How is Your 99%'er Who Did not Go to TPMS or Eastern Handling 6th Grade This Year?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Were there kids who scored in the 99th percentile within MCPS (vs 99 percentile nationally). Who didn’t get in the magnets? I don’t remember anyone like that posting when the results come out, but of course that doesn’t mean it didn’t happen.

Yes absolutely. My kid was at a regional CES and there were only 8 kid admitted across all three CES classes. There were many really high scoring kids who did not get into the Magnet MS.

MCPS changed the MS Magnets around last year. Instead of pulling just the highest scoring kids, they took lower scoring students who scored high relative to others at their lower performing schools. In other words, a kid with an 89%ile score at a lower performing school would get in over a 99%ile kid at a school with lots of 99%ile kids.

That’s being equitable.

There is no such thing as being equitable in performance. You can either produce or you can't, I don't care how young your mom was or the status of your dad or papers. The door out of the lower class will never be wide open, you are just shuffling the mechanisms the middle class use. Get a bunch of not quite the top of their class poor kids at the magnet programs and the upper SES will change the marker for what makes a college resume standout. Semesters studied abroad or private swim teams competitions or the like.

I get the "we need that" mob mentality when people see disparities, but people should ask is that really what is doing it? Causation or correlation. If the magnet was all poor kids who somehow performed similarly today, nobody would care. Look at Banneker in DC.

I was a poor/LMC kid in Florida who got a chance to be in a magnet program: absolutely the single biggest factor in propelling me to Yale and eventually Yale Law. I probably tested 85% to 98% on those gifted tests. But the magnet programs gave us poor immigrant kids access to small classes and great teachers. My parents, new white collar immigrants, had no clue about the program and certainly did not prep me. If I had to compete with 99%'ers who were prepped to get in to a limited amount of magnet slots, I would not be where I am. Not everyone will have the stark experience that I had, but we can certainly extrapolate that they will have a better outcome than if they did not get identified as talented. So, that will be one less person under-employed, giving back to the community with their time, philanthropy, and taxes. Eventually, it is equitable.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Were there kids who scored in the 99th percentile within MCPS (vs 99 percentile nationally). Who didn’t get in the magnets? I don’t remember anyone like that posting when the results come out, but of course that doesn’t mean it didn’t happen.

Yes absolutely. My kid was at a regional CES and there were only 8 kid admitted across all three CES classes. There were many really high scoring kids who did not get into the Magnet MS.

MCPS changed the MS Magnets around last year. Instead of pulling just the highest scoring kids, they took lower scoring students who scored high relative to others at their lower performing schools. In other words, a kid with an 89%ile score at a lower performing school would get in over a 99%ile kid at a school with lots of 99%ile kids.

That’s being equitable.

There is no such thing as being equitable in performance. You can either produce or you can't, I don't care how young your mom was or the status of your dad or papers. The door out of the lower class will never be wide open, you are just shuffling the mechanisms the middle class use. Get a bunch of not quite the top of their class poor kids at the magnet programs and the upper SES will change the marker for what makes a college resume standout. Semesters studied abroad or private swim teams competitions or the like.

I get the "we need that" mob mentality when people see disparities, but people should ask is that really what is doing it? Causation or correlation. If the magnet was all poor kids who somehow performed similarly today, nobody would care. Look at Banneker in DC.

"Don't try to access our programs or we'll just institute new gatekeeping measures" is some Jim Crow poll tax bullshit. You should be ashamed of yourself.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Were there kids who scored in the 99th percentile within MCPS (vs 99 percentile nationally). Who didn’t get in the magnets? I don’t remember anyone like that posting when the results come out, but of course that doesn’t mean it didn’t happen.

Yes absolutely. My kid was at a regional CES and there were only 8 kid admitted across all three CES classes. There were many really high scoring kids who did not get into the Magnet MS.

MCPS changed the MS Magnets around last year. Instead of pulling just the highest scoring kids, they took lower scoring students who scored high relative to others at their lower performing schools. In other words, a kid with an 89%ile score at a lower performing school would get in over a 99%ile kid at a school with lots of 99%ile kids.

