2020 National Merit semifinalists in DC

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Well the top independent schools have become far more competitive to get accepted to since 2013 and a lot of these students are coming from MD and VA. There is increasing disgruntlement (among some parents) with Mont Co and Virginia schools over the past 5 years. My guess is that the quality of student at the top independents has gone up. They used to be places where just the wealthy of Washington would send their kids. Now they draw primarily from the greater DMV and not just upper NW. If anything the quality of experience at Wilson (at least for the cohort that are now seniors) has gone up. If there is a shift in the amount of kids being national merit semi finalists from private vs public in DC, I think you need to look to the privates and not to a problem with the publics for your answer.

OK, but the number of NMSFs in the DC burbs hasn't dropped in the last decade. More than one-quarter of TJ students, from Fairfax and Arlington, clear the bar annually then as now. More MoCo and VA parents may indeed be dissatisfied with their local schools than six or eight years ago, but their unhappiness hasn't been reflected in PSAT results.

When you run your schools system without formal GT programs, as the District does, leaving school PTAs to pay for much of the enrichment for high performers down the chain, you're asking for crappy NMSF results. There is absolutely a problem with DC public schools failing to push and support the best and brightest, particularly at the ES and MS levels. The support for high performers is too little, too late, with affluent parents stepping in to provide too much of the enrichment for their own children. The arrangement hurts the most capable low SES students most. Honors for All at Wilson is emblematic of this serious problem.

+1. DCPS doesn’t give a crap about challenging the top students. None. We are in DC and understand the reality of this instead of being in denial, making excuses, or wearing rose colored glasses.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Bummer, not a great showing for DC public, and that's putting it mildly.

In 2017, Walls had five semifinalists, and there have been years when Wilson had several.

DCPS and public charters, with a combined enrollment of nearly 100,000 students, has four semifinalists.

Sidwell, with 1140 K-12 students, has thirteen.

Go Sidwell!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Well the top independent schools have become far more competitive to get accepted to since 2013 and a lot of these students are coming from MD and VA. There is increasing disgruntlement (among some parents) with Mont Co and Virginia schools over the past 5 years. My guess is that the quality of student at the top independents has gone up. They used to be places where just the wealthy of Washington would send their kids. Now they draw primarily from the greater DMV and not just upper NW. If anything the quality of experience at Wilson (at least for the cohort that are now seniors) has gone up. If there is a shift in the amount of kids being national merit semi finalists from private vs public in DC, I think you need to look to the privates and not to a problem with the publics for your answer.

OK, but the number of NMSFs in the DC burbs hasn't dropped in the last decade. More than one-quarter of TJ students, from Fairfax and Arlington, clear the bar annually then as now. More MoCo and VA parents may indeed be dissatisfied with their local schools than six or eight years ago, but their unhappiness hasn't been reflected in PSAT results.

When you run your schools system without formal GT programs, as the District does, leaving school PTAs to pay for much of the enrichment for high performers down the chain, you're asking for crappy NMSF results. There is absolutely a problem with DC public schools failing to push and support the best and brightest, particularly at the ES and MS levels. The support for high performers is too little, too late, with affluent parents stepping in to provide too much of the enrichment for their own children. The arrangement hurts the most capable low SES students most. Honors for All at Wilson is emblematic of this serious problem.

If you think the suburban kids are excelling at the PSAT because of what they're being taught in school I have a bridge or 3 to sell you. those kids are prepping outside of school. There are dozens of test prep centers in Mont. Co and Northern VA that promise success on the PSAT. Those kids are studying long and hard for many weekends. Go out to suburbia and head to almost any strip mall. You will see the kids filling in to do their week math and test prep classes.

Nonsense. The very best way to prep for the PSAT, beyond familiarizing oneself with the format, is to read a great deal of good lit for pleasure from a young age. The math tested is simple geometry and algebra, nothing more.

If DC public schools were producing NMSFs in the double digits, you bet the parent boosters here would be giving ed reformers in the District most of the credit!

How is reading a lot of good lit preparing for PSAT?

