiences at the various private schools across DC.

Your kids were doing APs in 9th?

That’s fairly common in APS, at least with families I know. It makes sense considering you can start high school credit classes in 7th grade.

Yes, very common in APS. Along with the hours of homework. On top of sports, activities, etc.

Maybe the PP doesn’t know any of the high-achieving kids in APS if he thinks they have lots of free time.

Agreed. I've heard complaints from APS parents about not enough writing instruction, but I haven't heard any complaints about lack of rigor elsewhere in high school. I'd expect APS HS science and math class offerings are likely more expansive than most private schools. The high achieving APS kids seem pretty darn busy with AP/IB classes and ECs.

Private schools seem primarily to offer more hand holding and writing instruction.

Do you have a kid at private? APS (like most publics) allows retakes, work to be turned in late (kids are literally doing assignments right up until the end of the marking period), and get minimum grades of 50%. I could go on and on about how public school kids are coddled. My kid at private doesn’t get retakes. If they fail a test; it stays a F. If you hand an assignment in a day late, it’s a zero. Not to mention that there is no hiding with the small class sizes. You must participate in class. We’ve been at APS and private, there is no comparison.

So the grading policy has changed (it changed last year). Retakes are only if you get below an 80, and you can only get to an 80. Missing work goes in as a “0”. No minimum grades anymore other than on tests. Teachers have the option of not grading late assignments. Private schools are undoubtably better (that’s why you pay for them), but it’s not like it was a few years ago.

[Anonymous]

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Anonymous wrote:We sent our kids to APS all the way through 8th and then private Big3 HS. Our kids did very well and had no issue coming from APS, they were well prepared. But, our private HS experience was vastly different than our public school friend at W&L and Yorktown. To each their own, but we were very happy for the children to experience the rigor of private for the HS years. I would not send my kids to private ES and expect some big difference…unless I was at a not great ES or alternatively my kid had a lot of needs. Just my two cents.

Was it mostly a difference in academic rigor between your experience and your friends W&L/Yorktown experiences?

Academic and social differences. I wouldn’t pay for private school for a different social experience, however. Plenty of great/bright kids in APS that I would’ve been more than happy for my kids to socialize with. Some weirdos in both systems so whatever; sort of a wash and kid dependent.

Academically, there were many differences but two biggest for us were: (1) amount of homework and (2) writing. My kids were doing 1.5-3 hours of homework starting in 9. Nothing like this for kids’ APS peers. Freshman/sophomore years in APS, kids peers in APS were still not really doing homework. This meant there lives were very different. My kids didn’t have free time in the same way that APS kids do. Many families don’t want this, I get it. Next, the writing. My kids were writing many page papers starting in 9, many times per year, with significant feedback/editing from their teachers with multiple rounds of submission. This wasn’t possible in APS and wasn’t the experience of my children’s peers.

Weird. My kid in private had less homework than friends in public for 9th/10th. WL kids started doing APs in 9th and/or were doing IB.

By 11th, it seemed about the same.

My post was specific to my children’s experience at a Big3 private. I am certain you could find a range of different experiences at the various private schools across DC.

Your kids were doing APs in 9th?

That’s fairly common in APS, at least with families I know. It makes sense considering you can start high school credit classes in 7th grade.

Yes, very common in APS. Along with the hours of homework. On top of sports, activities, etc.

Maybe the PP doesn’t know any of the high-achieving kids in APS if he thinks they have lots of free time.

Agreed. I've heard complaints from APS parents about not enough writing instruction, but I haven't heard any complaints about lack of rigor elsewhere in high school. I'd expect APS HS science and math class offerings are likely more expansive than most private schools. The high achieving APS kids seem pretty darn busy with AP/IB classes and ECs.

Private schools seem primarily to offer more hand holding and writing instruction.

Do you have a kid at private? APS (like most publics) allows retakes, work to be turned in late (kids are literally doing assignments right up until the end of the marking period), and get minimum grades of 50%. I could go on and on about how public school kids are coddled. My kid at private doesn’t get retakes. If they fail a test; it stays a F. If you hand an assignment in a day late, it’s a zero. Not to mention that there is no hiding with the small class sizes. You must participate in class. We’ve been at APS and private, there is no comparison.

So the grading policy has changed (it changed last year). Retakes are only if you get below an 80, and you can only get to an 80. Missing work goes in as a “0”. No minimum grades anymore other than on tests. Teachers have the option of not grading late assignments. Private schools are undoubtably better (that’s why you pay for them), but it’s not like it was a few years ago.

“No minimum grades anymore other than on tests.” Lol. Oh, and you only have the opportunity to bring your failing grade up to a -B. Grading is so difficult now! It’s amazing that you are trying to sell this as anything other than equity for all and a total lack of accountability.