That’s being equitable.

There is no such thing as being equitable in performance. You can either produce or you can't, I don't care how young your mom was or the status of your dad or papers. The door out of the lower class will never be wide open, you are just shuffling the mechanisms the middle class use. Get a bunch of not quite the top of their class poor kids at the magnet programs and the upper SES will change the marker for what makes a college resume standout. Semesters studied abroad or private swim teams competitions or the like.

I get the "we need that" mob mentality when people see disparities, but people should ask is that really what is doing it? Causation or correlation. If the magnet was all poor kids who somehow performed similarly today, nobody would care. Look at Banneker in DC.

I was a poor/LMC kid in Florida who got a chance to be in a magnet program: absolutely the single biggest factor in propelling me to Yale and eventually Yale Law. I probably tested 85% to 98% on those gifted tests. But the magnet programs gave us poor immigrant kids access to small classes and great teachers. My parents, new white collar immigrants, had no clue about the program and certainly did not prep me. If I had to compete with 99%'ers who were prepped to get in to a limited amount of magnet slots, I would not be where I am. Not everyone will have the stark experience that I had, but we can certainly extrapolate that they will have a better outcome than if they did not get identified as talented. So, that will be one less person under-employed, giving back to the community with their time, philanthropy, and taxes. Eventually, it is equitable.

Yep. I was same - not Fla, Yale but similar trajectory. I will boost magnet programs for the underrepresented until the day I die.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Were there kids who scored in the 99th percentile within MCPS (vs 99 percentile nationally). Who didn’t get in the magnets? I don’t remember anyone like that posting when the results come out, but of course that doesn’t mean it didn’t happen.

Yes absolutely. My kid was at a regional CES and there were only 8 kid admitted across all three CES classes. There were many really high scoring kids who did not get into the Magnet MS.

MCPS changed the MS Magnets around last year. Instead of pulling just the highest scoring kids, they took lower scoring students who scored high relative to others at their lower performing schools. In other words, a kid with an 89%ile score at a lower performing school would get in over a 99%ile kid at a school with lots of 99%ile kids.

That’s being equitable.

There is no such thing as being equitable in performance. You can either produce or you can't, I don't care how young your mom was or the status of your dad or papers. The door out of the lower class will never be wide open, you are just shuffling the mechanisms the middle class use. Get a bunch of not quite the top of their class poor kids at the magnet programs and the upper SES will change the marker for what makes a college resume standout. Semesters studied abroad or private swim teams competitions or the like.

I get the "we need that" mob mentality when people see disparities, but people should ask is that really what is doing it? Causation or correlation. If the magnet was all poor kids who somehow performed similarly today, nobody would care. Look at Banneker in DC.

I was a poor/LMC kid in Florida who got a chance to be in a magnet program: absolutely the single biggest factor in propelling me to Yale and eventually Yale Law. I probably tested 85% to 98% on those gifted tests. But the magnet programs gave us poor immigrant kids access to small classes and great teachers. My parents, new white collar immigrants, had no clue about the program and certainly did not prep me. If I had to compete with 99%'ers who were prepped to get in to a limited amount of magnet slots, I would not be where I am. Not everyone will have the stark experience that I had, but we can certainly extrapolate that they will have a better outcome than if they did not get identified as talented. So, that will be one less person under-employed, giving back to the community with their time, philanthropy, and taxes. Eventually, it is equitable.

Yep. I was same - not Fla, Yale but similar trajectory. I will boost magnet programs for the underrepresented until the day I die.

Question for two PPs.
Are your own children in magnets?

[Anonymous]

I'm not one of the two PPs, but have a similar story. Low-income kid, neither parent had a four year degree, but the "magnet" track in middle school put me into the IB diploma program in high school. This led to university opportunities, grad school, and a pretty good life so far. There have been setbacks, and times when a more robust parental safety net would have helped, but absolutely those programs changed my life.