[Anonymous]

PSAT test takers need big vocabularies and strong critical and analytical thinking skills to ace the PSAT verbal section. Reading widely for pleasure from a young age is far and away the best prep.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Well the top independent schools have become far more competitive to get accepted to since 2013 and a lot of these students are coming from MD and VA. There is increasing disgruntlement (among some parents) with Mont Co and Virginia schools over the past 5 years. My guess is that the quality of student at the top independents has gone up. They used to be places where just the wealthy of Washington would send their kids. Now they draw primarily from the greater DMV and not just upper NW. If anything the quality of experience at Wilson (at least for the cohort that are now seniors) has gone up. If there is a shift in the amount of kids being national merit semi finalists from private vs public in DC, I think you need to look to the privates and not to a problem with the publics for your answer.

OK, but the number of NMSFs in the DC burbs hasn't dropped in the last decade. More than one-quarter of TJ students, from Fairfax and Arlington, clear the bar annually then as now. More MoCo and VA parents may indeed be dissatisfied with their local schools than six or eight years ago, but their unhappiness hasn't been reflected in PSAT results.

When you run your schools system without formal GT programs, as the District does, leaving school PTAs to pay for much of the enrichment for high performers down the chain, you're asking for crappy NMSF results. There is absolutely a problem with DC public schools failing to push and support the best and brightest, particularly at the ES and MS levels. The support for high performers is too little, too late, with affluent parents stepping in to provide too much of the enrichment for their own children. The arrangement hurts the most capable low SES students most. Honors for All at Wilson is emblematic of this serious problem.

+1. DCPS doesn’t give a crap about challenging the top students. None. We are in DC and understand the reality of this instead of being in denial, making excuses, or wearing rose colored glasses.

I refused to believe this when we entered at JKLM for Prek4. Seven years later, I get it. Grade level work is all they're pushing all the way up.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Well the top independent schools have become far more competitive to get accepted to since 2013 and a lot of these students are coming from MD and VA. There is increasing disgruntlement (among some parents) with Mont Co and Virginia schools over the past 5 years. My guess is that the quality of student at the top independents has gone up. They used to be places where just the wealthy of Washington would send their kids. Now they draw primarily from the greater DMV and not just upper NW. If anything the quality of experience at Wilson (at least for the cohort that are now seniors) has gone up. If there is a shift in the amount of kids being national merit semi finalists from private vs public in DC, I think you need to look to the privates and not to a problem with the publics for your answer.

OK, but the number of NMSFs in the DC burbs hasn't dropped in the last decade. More than one-quarter of TJ students, from Fairfax and Arlington, clear the bar annually then as now. More MoCo and VA parents may indeed be dissatisfied with their local schools than six or eight years ago, but their unhappiness hasn't been reflected in PSAT results.

When you run your schools system without formal GT programs, as the District does, leaving school PTAs to pay for much of the enrichment for high performers down the chain, you're asking for crappy NMSF results. There is absolutely a problem with DC public schools failing to push and support the best and brightest, particularly at the ES and MS levels. The support for high performers is too little, too late, with affluent parents stepping in to provide too much of the enrichment for their own children. The arrangement hurts the most capable low SES students most. Honors for All at Wilson is emblematic of this serious problem.

+1. DCPS doesn’t give a crap about challenging the top students. None. We are in DC and understand the reality of this instead of being in denial, making excuses, or wearing rose colored glasses.

I refused to believe this when we entered at JKLM for Prek4. Seven years later, I get it. Grade level work is all they're pushing all the way up.

It is far more challenging than the private schools though.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Well the top independent schools have become far more competitive to get accepted to since 2013 and a lot of these students are coming from MD and VA. There is increasing disgruntlement (among some parents) with Mont Co and Virginia schools over the past 5 years. My guess is that the quality of student at the top independents has gone up. They used to be places where just the wealthy of Washington would send their kids. Now they draw primarily from the greater DMV and not just upper NW. If anything the quality of experience at Wilson (at least for the cohort that are now seniors) has gone up. If there is a shift in the amount of kids being national merit semi finalists from private vs public in DC, I think you need to look to the privates and not to a problem with the publics for your answer.