[Anonymous]

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Anonymous wrote:We sent our kids to APS all the way through 8th and then private Big3 HS. Our kids did very well and had no issue coming from APS, they were well prepared. But, our private HS experience was vastly different than our public school friend at W&L and Yorktown. To each their own, but we were very happy for the children to experience the rigor of private for the HS years. I would not send my kids to private ES and expect some big difference…unless I was at a not great ES or alternatively my kid had a lot of needs. Just my two cents.

Was it mostly a difference in academic rigor between your experience and your friends W&L/Yorktown experiences?

Academic and social differences. I wouldn’t pay for private school for a different social experience, however. Plenty of great/bright kids in APS that I would’ve been more than happy for my kids to socialize with. Some weirdos in both systems so whatever; sort of a wash and kid dependent.

Academically, there were many differences but two biggest for us were: (1) amount of homework and (2) writing. My kids were doing 1.5-3 hours of homework starting in 9. Nothing like this for kids’ APS peers. Freshman/sophomore years in APS, kids peers in APS were still not really doing homework. This meant there lives were very different. My kids didn’t have free time in the same way that APS kids do. Many families don’t want this, I get it. Next, the writing. My kids were writing many page papers starting in 9, many times per year, with significant feedback/editing from their teachers with multiple rounds of submission. This wasn’t possible in APS and wasn’t the experience of my children’s peers.

Weird. My kid in private had less homework than friends in public for 9th/10th. WL kids started doing APs in 9th and/or were doing IB.

By 11th, it seemed about the same.

My post was specific to my children’s experience at a Big3 private. I am certain you could find a range of different experiences at the various private schools across DC.

Your kids were doing APs in 9th?

That’s fairly common in APS, at least with families I know. It makes sense considering you can start high school credit classes in 7th grade.

Yes, very common in APS. Along with the hours of homework. On top of sports, activities, etc.

Maybe the PP doesn’t know any of the high-achieving kids in APS if he thinks they have lots of free time.

Look, I get that you all feel defensive about your own child’s experience. I do know high achieving kids, taking all your will APs. And, unfortunately, the work at the Cathedral Schools/Sidwell/GDS/Potomac is significantly more difficult and robust. You a pretend otherwise if it helps you sleep. You can also tell yourself that it’s better for your kid to enjoy HS and “find their interests.” All of that is justifiable. But pretending the workload is similar for the brightest kids is incorrect.

I'm not defensive at all. Just trying to understand how you have such a skewed perception about the amount of homework and free time in APS high schools: "Freshman/sophomore years in APS, kids peers in APS were still not really doing homework"

While that may be true for your kid's friends, many freshman/sophomores in APS do have solid amounts of homework; they are taking APs, etc.

Look, I get that there are kids doing homework in APS. My kids friends were doing homework in MS, but that’s only because they didn’t finish the work in class. My kids never had homework because they finished. This is true for my kids friend in IB and APs at YHS and W&L freshman and sophomore year. These are the top kids, sorry you don’t believe me. It’s nothing like the every night 1.5-3 hrs at a top private for those first rwo years of HS. Maybe you are thinking more like junior year? Maybe you are thinking about your own kids experience? Were they as efficient as you really think? It’s a meaningful difference between public and privates for OP to consider. Plus, of course, the writing.

I’m not sure how old your kids are (maybe some of them are now in college), but I can attest that aps does have a significant amount of homework in middle school and highschool now. In middle school, my middle child has actual projects that are not given time in class to work on. There is weekly math, science, English, and language work that is legitimate homework— time is not given in class to start it. They have their home room as study hall, but it’s not just goofing off leads to homework. That may be different from when you knew middle schoolers!
Similarly, my very smart 9th grader has about 1.5-3 hours of homework a night. She is taking an ap class so it kind of ebbs and wanes, but a lot of what you described she has in that class. Socratic seminars. Weekly essays that are graded very harshly. It’s good preparation for college. She is very efficient and still is working away at home. I’m just saying that your kids peers experiences may not be consistent with how it is now. I think they only started the ap class for freshmen maybe three years ago.

I’m PP. I know LOADS of current sophomores, juniors and seniors at both W&L IB and YHS AP. I also know the teachers. I also know the history. If your freshman is doing that much homework in APs in APS then sounds like it’s a great fit for you and your daughter. Hate to burst your bubble but I know lots of kids taking that exact class, getting an A, and NOT doing anywhere near that amount of homework. Hey, maybe they’ll get a 3 on the exam and your daughter a 5? Who knows? But my experience and social set tells me that 1.5-3 hrs per night freshman and sophomore year is totally not necessary for the really smart kids in APS. It’s genuinely not possible at the best private HS. But maybe we will have to agree to disagree?