Yes, my kids are in magnets.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Were there kids who scored in the 99th percentile within MCPS (vs 99 percentile nationally). Who didn’t get in the magnets? I don’t remember anyone like that posting when the results come out, but of course that doesn’t mean it didn’t happen.

Yes absolutely. My kid was at a regional CES and there were only 8 kid admitted across all three CES classes. There were many really high scoring kids who did not get into the Magnet MS.

MCPS changed the MS Magnets around last year. Instead of pulling just the highest scoring kids, they took lower scoring students who scored high relative to others at their lower performing schools. In other words, a kid with an 89%ile score at a lower performing school would get in over a 99%ile kid at a school with lots of 99%ile kids.

That’s being equitable.

There is no such thing as being equitable in performance. You can either produce or you can't, I don't care how young your mom was or the status of your dad or papers. The door out of the lower class will never be wide open, you are just shuffling the mechanisms the middle class use. Get a bunch of not quite the top of their class poor kids at the magnet programs and the upper SES will change the marker for what makes a college resume standout. Semesters studied abroad or private swim teams competitions or the like.

I get the "we need that" mob mentality when people see disparities, but people should ask is that really what is doing it? Causation or correlation. If the magnet was all poor kids who somehow performed similarly today, nobody would care. Look at Banneker in DC.

I was a poor/LMC kid in Florida who got a chance to be in a magnet program: absolutely the single biggest factor in propelling me to Yale and eventually Yale Law. I probably tested 85% to 98% on those gifted tests. But the magnet programs gave us poor immigrant kids access to small classes and great teachers. My parents, new white collar immigrants, had no clue about the program and certainly did not prep me. If I had to compete with 99%'ers who were prepped to get in to a limited amount of magnet slots, I would not be where I am. Not everyone will have the stark experience that I had, but we can certainly extrapolate that they will have a better outcome than if they did not get identified as talented. So, that will be one less person under-employed, giving back to the community with their time, philanthropy, and taxes. Eventually, it is equitable.

Yep. I was same - not Fla, Yale but similar trajectory. I will boost magnet programs for the underrepresented until the day I die.

Question for two PPs.
Are your own children in magnets?

Yes, first PP. My 5th grader is in a CES W-feeder. And if my 99%`er DC doesn't get in to a magnet due to cohort factors, I'm totally fine with that.
My kid will be fine.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Were there kids who scored in the 99th percentile within MCPS (vs 99 percentile nationally). Who didn’t get in the magnets? I don’t remember anyone like that posting when the results come out, but of course that doesn’t mean it didn’t happen.

Yes absolutely. My kid was at a regional CES and there were only 8 kid admitted across all three CES classes. There were many really high scoring kids who did not get into the Magnet MS.

MCPS changed the MS Magnets around last year. Instead of pulling just the highest scoring kids, they took lower scoring students who scored high relative to others at their lower performing schools. In other words, a kid with an 89%ile score at a lower performing school would get in over a 99%ile kid at a school with lots of 99%ile kids.

That’s being equitable.

There is no such thing as being equitable in performance. You can either produce or you can't, I don't care how young your mom was or the status of your dad or papers. The door out of the lower class will never be wide open, you are just shuffling the mechanisms the middle class use. Get a bunch of not quite the top of their class poor kids at the magnet programs and the upper SES will change the marker for what makes a college resume standout. Semesters studied abroad or private swim teams competitions or the like.

I get the "we need that" mob mentality when people see disparities, but people should ask is that really what is doing it? Causation or correlation. If the magnet was all poor kids who somehow performed similarly today, nobody would care. Look at Banneker in DC.

I was a poor/LMC kid in Florida who got a chance to be in a magnet program: absolutely the single biggest factor in propelling me to Yale and eventually Yale Law. I probably tested 85% to 98% on those gifted tests. But the magnet programs gave us poor immigrant kids access to small classes and great teachers. My parents, new white collar immigrants, had no clue about the program and certainly did not prep me. If I had to compete with 99%'ers who were prepped to get in to a limited amount of magnet slots, I would not be where I am. Not everyone will have the stark experience that I had, but we can certainly extrapolate that they will have a better outcome than if they did not get identified as talented. So, that will be one less person under-employed, giving back to the community with their time, philanthropy, and taxes. Eventually, it is equitable.

