Middle school magnet testing for Takoma/ Eastern: have you received 'invite'?

[Anonymous]

Has any parent in the Takoma/ Eastern magnet area received any letter from school/ county about Takoma/ Eastern magnet school testing? Since there is no application to be filled out, when should we expect this to happen?

The FAQ's has the following mentioned on the MCPS website:

Grade 5 students in the field test will be reviewed
for each magnet themed program at the end of
marking period 1 (late November). Parents will
receive the results and at that time, may decline or
request consideration for their child to be
evaluated (includes testing) for one or both
programs.

We are in a Bethesda elementary school and have received no information. The school teachers did not know either. Could some parent with child considering these magnet programs, please respond.

Thank you.

[Anonymous]

Haven’t heard a thing since the information night. I have a vague recollection that December 6 was a notification date, but I may be making that up.

[Anonymous]

No notice here.

[Anonymous]

I believe the letters are sent out today so you schould receive it soon.

[Anonymous]

I thought they were looking at data at the end of November and letters would come out early December.. so soon. I'd bet they would be mailed next week.

[Anonymous]

Maybe I am coming late to the party.

Are you saying that teachers evaluate the students based on classroom performance and report cards and then these students are invited to apply to the magnet program. Students can decline the invite. Students who are not invited can still apply to the program. All students who want to be in the program just need to take the admissions test (so no essays, no recommendations). Admissions test results are not parsed based on race or HHI. All sounds good and simple.

My question is - what admissions test are they going to use to test these students? The same that they used for Roberto Clemente MS programs? No fear of the test questions being leaked at all?

[Anonymous]

Haven't received yet. Would be great if people could post when they do receive the notice.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Maybe I am coming late to the party.

Are you saying that teachers evaluate the students based on classroom performance and report cards and then these students are invited to apply to the magnet program. Students can decline the invite. Students who are not invited can still apply to the program. All students who want to be in the program just need to take the admissions test (so no essays, no recommendations). Admissions test results are not parsed based on race or HHI. All sounds good and simple.

My question is - what admissions test are they going to use to test these students? The same that they used for Roberto Clemente MS programs? No fear of the test questions being leaked at all?

Not the same test - and not the same test as used in prior years. They are being very guarded about the type of test to prevent families who have more means from gaming the system through test prep.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Maybe I am coming late to the party.

Are you saying that teachers evaluate the students based on classroom performance and report cards and then these students are invited to apply to the magnet program. Students can decline the invite. Students who are not invited can still apply to the program. All students who want to be in the program just need to take the admissions test (so no essays, no recommendations). Admissions test results are not parsed based on race or HHI. All sounds good and simple.

My question is - what admissions test are they going to use to test these students? The same that they used for Roberto Clemente MS programs? No fear of the test questions being leaked at all?

Not the same test - and not the same test as used in prior years. They are being very guarded about the type of test to prevent families who have more means from gaming the system through test prep.

LOL. No gaming of system because no one knows what the test is. Test Prep centers teach SAT so this is something that is available for free to all students on Khan Academy.

The kids who get in have advantages that go far beyond a simple test prep. Usually these students belong to families with good HHI, educated and involved parents, and they prioritize education. This is the social reality. While Metis made the racial achievement gap the main focus of its report, they are only trying to solve for access to opportunity but no one is trying to address the family culture and dynamics that makes a student successful.

Unless MCPS is making race a criteria for admission, I do not think we will see an increase in the number of HI and AA students. If MCPS actually take in all students who qualify then we will see a many-fold increase in Asians students. A shocking majority of qualified and deserving Asian students are denied the opportunity to avail of the magnet programs. Lot more than any other race in this country.

I am sincerely hoping that MCPS selects on merit instead of race. However, I have very little hope of MCPS actually getting it right.

[Anonymous]

Call MCPS AEI at 301-279-3163. It seems that AEI puts all its energy into the field test area which means less or no information available to Whitman, Churchill, WJ, and Wootton, may parts of BCC.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Call MCPS AEI at 301-279-3163. It seems that AEI puts all its energy into the field test area which means less or no information available to Whitman, Churchill, WJ, and Wootton, may parts of BCC.

Uh, all of those schools are in the field test area. Please don't post if you don't know what you're talking about.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Call MCPS AEI at 301-279-3163. It seems that AEI puts all its energy into the field test area which means less or no information available to Whitman, Churchill, WJ, and Wootton, may parts of BCC.

Uh, all of those schools are in the field test area. Please don't post if you don't know what you're talking about.

Why none of the expanded ES EsC is located in these school cluster?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Call MCPS AEI at 301-279-3163. It seems that AEI puts all its energy into the field test area which means less or no information available to Whitman, Churchill, WJ, and Wootton, may parts of BCC.

Uh, all of those schools are in the field test area. Please don't post if you don't know what you're talking about.

Why none of the expanded ES EsC is located in these school cluster?

MCPS is pilot-testing a new admissions process for the middle-school application magnet program. How are the locations of the 4 new local-school Centers for Enriched Learning relevant to this?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Call MCPS AEI at 301-279-3163. It seems that AEI puts all its energy into the field test area which means less or no information available to Whitman, Churchill, WJ, and Wootton, may parts of BCC.

Uh, all of those schools are in the field test area. Please don't post if you don't know what you're talking about.

Why none of the expanded ES EsC is located in these school cluster?

MCPS is pilot-testing a new admissions process for the middle-school application magnet program. How are the locations of the 4 new local-school Centers for Enriched Learning relevant to this?

One of the PP said the teachers in Bethesda Es have no clue about selection of the candidate for MS magnet. Of curse, it may have nothing to do with Bethsda ES which is licated in the heart of Bethesda. I wonder if any of the 5th grade teachers in other part of the county is clueless as the BHES teacher. Maybe the MS magnet candidates are identified centrally in Mcps center office. Therefore, none of the ES teacher is involved.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Call MCPS AEI at 301-279-3163. It seems that AEI puts all its energy into the field test area which means less or no information available to Whitman, Churchill, WJ, and Wootton, may parts of BCC.

Uh, all of those schools are in the field test area. Please don't post if you don't know what you're talking about.

Why none of the expanded ES EsC is located in these school cluster?

MCPS is pilot-testing a new admissions process for the middle-school application magnet program. How are the locations of the 4 new local-school Centers for Enriched Learning relevant to this?

One of the PP said the teachers in Bethesda Es have no clue about selection of the candidate for MS magnet. Of curse, it may have nothing to do with Bethsda ES which is licated in the heart of Bethesda. I wonder if any of the 5th grade teachers in other part of the county is clueless as the BHES teacher. Maybe the MS magnet candidates are identified centrally in Mcps center office. Therefore, none of the ES teacher is involved.

Yes, if you read the materials on the pilot program, students in the BCC cluster are included in the pilot program for Magnet Middle School access. The selections are centralized, and teachers now have nothing to do with the process.