[Anonymous]

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Anonymous wrote:We sent our kids to APS all the way through 8th and then private Big3 HS. Our kids did very well and had no issue coming from APS, they were well prepared. But, our private HS experience was vastly different than our public school friend at W&L and Yorktown. To each their own, but we were very happy for the children to experience the rigor of private for the HS years. I would not send my kids to private ES and expect some big difference…unless I was at a not great ES or alternatively my kid had a lot of needs. Just my two cents.

Was it mostly a difference in academic rigor between your experience and your friends W&L/Yorktown experiences?

Academic and social differences. I wouldn’t pay for private school for a different social experience, however. Plenty of great/bright kids in APS that I would’ve been more than happy for my kids to socialize with. Some weirdos in both systems so whatever; sort of a wash and kid dependent.

Academically, there were many differences but two biggest for us were: (1) amount of homework and (2) writing. My kids were doing 1.5-3 hours of homework starting in 9. Nothing like this for kids’ APS peers. Freshman/sophomore years in APS, kids peers in APS were still not really doing homework. This meant there lives were very different. My kids didn’t have free time in the same way that APS kids do. Many families don’t want this, I get it. Next, the writing. My kids were writing many page papers starting in 9, many times per year, with significant feedback/editing from their teachers with multiple rounds of submission. This wasn’t possible in APS and wasn’t the experience of my children’s peers.

Weird. My kid in private had less homework than friends in public for 9th/10th. WL kids started doing APs in 9th and/or were doing IB.

By 11th, it seemed about the same.

My post was specific to my children’s experience at a Big3 private. I am certain you could find a range of different experiences at the various private schools across DC.

Your kids were doing APs in 9th?

That’s fairly common in APS, at least with families I know. It makes sense considering you can start high school credit classes in 7th grade.

Public is more advanced in math, though the quality of instruction is a concern. But the curriculum is well defined.

But it is “toss into deep end” from no-homework MS to AP HS.

Which MS did your kids attend?

Our kids have/had homework at DHMS.

Homework at DHMS is just classwork that is not finished. My kid always completed it in the allotted classtime.

Do they assign class-wide novels now? It was all "readers choice" and excerpts then. We were there in earlier years when it was a bit unpolished (but Principal was and is a gem).

What about weeks long projects, such as researching a topic and building a display and presenting on it?

Yes— my kid has had all of those (class wide novels, papers, weeks long projects) that have to be done at home. The intensified classes are more work than the classes used to be.

My 8th grader at DHMS is in geometry as well as all available intensified classes. My child never has homework to do at home. My child has extremely high executive function and is an outlier I suspect but for us no homework despite others experiences.

[Anonymous]

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Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We sent our kids to APS all the way through 8th and then private Big3 HS. Our kids did very well and had no issue coming from APS, they were well prepared. But, our private HS experience was vastly different than our public school friend at W&L and Yorktown. To each their own, but we were very happy for the children to experience the rigor of private for the HS years. I would not send my kids to private ES and expect some big difference…unless I was at a not great ES or alternatively my kid had a lot of needs. Just my two cents.

Was it mostly a difference in academic rigor between your experience and your friends W&L/Yorktown experiences?

Academic and social differences. I wouldn’t pay for private school for a different social experience, however. Plenty of great/bright kids in APS that I would’ve been more than happy for my kids to socialize with. Some weirdos in both systems so whatever; sort of a wash and kid dependent.

Academically, there were many differences but two biggest for us were: (1) amount of homework and (2) writing. My kids were doing 1.5-3 hours of homework starting in 9. Nothing like this for kids’ APS peers. Freshman/sophomore years in APS, kids peers in APS were still not really doing homework. This meant there lives were very different. My kids didn’t have free time in the same way that APS kids do. Many families don’t want this, I get it. Next, the writing. My kids were writing many page papers starting in 9, many times per year, with significant feedback/editing from their teachers with multiple rounds of submission. This wasn’t possible in APS and wasn’t the experience of my children’s peers.

Weird. My kid in private had less homework than friends in public for 9th/10th. WL kids started doing APs in 9th and/or were doing IB.

By 11th, it seemed about the same.

My post was specific to my children’s experience at a Big3 private. I am certain you could find a range of different experiences at the various private schools across DC.

Your kids were doing APs in 9th?

That’s fairly common in APS, at least with families I know. It makes sense considering you can start high school credit classes in 7th grade.

Public is more advanced in math, though the quality of instruction is a concern. But the curriculum is well defined.

But it is “toss into deep end” from no-homework MS to AP HS.

Which MS did your kids attend?

Our kids have/had homework at DHMS.

Homework at DHMS is just classwork that is not finished. My kid always completed it in the allotted classtime.