Yep. I was same - not Fla, Yale but similar trajectory. I will boost magnet programs for the underrepresented until the day I die.

Question for two PPs.
Are your own children in magnets?

Yes, first PP. My 5th grader is in a CES W-feeder. And if my 99%`er DC doesn't get in to a magnet due to cohort factors, I'm totally fine with that.
My kid will be fine.

So is your Yale law family now hoarding the opportunities to advance in the manner that worked for you a generation ago?

[Anonymous]

I'm a first generation immigrant living in a rental in a 'good' school zone and my 99%-scoring child didn't make it into a CES because, you know, cohort. We are not FARMS but we're almost indigent by DCUM"s standards. How is that 'equitable'?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Were there kids who scored in the 99th percentile within MCPS (vs 99 percentile nationally). Who didn’t get in the magnets? I don’t remember anyone like that posting when the results come out, but of course that doesn’t mean it didn’t happen.

Yes absolutely. My kid was at a regional CES and there were only 8 kid admitted across all three CES classes. There were many really high scoring kids who did not get into the Magnet MS.

MCPS changed the MS Magnets around last year. Instead of pulling just the highest scoring kids, they took lower scoring students who scored high relative to others at their lower performing schools. In other words, a kid with an 89%ile score at a lower performing school would get in over a 99%ile kid at a school with lots of 99%ile kids.

That’s being equitable.

There is no such thing as being equitable in performance. You can either produce or you can't, I don't care how young your mom was or the status of your dad or papers. The door out of the lower class will never be wide open, you are just shuffling the mechanisms the middle class use. Get a bunch of not quite the top of their class poor kids at the magnet programs and the upper SES will change the marker for what makes a college resume standout. Semesters studied abroad or private swim teams competitions or the like.

I get the "we need that" mob mentality when people see disparities, but people should ask is that really what is doing it? Causation or correlation. If the magnet was all poor kids who somehow performed similarly today, nobody would care. Look at Banneker in DC.

I was a poor/LMC kid in Florida who got a chance to be in a magnet program: absolutely the single biggest factor in propelling me to Yale and eventually Yale Law. I probably tested 85% to 98% on those gifted tests. But the magnet programs gave us poor immigrant kids access to small classes and great teachers. My parents, new white collar immigrants, had no clue about the program and certainly did not prep me. If I had to compete with 99%'ers who were prepped to get in to a limited amount of magnet slots, I would not be where I am. Not everyone will have the stark experience that I had, but we can certainly extrapolate that they will have a better outcome than if they did not get identified as talented. So, that will be one less person under-employed, giving back to the community with their time, philanthropy, and taxes. Eventually, it is equitable.

Yep. I was same - not Fla, Yale but similar trajectory. I will boost magnet programs for the underrepresented until the day I die.

Question for two PPs.
Are your own children in magnets?

Yes, first PP. My 5th grader is in a CES W-feeder. And if my 99%`er DC doesn't get in to a magnet due to cohort factors, I'm totally fine with that.
My kid will be fine.

So is your Yale law family now hoarding the opportunities to advance in the manner that worked for you a generation ago?

Can’t be “hoarding” under universal screening.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Were there kids who scored in the 99th percentile within MCPS (vs 99 percentile nationally). Who didn’t get in the magnets? I don’t remember anyone like that posting when the results come out, but of course that doesn’t mean it didn’t happen.

Yes absolutely. My kid was at a regional CES and there were only 8 kid admitted across all three CES classes. There were many really high scoring kids who did not get into the Magnet MS.

MCPS changed the MS Magnets around last year. Instead of pulling just the highest scoring kids, they took lower scoring students who scored high relative to others at their lower performing schools. In other words, a kid with an 89%ile score at a lower performing school would get in over a 99%ile kid at a school with lots of 99%ile kids.

That’s being equitable.