OK, but the number of NMSFs in the DC burbs hasn't dropped in the last decade. More than one-quarter of TJ students, from Fairfax and Arlington, clear the bar annually then as now. More MoCo and VA parents may indeed be dissatisfied with their local schools than six or eight years ago, but their unhappiness hasn't been reflected in PSAT results.

When you run your schools system without formal GT programs, as the District does, leaving school PTAs to pay for much of the enrichment for high performers down the chain, you're asking for crappy NMSF results. There is absolutely a problem with DC public schools failing to push and support the best and brightest, particularly at the ES and MS levels. The support for high performers is too little, too late, with affluent parents stepping in to provide too much of the enrichment for their own children. The arrangement hurts the most capable low SES students most. Honors for All at Wilson is emblematic of this serious problem.

+1. DCPS doesn’t give a crap about challenging the top students. None. We are in DC and understand the reality of this instead of being in denial, making excuses, or wearing rose colored glasses.

I refused to believe this when we entered at JKLM for Prek4. Seven years later, I get it. Grade level work is all they're pushing all the way up.

It is far more challenging than the private schools though.

I would say it depends on the school. Also if smaller class sizes, kids get more individualized instruction.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Well the top independent schools have become far more competitive to get accepted to since 2013 and a lot of these students are coming from MD and VA. There is increasing disgruntlement (among some parents) with Mont Co and Virginia schools over the past 5 years. My guess is that the quality of student at the top independents has gone up. They used to be places where just the wealthy of Washington would send their kids. Now they draw primarily from the greater DMV and not just upper NW. If anything the quality of experience at Wilson (at least for the cohort that are now seniors) has gone up. If there is a shift in the amount of kids being national merit semi finalists from private vs public in DC, I think you need to look to the privates and not to a problem with the publics for your answer.

OK, but the number of NMSFs in the DC burbs hasn't dropped in the last decade. More than one-quarter of TJ students, from Fairfax and Arlington, clear the bar annually then as now. More MoCo and VA parents may indeed be dissatisfied with their local schools than six or eight years ago, but their unhappiness hasn't been reflected in PSAT results.

When you run your schools system without formal GT programs, as the District does, leaving school PTAs to pay for much of the enrichment for high performers down the chain, you're asking for crappy NMSF results. There is absolutely a problem with DC public schools failing to push and support the best and brightest, particularly at the ES and MS levels. The support for high performers is too little, too late, with affluent parents stepping in to provide too much of the enrichment for their own children. The arrangement hurts the most capable low SES students most. Honors for All at Wilson is emblematic of this serious problem.

+1. DCPS doesn’t give a crap about challenging the top students. None. We are in DC and understand the reality of this instead of being in denial, making excuses, or wearing rose colored glasses.

I refused to believe this when we entered at JKLM for Prek4. Seven years later, I get it. Grade level work is all they're pushing all the way up.

It is far more challenging than the private schools though.

This! We moved our kids from private to DCPS. Far more challenging. My MS child is in HS math instead of sitting bored to death in his private. They couldn’t accelerate enough for him.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Well the top independent schools have become far more competitive to get accepted to since 2013 and a lot of these students are coming from MD and VA. There is increasing disgruntlement (among some parents) with Mont Co and Virginia schools over the past 5 years. My guess is that the quality of student at the top independents has gone up. They used to be places where just the wealthy of Washington would send their kids. Now they draw primarily from the greater DMV and not just upper NW. If anything the quality of experience at Wilson (at least for the cohort that are now seniors) has gone up. If there is a shift in the amount of kids being national merit semi finalists from private vs public in DC, I think you need to look to the privates and not to a problem with the publics for your answer.

OK, but the number of NMSFs in the DC burbs hasn't dropped in the last decade. More than one-quarter of TJ students, from Fairfax and Arlington, clear the bar annually then as now. More MoCo and VA parents may indeed be dissatisfied with their local schools than six or eight years ago, but their unhappiness hasn't been reflected in PSAT results.