I’m not sure why this myth about no homework at APS middle schools persists. My kid was at a different MS, but he had homework. As in, the math teacher teaches for the whole period, then assigns homework to do later. In Spanish (immersion), there was lots of reading, plus long projects, to be done at home. Now, my kid might sometimes do math homework during homeroom, but it wasn’t enough time to do it all, and it wasn’t unfinished class work.

I think the reason the “myth” (for you) persists is that two families can have very different experiences in the same school/classes. Our kids never had homework; that is, they never had work that they had to finish at home. That is not to say they weren’t assigned “homework” nor is it to say that other kids weren’t doing this same work at home. Accordingly, two families/two kids and yet different experiences. 99% of the time our kids finished the purported “home” work during the remainder of the block period. Infrequently, they would have to finish during homeroom or the miscellaneous SEL time. We have very driven, academically oriented kids.

Most MS kids spend significant time in school goofing off. It’s totally normal and healthy and absolutely zero indication of how smart the kids are or how successful they will be in HS or beyond. I absolutely am not criticizing the kids nor was it a problem for our family that my kids weren’t doing homework. They did other things. Happily. As I posted earlier, my kids went on to Big3 private HS and have been very successful. I feel like APS prepared them just fine and they weren’t missing something that private MS couldn’t afforded them.

Okay, you win. Your kids are the best. They somehow completed major, complicated projects with materials they didn’t even have at school, at school, and they created and recorded podcasts and other audio recordings, and did long term science projects, all at school so that they never, ever had to do any work at home. Congratulations. Those of us with mere mortal children have kids who had to do these things, plus things like study for tests, at home sometimes.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

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Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We sent our kids to APS all the way through 8th and then private Big3 HS. Our kids did very well and had no issue coming from APS, they were well prepared. But, our private HS experience was vastly different than our public school friend at W&L and Yorktown. To each their own, but we were very happy for the children to experience the rigor of private for the HS years. I would not send my kids to private ES and expect some big difference…unless I was at a not great ES or alternatively my kid had a lot of needs. Just my two cents.

Was it mostly a difference in academic rigor between your experience and your friends W&L/Yorktown experiences?

Academic and social differences. I wouldn’t pay for private school for a different social experience, however. Plenty of great/bright kids in APS that I would’ve been more than happy for my kids to socialize with. Some weirdos in both systems so whatever; sort of a wash and kid dependent.

Academically, there were many differences but two biggest for us were: (1) amount of homework and (2) writing. My kids were doing 1.5-3 hours of homework starting in 9. Nothing like this for kids’ APS peers. Freshman/sophomore years in APS, kids peers in APS were still not really doing homework. This meant there lives were very different. My kids didn’t have free time in the same way that APS kids do. Many families don’t want this, I get it. Next, the writing. My kids were writing many page papers starting in 9, many times per year, with significant feedback/editing from their teachers with multiple rounds of submission. This wasn’t possible in APS and wasn’t the experience of my children’s peers.

Weird. My kid in private had less homework than friends in public for 9th/10th. WL kids started doing APs in 9th and/or were doing IB.

By 11th, it seemed about the same.

My post was specific to my children’s experience at a Big3 private. I am certain you could find a range of different experiences at the various private schools across DC.

Your kids were doing APs in 9th?

That’s fairly common in APS, at least with families I know. It makes sense considering you can start high school credit classes in 7th grade.

Yes, very common in APS. Along with the hours of homework. On top of sports, activities, etc.

Maybe the PP doesn’t know any of the high-achieving kids in APS if he thinks they have lots of free time.

Look, I get that you all feel defensive about your own child’s experience. I do know high achieving kids, taking all your will APs. And, unfortunately, the work at the Cathedral Schools/Sidwell/GDS/Potomac is significantly more difficult and robust. You a pretend otherwise if it helps you sleep. You can also tell yourself that it’s better for your kid to enjoy HS and “find their interests.” All of that is justifiable. But pretending the workload is similar for the brightest kids is incorrect.

I'm not defensive at all. Just trying to understand how you have such a skewed perception about the amount of homework and free time in APS high schools: "Freshman/sophomore years in APS, kids peers in APS were still not really doing homework"

While that may be true for your kid's friends, many freshman/sophomores in APS do have solid amounts of homework; they are taking APs, etc.

Look, I get that there are kids doing homework in APS. My kids friends were doing homework in MS, but that’s only because they didn’t finish the work in class. My kids never had homework because they finished. This is true for my kids friend in IB and APs at YHS and W&L freshman and sophomore year. These are the top kids, sorry you don’t believe me. It’s nothing like the every night 1.5-3 hrs at a top private for those first rwo years of HS. Maybe you are thinking more like junior year? Maybe you are thinking about your own kids experience? Were they as efficient as you really think? It’s a meaningful difference between public and privates for OP to consider. Plus, of course, the writing.

