HS Magnet Applications Open and....

[Anonymous]

OMG, just have your kid write the little essay, fill out the forms and move on with your life. Why so much guess work and handwringing about whether they will know if your kid was in a magnet or not. You can’t influence the process in any way except for the essay so why are you all wasting so much energy on these other questions?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:There must be many hundreds of kids of both genders with As in math and science and 99th percentile MAP. How do they differentiate? Did not attend the open house but the information being shared here is confusing.

Not true. I believe there are about 11,000 current eighth graders. Which means that the top 1 percent is 110 kids. There are 200 places county wide in SMACS for example, plus IB programs, CAP and others. And not all of those kids will have all As. Now I know you will claim that the MCPS scores skew much higher, but that’s simply not true. My child bought home their MAP report this week and it clearly shows the MCPS averages are almost identical to the national.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There must be many hundreds of kids of both genders with As in math and science and 99th percentile MAP. How do they differentiate? Did not attend the open house but the information being shared here is confusing.

Not true. I believe there are about 11,000 current eighth graders. Which means that the top 1 percent is 110 kids. There are 200 places county wide in SMACS for example, plus IB programs, CAP and others. And not all of those kids will have all As. Now I know you will claim that the MCPS scores skew much higher, but that’s simply not true. My child bought home their MAP report this week and it clearly shows the MCPS averages are almost identical to the national.

You do know how averages work right? The argument is that the distribution is different in MCPS with a lot at the top and a lot closer to the bottom making the average about the same as the average nationally but meaning there is a lot more competition at the top.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There must be many hundreds of kids of both genders with As in math and science and 99th percentile MAP. How do they differentiate? Did not attend the open house but the information being shared here is confusing.

Not true. I believe there are about 11,000 current eighth graders. Which means that the top 1 percent is 110 kids. There are 200 places county wide in SMACS for example, plus IB programs, CAP and others. And not all of those kids will have all As. Now I know you will claim that the MCPS scores skew much higher, but that’s simply not true. My child bought home their MAP report this week and it clearly shows the MCPS averages are almost identical to the national.

Facts!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There must be many hundreds of kids of both genders with As in math and science and 99th percentile MAP. How do they differentiate? Did not attend the open house but the information being shared here is confusing.

Not true. I believe there are about 11,000 current eighth graders. Which means that the top 1 percent is 110 kids. There are 200 places county wide in SMACS for example, plus IB programs, CAP and others. And not all of those kids will have all As. Now I know you will claim that the MCPS scores skew much higher, but that’s simply not true. My child bought home their MAP report this week and it clearly shows the MCPS averages are almost identical to the national.

You do know how averages work right? The argument is that the distribution is different in MCPS with a lot at the top and a lot closer to the bottom making the average about the same as the average nationally but meaning there is a lot more competition at the top.

Yes I do, because like my child, I’m pretty good with numbers. However, I have never seen any published days that shows what you and others claim. I have, however, seen, at times, data that compares my child’s 99th percentile nationally to MCPS and they’ve been very close. The only time I’ve seen it suggested otherwise has been by strangers on DCUM. If you have actual data and proof go right ahead and share it!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There must be many hundreds of kids of both genders with As in math and science and 99th percentile MAP. How do they differentiate? Did not attend the open house but the information being shared here is confusing.

Not true. I believe there are about 11,000 current eighth graders. Which means that the top 1 percent is 110 kids. There are 200 places county wide in SMACS for example, plus IB programs, CAP and others. And not all of those kids will have all As. Now I know you will claim that the MCPS scores skew much higher, but that’s simply not true. My child bought home their MAP report this week and it clearly shows the MCPS averages are almost identical to the national.

You do know how averages work right? The argument is that the distribution is different in MCPS with a lot at the top and a lot closer to the bottom making the average about the same as the average nationally but meaning there is a lot more competition at the top.

Mean. You’re talking about the mean. That’s probably what the PP was using when s/he wrote “average,” but it could be the median, too.

Sure, there probably are more high-achieving kids, proportionally, in MCPS than in the rest of the country, but I think the idea that everyone has to have straight As and amazing everything is misguided and more about the parents than the kids.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There must be many hundreds of kids of both genders with As in math and science and 99th percentile MAP. How do they differentiate? Did not attend the open house but the information being shared here is confusing.

Not true. I believe there are about 11,000 current eighth graders. Which means that the top 1 percent is 110 kids. There are 200 places county wide in SMACS for example, plus IB programs, CAP and others. And not all of those kids will have all As. Now I know you will claim that the MCPS scores skew much higher, but that’s simply not true. My child bought home their MAP report this week and it clearly shows the MCPS averages are almost identical to the national.

You do know how averages work right? The argument is that the distribution is different in MCPS with a lot at the top and a lot closer to the bottom making the average about the same as the average nationally but meaning there is a lot more competition at the top.

Yes I do, because like my child, I’m pretty good with numbers. However, I have never seen any published days that shows what you and others claim. I have, however, seen, at times, data that compares my child’s 99th percentile nationally to MCPS and they’ve been very close. The only time I’ve seen it suggested otherwise has been by strangers on DCUM. If you have actual data and proof go right ahead and share it!