There is no such thing as being equitable in performance. You can either produce or you can't, I don't care how young your mom was or the status of your dad or papers. The door out of the lower class will never be wide open, you are just shuffling the mechanisms the middle class use. Get a bunch of not quite the top of their class poor kids at the magnet programs and the upper SES will change the marker for what makes a college resume standout. Semesters studied abroad or private swim teams competitions or the like.

I get the "we need that" mob mentality when people see disparities, but people should ask is that really what is doing it? Causation or correlation. If the magnet was all poor kids who somehow performed similarly today, nobody would care. Look at Banneker in DC.

I was a poor/LMC kid in Florida who got a chance to be in a magnet program: absolutely the single biggest factor in propelling me to Yale and eventually Yale Law. I probably tested 85% to 98% on those gifted tests. But the magnet programs gave us poor immigrant kids access to small classes and great teachers. My parents, new white collar immigrants, had no clue about the program and certainly did not prep me. If I had to compete with 99%'ers who were prepped to get in to a limited amount of magnet slots, I would not be where I am. Not everyone will have the stark experience that I had, but we can certainly extrapolate that they will have a better outcome than if they did not get identified as talented. So, that will be one less person under-employed, giving back to the community with their time, philanthropy, and taxes. Eventually, it is equitable.

Yep. I was same - not Fla, Yale but similar trajectory. I will boost magnet programs for the underrepresented until the day I die.

Question for two PPs.
Are your own children in magnets?

Yes, first PP. My 5th grader is in a CES W-feeder. And if my 99%`er DC doesn't get in to a magnet due to cohort factors, I'm totally fine with that.
My kid will be fine.

So is your Yale law family now hoarding the opportunities to advance in the manner that worked for you a generation ago?

Can’t be “hoarding” under universal screening.

Also, damned if you do and damned if you don’t! PP would have been mocked for saying no.

I’m a DP with a similar story. And neither of my GT-identified kids were magnet MS, but both had ADHD and anxiety. The application process still overvalues tests. The elder has graduated from college and is doing as well if not better than ES friends who did the MS and HS magnets. Verdict is still out on the younger who selected a HS program that MCPS now calls a magnet.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I'm a first generation immigrant living in a rental in a 'good' school zone and my 99%-scoring child didn't make it into a CES because, you know, cohort. We are not FARMS but we're almost indigent by DCUM"s standards. How is that 'equitable'?

A) "Indigent by DCUM standards" is known to be a dumb measure. If you can afford rent in a 'good' zone, you are almost certainly in the top quartile of the US population.

B) So your kid didn't get into the magnet. That sucks, but it's also not answer to the question. Given that your child has a peer cohort, and that you are in a 'good' school zone, how is your child doing?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Were there kids who scored in the 99th percentile within MCPS (vs 99 percentile nationally). Who didn’t get in the magnets? I don’t remember anyone like that posting when the results come out, but of course that doesn’t mean it didn’t happen.

Yes absolutely. My kid was at a regional CES and there were only 8 kid admitted across all three CES classes. There were many really high scoring kids who did not get into the Magnet MS.

MCPS changed the MS Magnets around last year. Instead of pulling just the highest scoring kids, they took lower scoring students who scored high relative to others at their lower performing schools. In other words, a kid with an 89%ile score at a lower performing school would get in over a 99%ile kid at a school with lots of 99%ile kids.

That’s being equitable.

There is no such thing as being equitable in performance. You can either produce or you can't, I don't care how young your mom was or the status of your dad or papers. The door out of the lower class will never be wide open, you are just shuffling the mechanisms the middle class use. Get a bunch of not quite the top of their class poor kids at the magnet programs and the upper SES will change the marker for what makes a college resume standout. Semesters studied abroad or private swim teams competitions or the like.

I get the "we need that" mob mentality when people see disparities, but people should ask is that really what is doing it? Causation or correlation. If the magnet was all poor kids who somehow performed similarly today, nobody would care. Look at Banneker in DC.