When you run your schools system without formal GT programs, as the District does, leaving school PTAs to pay for much of the enrichment for high performers down the chain, you're asking for crappy NMSF results. There is absolutely a problem with DC public schools failing to push and support the best and brightest, particularly at the ES and MS levels. The support for high performers is too little, too late, with affluent parents stepping in to provide too much of the enrichment for their own children. The arrangement hurts the most capable low SES students most. Honors for All at Wilson is emblematic of this serious problem.

+1. DCPS doesn’t give a crap about challenging the top students. None. We are in DC and understand the reality of this instead of being in denial, making excuses, or wearing rose colored glasses.

I refused to believe this when we entered at JKLM for Prek4. Seven years later, I get it. Grade level work is all they're pushing all the way up.

It is far more challenging than the private schools though.

I would say it depends on the school. Also if smaller class sizes, kids get more individualized instruction.

Complete fantasy.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Bummer, not a great showing for DC public, and that's putting it mildly.

In 2017, Walls had five semifinalists, and there have been years when Wilson had several.

DCPS and public charters, with a combined enrollment of nearly 100,000 students, has four semifinalists.

Sidwell, with 1140 K-12 students, has thirteen.

Go Sidwell!

Sidwell handpicked those kids. Yes, go Sidwell!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Bummer, not a great showing for DC public, and that's putting it mildly.

In 2017, Walls had five semifinalists, and there have been years when Wilson had several.

DCPS and public charters, with a combined enrollment of nearly 100,000 students, has four semifinalists.

Sidwell, with 1140 K-12 students, has thirteen.

Go Sidwell!

Sidwell handpicked those kids. Yes, go Sidwell!

Why are the Sidwell semifinalists disproportionately male?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Well the top independent schools have become far more competitive to get accepted to since 2013 and a lot of these students are coming from MD and VA. There is increasing disgruntlement (among some parents) with Mont Co and Virginia schools over the past 5 years. My guess is that the quality of student at the top independents has gone up. They used to be places where just the wealthy of Washington would send their kids. Now they draw primarily from the greater DMV and not just upper NW. If anything the quality of experience at Wilson (at least for the cohort that are now seniors) has gone up. If there is a shift in the amount of kids being national merit semi finalists from private vs public in DC, I think you need to look to the privates and not to a problem with the publics for your answer.

OK, but the number of NMSFs in the DC burbs hasn't dropped in the last decade. More than one-quarter of TJ students, from Fairfax and Arlington, clear the bar annually then as now. More MoCo and VA parents may indeed be dissatisfied with their local schools than six or eight years ago, but their unhappiness hasn't been reflected in PSAT results.

When you run your schools system without formal GT programs, as the District does, leaving school PTAs to pay for much of the enrichment for high performers down the chain, you're asking for crappy NMSF results. There is absolutely a problem with DC public schools failing to push and support the best and brightest, particularly at the ES and MS levels. The support for high performers is too little, too late, with affluent parents stepping in to provide too much of the enrichment for their own children. The arrangement hurts the most capable low SES students most. Honors for All at Wilson is emblematic of this serious problem.

+1. DCPS doesn’t give a crap about challenging the top students. None. We are in DC and understand the reality of this instead of being in denial, making excuses, or wearing rose colored glasses.

I refused to believe this when we entered at JKLM for Prek4. Seven years later, I get it. Grade level work is all they're pushing all the way up.

It is far more challenging than the private schools though.

This! We moved our kids from private to DCPS. Far more challenging. My MS child is in HS math instead of sitting bored to death in his private. They couldn’t accelerate enough for him.

I'll give you this, PP. DCPS math is quite OK. Where they fall down compared to privates, even in the highest-performing schools, is the humanities curriculum, particularly for writing. It stands to reason that the primary reason that the entire DC public school system can't produce more than a handful of semifinalists annually, year after year, is because so few of their high school juniors can ace the PSAT verbal section.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Well the top independent schools have become far more competitive to get accepted to since 2013 and a lot of these students are coming from MD and VA. There is increasing disgruntlement (among some parents) with Mont Co and Virginia schools over the past 5 years. My guess is that the quality of student at the top independents has gone up. They used to be places where just the wealthy of Washington would send their kids. Now they draw primarily from the greater DMV and not just upper NW. If anything the quality of experience at Wilson (at least for the cohort that are now seniors) has gone up. If there is a shift in the amount of kids being national merit semi finalists from private vs public in DC, I think you need to look to the privates and not to a problem with the publics for your answer.