I’m not sure how old your kids are (maybe some of them are now in college), but I can attest that aps does have a significant amount of homework in middle school and highschool now. In middle school, my middle child has actual projects that are not given time in class to work on. There is weekly math, science, English, and language work that is legitimate homework— time is not given in class to start it. They have their home room as study hall, but it’s not just goofing off leads to homework. That may be different from when you knew middle schoolers!
Similarly, my very smart 9th grader has about 1.5-3 hours of homework a night. She is taking an ap class so it kind of ebbs and wanes, but a lot of what you described she has in that class. Socratic seminars. Weekly essays that are graded very harshly. It’s good preparation for college. She is very efficient and still is working away at home. I’m just saying that your kids peers experiences may not be consistent with how it is now. I think they only started the ap class for freshmen maybe three years ago.

I’m PP. I know LOADS of current sophomores, juniors and seniors at both W&L IB and YHS AP. I also know the teachers. I also know the history. If your freshman is doing that much homework in APs in APS then sounds like it’s a great fit for you and your daughter. Hate to burst your bubble but I know lots of kids taking that exact class, getting an A, and NOT doing anywhere near that amount of homework. Hey, maybe they’ll get a 3 on the exam and your daughter a 5? Who knows? But my experience and social set tells me that 1.5-3 hrs per night freshman and sophomore year is totally not necessary for the really smart kids in APS. It’s genuinely not possible at the best private HS. But maybe we will have to agree to disagree?

I have to agree with this PP. My sophomore who is taking multiple AP classes has straight A’s and no more than one hour of homework at night. Sometimes there’s literally no homework. Of course there are times where she studies for a couple hours on the weekend, but nowhere near 2 to 3 hours of homework at night!

[Anonymous]

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Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We sent our kids to APS all the way through 8th and then private Big3 HS. Our kids did very well and had no issue coming from APS, they were well prepared. But, our private HS experience was vastly different than our public school friend at W&L and Yorktown. To each their own, but we were very happy for the children to experience the rigor of private for the HS years. I would not send my kids to private ES and expect some big difference…unless I was at a not great ES or alternatively my kid had a lot of needs. Just my two cents.

Was it mostly a difference in academic rigor between your experience and your friends W&L/Yorktown experiences?

Academic and social differences. I wouldn’t pay for private school for a different social experience, however. Plenty of great/bright kids in APS that I would’ve been more than happy for my kids to socialize with. Some weirdos in both systems so whatever; sort of a wash and kid dependent.

Academically, there were many differences but two biggest for us were: (1) amount of homework and (2) writing. My kids were doing 1.5-3 hours of homework starting in 9. Nothing like this for kids’ APS peers. Freshman/sophomore years in APS, kids peers in APS were still not really doing homework. This meant there lives were very different. My kids didn’t have free time in the same way that APS kids do. Many families don’t want this, I get it. Next, the writing. My kids were writing many page papers starting in 9, many times per year, with significant feedback/editing from their teachers with multiple rounds of submission. This wasn’t possible in APS and wasn’t the experience of my children’s peers.

Weird. My kid in private had less homework than friends in public for 9th/10th. WL kids started doing APs in 9th and/or were doing IB.

By 11th, it seemed about the same.

My post was specific to my children’s experience at a Big3 private. I am certain you could find a range of different experiences at the various private schools across DC.

Your kids were doing APs in 9th?

That’s fairly common in APS, at least with families I know. It makes sense considering you can start high school credit classes in 7th grade.

Public is more advanced in math, though the quality of instruction is a concern. But the curriculum is well defined.

But it is “toss into deep end” from no-homework MS to AP HS.

Which MS did your kids attend?

Our kids have/had homework at DHMS.

Homework at DHMS is just classwork that is not finished. My kid always completed it in the allotted classtime.

I’m not sure why this myth about no homework at APS middle schools persists. My kid was at a different MS, but he had homework. As in, the math teacher teaches for the whole period, then assigns homework to do later. In Spanish (immersion), there was lots of reading, plus long projects, to be done at home. Now, my kid might sometimes do math homework during homeroom, but it wasn’t enough time to do it all, and it wasn’t unfinished class work.

I think the reason the “myth” (for you) persists is that two families can have very different experiences in the same school/classes. Our kids never had homework; that is, they never had work that they had to finish at home. That is not to say they weren’t assigned “homework” nor is it to say that other kids weren’t doing this same work at home. Accordingly, two families/two kids and yet different experiences. 99% of the time our kids finished the purported “home” work during the remainder of the block period. Infrequently, they would have to finish during homeroom or the miscellaneous SEL time. We have very driven, academically oriented kids.