I was a poor/LMC kid in Florida who got a chance to be in a magnet program: absolutely the single biggest factor in propelling me to Yale and eventually Yale Law. I probably tested 85% to 98% on those gifted tests. But the magnet programs gave us poor immigrant kids access to small classes and great teachers. My parents, new white collar immigrants, had no clue about the program and certainly did not prep me. If I had to compete with 99%'ers who were prepped to get in to a limited amount of magnet slots, I would not be where I am. Not everyone will have the stark experience that I had, but we can certainly extrapolate that they will have a better outcome than if they did not get identified as talented. So, that will be one less person under-employed, giving back to the community with their time, philanthropy, and taxes. Eventually, it is equitable.

Yep. I was same - not Fla, Yale but similar trajectory. I will boost magnet programs for the underrepresented until the day I die.

Question for two PPs.
Are your own children in magnets?

Yes - one was able to get into a competitive magnet and the other is in neighborhood school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Were there kids who scored in the 99th percentile within MCPS (vs 99 percentile nationally). Who didn’t get in the magnets? I don’t remember anyone like that posting when the results come out, but of course that doesn’t mean it didn’t happen.

Yes absolutely. My kid was at a regional CES and there were only 8 kid admitted across all three CES classes. There were many really high scoring kids who did not get into the Magnet MS.

MCPS changed the MS Magnets around last year. Instead of pulling just the highest scoring kids, they took lower scoring students who scored high relative to others at their lower performing schools. In other words, a kid with an 89%ile score at a lower performing school would get in over a 99%ile kid at a school with lots of 99%ile kids.

That’s being equitable.

There is no such thing as being equitable in performance. You can either produce or you can't, I don't care how young your mom was or the status of your dad or papers. The door out of the lower class will never be wide open, you are just shuffling the mechanisms the middle class use. Get a bunch of not quite the top of their class poor kids at the magnet programs and the upper SES will change the marker for what makes a college resume standout. Semesters studied abroad or private swim teams competitions or the like.

I get the "we need that" mob mentality when people see disparities, but people should ask is that really what is doing it? Causation or correlation. If the magnet was all poor kids who somehow performed similarly today, nobody would care. Look at Banneker in DC.

I was a poor/LMC kid in Florida who got a chance to be in a magnet program: absolutely the single biggest factor in propelling me to Yale and eventually Yale Law. I probably tested 85% to 98% on those gifted tests. But the magnet programs gave us poor immigrant kids access to small classes and great teachers. My parents, new white collar immigrants, had no clue about the program and certainly did not prep me. If I had to compete with 99%'ers who were prepped to get in to a limited amount of magnet slots, I would not be where I am. Not everyone will have the stark experience that I had, but we can certainly extrapolate that they will have a better outcome than if they did not get identified as talented. So, that will be one less person under-employed, giving back to the community with their time, philanthropy, and taxes. Eventually, it is equitable.

Yep. I was same - not Fla, Yale but similar trajectory. I will boost magnet programs for the underrepresented until the day I die.

Question for two PPs.
Are your own children in magnets?

Yes, first PP. My 5th grader is in a CES W-feeder. And if my 99%`er DC doesn't get in to a magnet due to cohort factors, I'm totally fine with that.
My kid will be fine.

So is your Yale law family now hoarding the opportunities to advance in the manner that worked for you a generation ago?

Can’t be “hoarding” under universal screening.

Also, damned if you do and damned if you don’t! PP would have been mocked for saying no.

I’m a DP with a similar story. And neither of my GT-identified kids were magnet MS, but both had ADHD and anxiety. The application process still overvalues tests. The elder has graduated from college and is doing as well if not better than ES friends who did the MS and HS magnets. Verdict is still out on the younger who selected a HS program that MCPS now calls a magnet.

PP - with second child at neighborhood school. I will agree that testing is overvalued and likely hurt my younger one's chances, but I don't know an alternative method that won't fold in inherent bias, so I am OK with it. I do think that the testing cutoff for magnet attendance in MoCo, however, is too damn high and there should be some consideration for grades etc if the child has slightly lower scores but everything else shows that they can do the work and excel. My second child was not on board with magnet, though, so it probably all worked out for best.