OK, but the number of NMSFs in the DC burbs hasn't dropped in the last decade. More than one-quarter of TJ students, from Fairfax and Arlington, clear the bar annually then as now. More MoCo and VA parents may indeed be dissatisfied with their local schools than six or eight years ago, but their unhappiness hasn't been reflected in PSAT results.

When you run your schools system without formal GT programs, as the District does, leaving school PTAs to pay for much of the enrichment for high performers down the chain, you're asking for crappy NMSF results. There is absolutely a problem with DC public schools failing to push and support the best and brightest, particularly at the ES and MS levels. The support for high performers is too little, too late, with affluent parents stepping in to provide too much of the enrichment for their own children. The arrangement hurts the most capable low SES students most. Honors for All at Wilson is emblematic of this serious problem.

+1. DCPS doesn’t give a crap about challenging the top students. None. We are in DC and understand the reality of this instead of being in denial, making excuses, or wearing rose colored glasses.

I refused to believe this when we entered at JKLM for Prek4. Seven years later, I get it. Grade level work is all they're pushing all the way up.

It is far more challenging than the private schools though.

This! We moved our kids from private to DCPS. Far more challenging. My MS child is in HS math instead of sitting bored to death in his private. They couldn’t accelerate enough for him.

I'll give you this, PP. DCPS math is quite OK. Where they fall down compared to privates, even in the highest-performing schools, is the humanities curriculum, particularly for writing. It stands to reason that the primary reason that the entire DC public school system can't produce more than a handful of semifinalists annually, year after year, is because so few of their high school juniors can ace the PSAT verbal section.

True, DCPS doesn’t provide any benefits in accelerated reading/writing but neither did private. They did have more written reports in private, which DS always got easy A’s on. Private schools are wonderful for average kids who need extra (help, attention, focus etc). Private is not geared for gifted students, in my experience.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Well the top independent schools have become far more competitive to get accepted to since 2013 and a lot of these students are coming from MD and VA. There is increasing disgruntlement (among some parents) with Mont Co and Virginia schools over the past 5 years. My guess is that the quality of student at the top independents has gone up. They used to be places where just the wealthy of Washington would send their kids. Now they draw primarily from the greater DMV and not just upper NW. If anything the quality of experience at Wilson (at least for the cohort that are now seniors) has gone up. If there is a shift in the amount of kids being national merit semi finalists from private vs public in DC, I think you need to look to the privates and not to a problem with the publics for your answer.

OK, but the number of NMSFs in the DC burbs hasn't dropped in the last decade. More than one-quarter of TJ students, from Fairfax and Arlington, clear the bar annually then as now. More MoCo and VA parents may indeed be dissatisfied with their local schools than six or eight years ago, but their unhappiness hasn't been reflected in PSAT results.

When you run your schools system without formal GT programs, as the District does, leaving school PTAs to pay for much of the enrichment for high performers down the chain, you're asking for crappy NMSF results. There is absolutely a problem with DC public schools failing to push and support the best and brightest, particularly at the ES and MS levels. The support for high performers is too little, too late, with affluent parents stepping in to provide too much of the enrichment for their own children. The arrangement hurts the most capable low SES students most. Honors for All at Wilson is emblematic of this serious problem.

+1. DCPS doesn’t give a crap about challenging the top students. None. We are in DC and understand the reality of this instead of being in denial, making excuses, or wearing rose colored glasses.

I refused to believe this when we entered at JKLM for Prek4. Seven years later, I get it. Grade level work is all they're pushing all the way up.

It is far more challenging than the private schools though.

I would say it depends on the school. Also if smaller class sizes, kids get more individualized instruction.

Complete fantasy.

Yes, folks, the "individualized instruction" thing is not true.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Why are the Sidwell semifinalists disproportionately male?

Small sample size; it was the complete opposite two years ago. This year is a strong cohort, especially the boys. DC had a class last year where 8 of the 12 students are now NMSF; now that was a tough curve...