Help me understand PreK 3 lottery
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Anonymous
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I found the open houses really helpful. It was useful to me to have a gut impression of the spaces and the staff, and see the schools in action. Had I just gone by recommendations, I would have made very different choices in assembling my list.
I agree about the LAMB open house, though; that was the one exception. If you do get in, you have a chance to have a tour of the school before you decide, so the open house doesn't make a lot of difference, particularly as long as the school is out of the common lottery, so you don't have to worry about ranking it vis-a-vis the other schools on your list. |
Anonymous
Exactly. If you are at all confused about this, please call the MSDC hotline. |
Anonymous
Totally incorrect about the way the lottery functions. First of all, it goes school by school not kid by kid. |
Anonymous
Sorry -- forgot to say that the totally incorrect is the long example with Adam and Betty or whatever the names are. |
Anonymous
You have no idea what you are talking about. It is not school by school. |
Anonymous
Kid by kid. From My School DC FAQ: The My School DC lottery is designed to match students with the schools they want most, and maximize the number of students who are matched. The matching algorithm is the computer program that runs the lottery. It is a deferred acceptance model that was developed specifically for My School DC by the Institute for Innovation in Public School Choice (IIPSC) and is based on the Nobel Prize-winning work of economist Al Roth of Stanford University. IIPSC also developed the lottery algorithms for New Orleans and Denver and is currently working with Philadelphia and Newark. The two most important things to know about the algorithm are: Because of the way the algorithm works, students who rank schools on their application according to their true choices have the best chance of being matched to the schools they most want to attend. Students who apply early get no advantage in the matching process. For all schools except DCPS selective citywide high schools, the algorithm follows this process. The matching algorithm assigns each student a random lottery number and attempts to match each student with his or her first choice first, then his or her second choice, and so on. A student’s ranking of schools (the order a student puts schools on his or her application) is critical because the matching algorithm attempts to match each student with his or her first choice first, then his or her second choice, and so on. However, when the matching algorithm is comparing two students who have applied to the same school, the decision is based on two criteria: (1) each student’s preferences at that school (e.g., sibling preference); and (2) if there is no difference in preferences, each student’s randomly assigned lottery number. The students’ rankings of the schools are not a factor at that point in the process. This is why the system is strategy-proof — and why students are best served by ranking schools according to their true choices (the school they most want to attend first, then their second choice, and so on). Each student is waitlisted at every school he or she ranked higher than the school to which they were matched. (It is possible for a student to be waitlisted at every school on his or her list if they are not matched.) Siblings who apply to the same schools also are waitlisted at any school where one of their siblings is matched |
Anonymous
You're wrong. That was a very well thought out example of exactly how it works. As you are clearly confused, I suggest you call the hotline before you offer any more advice here. |
Anonymous
FAIL OP, come back and update everyone. |
Anonymous
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Oh good, I was hoping we'd get to the fun part of the year where we argue about the lottery again.
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Anonymous
Thanks! -Author of the Adam and Betty Chronicles. |
Anonymous
| Sorry to sound dense, but just want to make sure I am understanding the Adam/Betty example and other info here. My specific question is this: I am IB for Shepherd. If I put Shepherd #3 on my list and another IB family puts it #1, does the algorithm understand that to mean that the other family wants it more than I do? Or does it depend on our lottery number -- if mine is higher, would I potentially still get a spot before the other family? Thanks! |
Anonymous
No. The algorithm gives no preference for "Wanting it more." However, what will happen is that for the family that put it at #1, when their number comes up, it will first try to match them with Shepherd, if there is space. If not, they will be waitlisted, and then it will try at their #2, and on and on. For you, it will try to match you at your #1 first, and if not, waitlist you and then go to your #2, #3, etc. Let's say there is only one spot left at Shepherd; all other IB spots are taken. If you don't get into #1 and #2, then you will get into Shepherd if your lottery # is better than the person who put it at #1. |
Anonymous
No - it doesn't matter how anyone else ranks it, just whether their lottery # is better or worse than yours. Everyone gets one common lottery number, at which point they run down your list and try to match. So if the other IB family is the 100th but you're 99, you'll get the spot (assuming you don't match at #1 or #2 - if you do, then you won't be waitlisted anywhere below your #1/2 pick). If the other family is #99 but you're 100, they'll get it....even if they had it as their #12 pick (and didn't match elsewhere) and you had it as #1. |
Anonymous
| All that really matters is your preferences (sibling, IB, staff), if any, and your lottery number (pure luck). Rank in order so that if you do get a great lottery number you will get the school that you really want. |
Anonymous
This is correct. One other thing to note is that your lottery number (as against the first spot) won't be readily apparent as there's a funky back-end decimal assigned. You won't get #3. |