[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:Were there kids who scored in the 99th percentile within MCPS (vs 99 percentile nationally). Who didn’t get in the magnets? I don’t remember anyone like that posting when the results come out, but of course that doesn’t mean it didn’t happen.

Yes absolutely. My kid was at a regional CES and there were only 8 kid admitted across all three CES classes. There were many really high scoring kids who did not get into the Magnet MS.

MCPS changed the MS Magnets around last year. Instead of pulling just the highest scoring kids, they took lower scoring students who scored high relative to others at their lower performing schools. In other words, a kid with an 89%ile score at a lower performing school would get in over a 99%ile kid at a school with lots of 99%ile kids.

That’s being equitable.

There is no such thing as being equitable in performance. You can either produce or you can't, I don't care how young your mom was or the status of your dad or papers. The door out of the lower class will never be wide open, you are just shuffling the mechanisms the middle class use. Get a bunch of not quite the top of their class poor kids at the magnet programs and the upper SES will change the marker for what makes a college resume standout. Semesters studied abroad or private swim teams competitions or the like.

I get the "we need that" mob mentality when people see disparities, but people should ask is that really what is doing it? Causation or correlation. If the magnet was all poor kids who somehow performed similarly today, nobody would care. Look at Banneker in DC.

I was a poor/LMC kid in Florida who got a chance to be in a magnet program: absolutely the single biggest factor in propelling me to Yale and eventually Yale Law. I probably tested 85% to 98% on those gifted tests. But the magnet programs gave us poor immigrant kids access to small classes and great teachers. My parents, new white collar immigrants, had no clue about the program and certainly did not prep me. If I had to compete with 99%'ers who were prepped to get in to a limited amount of magnet slots, I would not be where I am. Not everyone will have the stark experience that I had, but we can certainly extrapolate that they will have a better outcome than if they did not get identified as talented. So, that will be one less person under-employed, giving back to the community with their time, philanthropy, and taxes. Eventually, it is equitable.

Yep. I was same - not Fla, Yale but similar trajectory. I will boost magnet programs for the underrepresented until the day I die.

Question for two PPs.
Are your own children in magnets?

Yes, first PP. My 5th grader is in a CES W-feeder. And if my 99%`er DC doesn't get in to a magnet due to cohort factors, I'm totally fine with that.
My kid will be fine.

So is your Yale law family now hoarding the opportunities to advance in the manner that worked for you a generation ago?

Can’t be “hoarding” under universal screening.

Also, damned if you do and damned if you don’t! PP would have been mocked for saying no.

I’m a DP with a similar story. And neither of my GT-identified kids were magnet MS, but both had ADHD and anxiety. The application process still overvalues tests. The elder has graduated from college and is doing as well if not better than ES friends who did the MS and HS magnets. Verdict is still out on the younger who selected a HS program that MCPS now calls a magnet.

PP - with second child at neighborhood school. I will agree that testing is overvalued and likely hurt my younger one's chances, but I don't know an alternative method that won't fold in inherent bias, so I am OK with it. I do think that the testing cutoff for magnet attendance in MoCo, however, is too damn high and there should be some consideration for grades etc if the child has slightly lower scores but everything else shows that they can do the work and excel. My second child was not on board with magnet, though, so it probably all worked out for best.

That is exactly what MCPS does. Admissions are based on multiple factors - grades/CogAT/MAP/PARCC/etc. If you think it is based only on a "testing cutoff", you have been misinformed. Here is some useful information:

https://www.montgomeryschoolsmd.org/schools/msmagnet/about/field-test.aspx

[Anonymous]

Do you know at what point the test will bounce a student out of the running?

In other words, my already anxious child has amazing grades in advanced/honors classes and related extracurriculars. I think the “essay” was impressive and recommendations will be glowing. But does any of that matter at all before the committee looks at the test score? Or is it only after the score, that report card grades and other evidence matters? I’m unable to reassure my child that there is a genuine shot left.