Most MS kids spend significant time in school goofing off. It’s totally normal and healthy and absolutely zero indication of how smart the kids are or how successful they will be in HS or beyond. I absolutely am not criticizing the kids nor was it a problem for our family that my kids weren’t doing homework. They did other things. Happily. As I posted earlier, my kids went on to Big3 private HS and have been very successful. I feel like APS prepared them just fine and they weren’t missing something that private MS couldn’t afforded them.

Okay, you win. Your kids are the best. They somehow completed major, complicated projects with materials they didn’t even have at school, at school, and they created and recorded podcasts and other audio recordings, and did long term science projects, all at school so that they never, ever had to do any work at home. Congratulations. Those of us with mere mortal children have kids who had to do these things, plus things like study for tests, at home sometimes.

DP. Strange you think it’s just one poster with this experience. My kid had no homework in their North Arlington middle school and easily got A’s. No podcasts or science projects. Their teacher didn’t even know my child was designated as gifted when when I asked about differentiation in the classroom. We moved to private and it was definitely a shock. My kid was prepared to handle the change, but they have a pretty high IQ. So was it APS (where it wasn’t challenging) or was it natural intelligence?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We sent our kids to APS all the way through 8th and then private Big3 HS. Our kids did very well and had no issue coming from APS, they were well prepared. But, our private HS experience was vastly different than our public school friend at W&L and Yorktown. To each their own, but we were very happy for the children to experience the rigor of private for the HS years. I would not send my kids to private ES and expect some big difference…unless I was at a not great ES or alternatively my kid had a lot of needs. Just my two cents.

Was it mostly a difference in academic rigor between your experience and your friends W&L/Yorktown experiences?

Academic and social differences. I wouldn’t pay for private school for a different social experience, however. Plenty of great/bright kids in APS that I would’ve been more than happy for my kids to socialize with. Some weirdos in both systems so whatever; sort of a wash and kid dependent.

Academically, there were many differences but two biggest for us were: (1) amount of homework and (2) writing. My kids were doing 1.5-3 hours of homework starting in 9. Nothing like this for kids’ APS peers. Freshman/sophomore years in APS, kids peers in APS were still not really doing homework. This meant there lives were very different. My kids didn’t have free time in the same way that APS kids do. Many families don’t want this, I get it. Next, the writing. My kids were writing many page papers starting in 9, many times per year, with significant feedback/editing from their teachers with multiple rounds of submission. This wasn’t possible in APS and wasn’t the experience of my children’s peers.

Weird. My kid in private had less homework than friends in public for 9th/10th. WL kids started doing APs in 9th and/or were doing IB.

By 11th, it seemed about the same.

My post was specific to my children’s experience at a Big3 private. I am certain you could find a range of different experiences at the various private schools across DC.

Your kids were doing APs in 9th?

That’s fairly common in APS, at least with families I know. It makes sense considering you can start high school credit classes in 7th grade.

Public is more advanced in math, though the quality of instruction is a concern. But the curriculum is well defined.

But it is “toss into deep end” from no-homework MS to AP HS.

Which MS did your kids attend?

Our kids have/had homework at DHMS.

Homework at DHMS is just classwork that is not finished. My kid always completed it in the allotted classtime.

I’m not sure why this myth about no homework at APS middle schools persists. My kid was at a different MS, but he had homework. As in, the math teacher teaches for the whole period, then assigns homework to do later. In Spanish (immersion), there was lots of reading, plus long projects, to be done at home. Now, my kid might sometimes do math homework during homeroom, but it wasn’t enough time to do it all, and it wasn’t unfinished class work.

I think the reason the “myth” (for you) persists is that two families can have very different experiences in the same school/classes. Our kids never had homework; that is, they never had work that they had to finish at home. That is not to say they weren’t assigned “homework” nor is it to say that other kids weren’t doing this same work at home. Accordingly, two families/two kids and yet different experiences. 99% of the time our kids finished the purported “home” work during the remainder of the block period. Infrequently, they would have to finish during homeroom or the miscellaneous SEL time. We have very driven, academically oriented kids.

Most MS kids spend significant time in school goofing off. It’s totally normal and healthy and absolutely zero indication of how smart the kids are or how successful they will be in HS or beyond. I absolutely am not criticizing the kids nor was it a problem for our family that my kids weren’t doing homework. They did other things. Happily. As I posted earlier, my kids went on to Big3 private HS and have been very successful. I feel like APS prepared them just fine and they weren’t missing something that private MS couldn’t afforded them.