This isn't what you were asking and it was a few years ago but my child's mid-90s MAP score in one area (can't remember which) was equivalent to mid-80s in MCPS for my child's SES group which I assume was the highest based on our home high school which is Churchill.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There must be many hundreds of kids of both genders with As in math and science and 99th percentile MAP. How do they differentiate? Did not attend the open house but the information being shared here is confusing.

Not true. I believe there are about 11,000 current eighth graders. Which means that the top 1 percent is 110 kids. There are 200 places county wide in SMACS for example, plus IB programs, CAP and others. And not all of those kids will have all As. Now I know you will claim that the MCPS scores skew much higher, but that’s simply not true. My child bought home their MAP report this week and it clearly shows the MCPS averages are almost identical to the national.

You do know how averages work right? The argument is that the distribution is different in MCPS with a lot at the top and a lot closer to the bottom making the average about the same as the average nationally but meaning there is a lot more competition at the top.

Mean. You’re talking about the mean. That’s probably what the PP was using when s/he wrote “average,” but it could be the median, too.

Sure, there probably are more high-achieving kids, proportionally, in MCPS than in the rest of the country, but I think the idea that everyone has to have straight As and amazing everything is misguided and more about the parents than the kids.

No, everyone's talking about the mean which many people use interchangeably with average. MCPS gives us the MCPS mean and the national mean, not the median.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OMG, just have your kid write the little essay, fill out the forms and move on with your life. Why so much guess work and handwringing about whether they will know if your kid was in a magnet or not. You can’t influence the process in any way except for the essay so why are you all wasting so much energy on these other questions?

I disagree. The kids who are in magnet paced classes have a higher bar to achieve an A. It's just harder: the content and the pace. That is relevant in terms of the grade they earn, especially when compared to others who are taking classes that have the same name but are not actually the same class.

This can be true while it is also true that many of the kids taking non magnet Algebra or Geometry or Science or whatever could handle and deserve to be in the magnet. But not everyone ends up taking magnet classes in the end.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There must be many hundreds of kids of both genders with As in math and science and 99th percentile MAP. How do they differentiate? Did not attend the open house but the information being shared here is confusing.

Not true. I believe there are about 11,000 current eighth graders. Which means that the top 1 percent is 110 kids. There are 200 places county wide in SMACS for example, plus IB programs, CAP and others. And not all of those kids will have all As. Now I know you will claim that the MCPS scores skew much higher, but that’s simply not true. My child bought home their MAP report this week and it clearly shows the MCPS averages are almost identical to the national.

You do know how averages work right? The argument is that the distribution is different in MCPS with a lot at the top and a lot closer to the bottom making the average about the same as the average nationally but meaning there is a lot more competition at the top.

Mean. You’re talking about the mean. That’s probably what the PP was using when s/he wrote “average,” but it could be the median, too.

Sure, there probably are more high-achieving kids, proportionally, in MCPS than in the rest of the country, but I think the idea that everyone has to have straight As and amazing everything is misguided and more about the parents than the kids.

On what basis are you claiming there are more high achieving kids in the county than elsewhere? These assumptions are made every time this comes up but the only actual evidence suggests otherwise.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OMG, just have your kid write the little essay, fill out the forms and move on with your life. Why so much guess work and handwringing about whether they will know if your kid was in a magnet or not. You can’t influence the process in any way except for the essay so why are you all wasting so much energy on these other questions?

I disagree. The kids who are in magnet paced classes have a higher bar to achieve an A. It's just harder: the content and the pace. That is relevant in terms of the grade they earn, especially when compared to others who are taking classes that have the same name but are not actually the same class.

This can be true while it is also true that many of the kids taking non magnet Algebra or Geometry or Science or whatever could handle and deserve to be in the magnet. But not everyone ends up taking magnet classes in the end.

My kid is in the magnet and the classes have not been particularly rigorous. At no point has he been particularly challenged, he breezes though it so just as in the past and I get the impression none of the kids struggle. I really haven’t seen them go as far “in depth” as we were told they would. In all, it’s really not that special. The one exception is that they get to take computer science which has been great. I really question that his As in those subjects should really be worth more than an A in the non magnet version of the courses. Algebra is algebra, for example.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There must be many hundreds of kids of both genders with As in math and science and 99th percentile MAP. How do they differentiate? Did not attend the open house but the information being shared here is confusing.

Not true. I believe there are about 11,000 current eighth graders. Which means that the top 1 percent is 110 kids. There are 200 places county wide in SMACS for example, plus IB programs, CAP and others. And not all of those kids will have all As. Now I know you will claim that the MCPS scores skew much higher, but that’s simply not true. My child bought home their MAP report this week and it clearly shows the MCPS averages are almost identical to the national.

You do know how averages work right? The argument is that the distribution is different in MCPS with a lot at the top and a lot closer to the bottom making the average about the same as the average nationally but meaning there is a lot more competition at the top.