Okay, you win. Your kids are the best. They somehow completed major, complicated projects with materials they didn’t even have at school, at school, and they created and recorded podcasts and other audio recordings, and did long term science projects, all at school so that they never, ever had to do any work at home. Congratulations. Those of us with mere mortal children have kids who had to do these things, plus things like study for tests, at home sometimes.

DP. Strange you think it’s just one poster with this experience. My kid had no homework in their North Arlington middle school and easily got A’s. No podcasts or science projects. Their teacher didn’t even know my child was designated as gifted when when I asked about differentiation in the classroom. We moved to private and it was definitely a shock. My kid was prepared to handle the change, but they have a pretty high IQ. So was it APS (where it wasn’t challenging) or was it natural intelligence?

Similar experience, straight A’s, no homework in APS middle but when moved to a private, they got their first C and we were all shocked! Private told us it’s not unusual with APS especially since Covid with late work, retakes, etc., inflating grades. The kids think they can write one sentence as an answer to a question and are stunned at how much work they actually have have to put to earn an A.

[Anonymous]

For those saying there is little homework in APS, are your kids doing full IB? I think that doesn’t kick into full gear until junior year but my impression was that it is a lot of homework.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We sent our kids to APS all the way through 8th and then private Big3 HS. Our kids did very well and had no issue coming from APS, they were well prepared. But, our private HS experience was vastly different than our public school friend at W&L and Yorktown. To each their own, but we were very happy for the children to experience the rigor of private for the HS years. I would not send my kids to private ES and expect some big difference…unless I was at a not great ES or alternatively my kid had a lot of needs. Just my two cents.

Was it mostly a difference in academic rigor between your experience and your friends W&L/Yorktown experiences?

Academic and social differences. I wouldn’t pay for private school for a different social experience, however. Plenty of great/bright kids in APS that I would’ve been more than happy for my kids to socialize with. Some weirdos in both systems so whatever; sort of a wash and kid dependent.

Academically, there were many differences but two biggest for us were: (1) amount of homework and (2) writing. My kids were doing 1.5-3 hours of homework starting in 9. Nothing like this for kids’ APS peers. Freshman/sophomore years in APS, kids peers in APS were still not really doing homework. This meant there lives were very different. My kids didn’t have free time in the same way that APS kids do. Many families don’t want this, I get it. Next, the writing. My kids were writing many page papers starting in 9, many times per year, with significant feedback/editing from their teachers with multiple rounds of submission. This wasn’t possible in APS and wasn’t the experience of my children’s peers.

Weird. My kid in private had less homework than friends in public for 9th/10th. WL kids started doing APs in 9th and/or were doing IB.

By 11th, it seemed about the same.

My post was specific to my children’s experience at a Big3 private. I am certain you could find a range of different experiences at the various private schools across DC.

Your kids were doing APs in 9th?

That’s fairly common in APS, at least with families I know. It makes sense considering you can start high school credit classes in 7th grade.

Public is more advanced in math, though the quality of instruction is a concern. But the curriculum is well defined.

But it is “toss into deep end” from no-homework MS to AP HS.

Which MS did your kids attend?

Our kids have/had homework at DHMS.

Homework at DHMS is just classwork that is not finished. My kid always completed it in the allotted classtime.

I’m not sure why this myth about no homework at APS middle schools persists. My kid was at a different MS, but he had homework. As in, the math teacher teaches for the whole period, then assigns homework to do later. In Spanish (immersion), there was lots of reading, plus long projects, to be done at home. Now, my kid might sometimes do math homework during homeroom, but it wasn’t enough time to do it all, and it wasn’t unfinished class work.

I think the reason the “myth” (for you) persists is that two families can have very different experiences in the same school/classes. Our kids never had homework; that is, they never had work that they had to finish at home. That is not to say they weren’t assigned “homework” nor is it to say that other kids weren’t doing this same work at home. Accordingly, two families/two kids and yet different experiences. 99% of the time our kids finished the purported “home” work during the remainder of the block period. Infrequently, they would have to finish during homeroom or the miscellaneous SEL time. We have very driven, academically oriented kids.

Most MS kids spend significant time in school goofing off. It’s totally normal and healthy and absolutely zero indication of how smart the kids are or how successful they will be in HS or beyond. I absolutely am not criticizing the kids nor was it a problem for our family that my kids weren’t doing homework. They did other things. Happily. As I posted earlier, my kids went on to Big3 private HS and have been very successful. I feel like APS prepared them just fine and they weren’t missing something that private MS couldn’t afforded them.

Okay, you win. Your kids are the best. They somehow completed major, complicated projects with materials they didn’t even have at school, at school, and they created and recorded podcasts and other audio recordings, and did long term science projects, all at school so that they never, ever had to do any work at home. Congratulations. Those of us with mere mortal children have kids who had to do these things, plus things like study for tests, at home sometimes.