Mean. You’re talking about the mean. That’s probably what the PP was using when s/he wrote “average,” but it could be the median, too.

Sure, there probably are more high-achieving kids, proportionally, in MCPS than in the rest of the country, but I think the idea that everyone has to have straight As and amazing everything is misguided and more about the parents than the kids.

On what basis are you claiming there are more high achieving kids in the county than elsewhere? These assumptions are made every time this comes up but the only actual evidence suggests otherwise.

What evidence? This county has one of the most highly educated parent populations in the country. Do you think that doesn’t matter for their children’s achievement?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There must be many hundreds of kids of both genders with As in math and science and 99th percentile MAP. How do they differentiate? Did not attend the open house but the information being shared here is confusing.

Not true. I believe there are about 11,000 current eighth graders. Which means that the top 1 percent is 110 kids. There are 200 places county wide in SMACS for example, plus IB programs, CAP and others. And not all of those kids will have all As. Now I know you will claim that the MCPS scores skew much higher, but that’s simply not true. My child bought home their MAP report this week and it clearly shows the MCPS averages are almost identical to the national.

You do know how averages work right? The argument is that the distribution is different in MCPS with a lot at the top and a lot closer to the bottom making the average about the same as the average nationally but meaning there is a lot more competition at the top.

Mean. You’re talking about the mean. That’s probably what the PP was using when s/he wrote “average,” but it could be the median, too.

Sure, there probably are more high-achieving kids, proportionally, in MCPS than in the rest of the country, but I think the idea that everyone has to have straight As and amazing everything is misguided and more about the parents than the kids.

On what basis are you claiming there are more high achieving kids in the county than elsewhere? These assumptions are made every time this comes up but the only actual evidence suggests otherwise.

What evidence? This county has one of the most highly educated parent populations in the country. Do you think that doesn’t matter for their children’s achievement?

The actual data that has been released showing the numbers closely tracking. I’ll take data over your “this area is so highly educated it must be true” any day.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There must be many hundreds of kids of both genders with As in math and science and 99th percentile MAP. How do they differentiate? Did not attend the open house but the information being shared here is confusing.

Not true. I believe there are about 11,000 current eighth graders. Which means that the top 1 percent is 110 kids. There are 200 places county wide in SMACS for example, plus IB programs, CAP and others. And not all of those kids will have all As. Now I know you will claim that the MCPS scores skew much higher, but that’s simply not true. My child bought home their MAP report this week and it clearly shows the MCPS averages are almost identical to the national.

You do know how averages work right? The argument is that the distribution is different in MCPS with a lot at the top and a lot closer to the bottom making the average about the same as the average nationally but meaning there is a lot more competition at the top.

Mean. You’re talking about the mean. That’s probably what the PP was using when s/he wrote “average,” but it could be the median, too.

Sure, there probably are more high-achieving kids, proportionally, in MCPS than in the rest of the country, but I think the idea that everyone has to have straight As and amazing everything is misguided and more about the parents than the kids.

On what basis are you claiming there are more high achieving kids in the county than elsewhere? These assumptions are made every time this comes up but the only actual evidence suggests otherwise.

What evidence? This county has one of the most highly educated parent populations in the country. Do you think that doesn’t matter for their children’s achievement?

The actual data that has been released showing the numbers closely tracking. I’ll take data over your “this area is so highly educated it must be true” any day.

Then SHOW the actual data. Link to it. I could very well be wrong, but you haven’t shown anything to suggest otherwise.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There must be many hundreds of kids of both genders with As in math and science and 99th percentile MAP. How do they differentiate? Did not attend the open house but the information being shared here is confusing.

Not true. I believe there are about 11,000 current eighth graders. Which means that the top 1 percent is 110 kids. There are 200 places county wide in SMACS for example, plus IB programs, CAP and others. And not all of those kids will have all As. Now I know you will claim that the MCPS scores skew much higher, but that’s simply not true. My child bought home their MAP report this week and it clearly shows the MCPS averages are almost identical to the national.

You do know how averages work right? The argument is that the distribution is different in MCPS with a lot at the top and a lot closer to the bottom making the average about the same as the average nationally but meaning there is a lot more competition at the top.

Mean. You’re talking about the mean. That’s probably what the PP was using when s/he wrote “average,” but it could be the median, too.

Sure, there probably are more high-achieving kids, proportionally, in MCPS than in the rest of the country, but I think the idea that everyone has to have straight As and amazing everything is misguided and more about the parents than the kids.

On what basis are you claiming there are more high achieving kids in the county than elsewhere? These assumptions are made every time this comes up but the only actual evidence suggests otherwise.

What evidence? This county has one of the most highly educated parent populations in the country. Do you think that doesn’t matter for their children’s achievement?

The actual data that has been released showing the numbers closely tracking. I’ll take data over your “this area is so highly educated it must be true” any day.

Then SHOW the actual data. Link to it. I could very well be wrong, but you haven’t shown anything to suggest otherwise.

Look at your kids MAP report for a start. Not everything is online.