My 8th grader has never once studied for a test. They receive all As and are on the “hardest” trek. I do not believe my child is a genius.

[Anonymous]

DP. My guess is that APS has more homework variation than some folks realize — not only from school to school, but also from teacher to teacher, and even from course to course. So various people posting here about having various different experiences just might be the result of all that variation.

[Anonymous]

I very much doubt that any school, public or private or other, anywhere in the US does an effective job of teaching math. The PISA results indicate that the US underperforms other advanced economies systematically and nationwide.

No doubt, there exist individual math teachers (“Stand and Deliver”) in the USA who are very good, but these are few and far between. They exist despite our educational system and our system of Teacher’s Colleges, not because we have good systems.

Locally, the Kumon center in N Arlington and S McLean are used by students from the name-brand private schools, the parochial/religious schools, and (gasp) APS. Kumon, Mathnasium, RSM, and AoPS would not be thriving businesses in NoVA if our schools were systematically good at teaching math. A colleague who went to TJ observed that all the top math students at TJ supplemented and reinforced outside school all along the way. Sometimes that was with a parent, sometimes with a tutor, and sometimes at a math supplement center.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We sent our kids to APS all the way through 8th and then private Big3 HS. Our kids did very well and had no issue coming from APS, they were well prepared. But, our private HS experience was vastly different than our public school friend at W&L and Yorktown. To each their own, but we were very happy for the children to experience the rigor of private for the HS years. I would not send my kids to private ES and expect some big difference…unless I was at a not great ES or alternatively my kid had a lot of needs. Just my two cents.

Was it mostly a difference in academic rigor between your experience and your friends W&L/Yorktown experiences?

Academic and social differences. I wouldn’t pay for private school for a different social experience, however. Plenty of great/bright kids in APS that I would’ve been more than happy for my kids to socialize with. Some weirdos in both systems so whatever; sort of a wash and kid dependent.

Academically, there were many differences but two biggest for us were: (1) amount of homework and (2) writing. My kids were doing 1.5-3 hours of homework starting in 9. Nothing like this for kids’ APS peers. Freshman/sophomore years in APS, kids peers in APS were still not really doing homework. This meant there lives were very different. My kids didn’t have free time in the same way that APS kids do. Many families don’t want this, I get it. Next, the writing. My kids were writing many page papers starting in 9, many times per year, with significant feedback/editing from their teachers with multiple rounds of submission. This wasn’t possible in APS and wasn’t the experience of my children’s peers.

Weird. My kid in private had less homework than friends in public for 9th/10th. WL kids started doing APs in 9th and/or were doing IB.

By 11th, it seemed about the same.

My post was specific to my children’s experience at a Big3 private. I am certain you could find a range of different experiences at the various private schools across DC.

Your kids were doing APs in 9th?

That’s fairly common in APS, at least with families I know. It makes sense considering you can start high school credit classes in 7th grade.

Yes, very common in APS. Along with the hours of homework. On top of sports, activities, etc.

Maybe the PP doesn’t know any of the high-achieving kids in APS if he thinks they have lots of free time.

Agreed. I've heard complaints from APS parents about not enough writing instruction, but I haven't heard any complaints about lack of rigor elsewhere in high school. I'd expect APS HS science and math class offerings are likely more expansive than most private schools. The high achieving APS kids seem pretty darn busy with AP/IB classes and ECs.

Private schools seem primarily to offer more hand holding and writing instruction.

Do you have a kid at private? APS (like most publics) allows retakes, work to be turned in late (kids are literally doing assignments right up until the end of the marking period), and get minimum grades of 50%. I could go on and on about how public school kids are coddled. My kid at private doesn’t get retakes. If they fail a test; it stays a F. If you hand an assignment in a day late, it’s a zero. Not to mention that there is no hiding with the small class sizes. You must participate in class. We’ve been at APS and private, there is no comparison.

So the grading policy has changed (it changed last year). Retakes are only if you get below an 80, and you can only get to an 80. Missing work goes in as a “0”. No minimum grades anymore other than on tests. Teachers have the option of not grading late assignments. Private schools are undoubtably better (that’s why you pay for them), but it’s not like it was a few years ago.

“No minimum grades anymore other than on tests.” Lol. Oh, and you only have the opportunity to bring your failing grade up to a -B. Grading is so difficult now! It’s amazing that you are trying to sell this as anything other than equity for all and a total lack of accountability.

“Equity for all”? That tracks. Pretty clear from your comments that you were focusing more on agenda than facts.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:DP. My guess is that APS has more homework variation than some folks realize — not only from school to school, but also from teacher to teacher, and even from course to course. So various people posting here about having various different experiences just might be the result of all that variation.

Or they have a narrative they are trying to push.