Wall 2022--63% admission rate for 9th
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Anonymous
This is not the first time you’ve posted about this. You don’t know that there interviews were based on looks. Also there are lots of quiet nonglam kids at Walls. Please stop spreading this rumor. |
Anonymous
Agreed. I know some very plain looking freshman at Walls. You can say many things about the interview process, but it’s definitely not a beauty contest. |
Anonymous
The problem isn't PP to whom you replied. The problem is an "interview" element that might last 2 minutes, in which kids are conducting it alone, and for which no standards or scoring rubric have been established or published. That set-up necessarily lends itself to allegations of randomness and appearance based decisions. It is why no company or college or board or anyone would ever conduct interviews this way. |
Anonymous
The problem with implicit bias is that it is just that, implicit. No one goes into an interview looking for the best looking candidate. But what do we mean by "engaging" "socially comfortable", "our kind of people", etc.? Study after study has been done that proves the point. It is why standards and scoring rubrics need to be in place to guard against implicit bias. When (not if, when) the discrimination suit is filed alleging (insert protected class here), SWW will have no viable defense to those claims. The quantitative analysis alone will suffice because there will be no standards or other data on which rely or point. My prediction is that 4 years down the road (assuming no change to the 2 minute interview) the test scores and quantitative measures will prove that eliminating data driven decisions in favor or "our kind of people" was detrimental to objective success. But because this is DC, an increase in diversity will cause the usual suspects to claim success in the name of "equity". Because nothing says equity like lowered expectations. |
Anonymous
NP. I know a kid who was conducting interviews at Walls and he was laughing about this very thing. He definitely made it sound like he was basing his decisions on looks/people he might want to be friends with. This is a ridiculous way to conduct admissions. |
Anonymous
If it was a teenage boy then by "be friends with" you mean "hook up with." |
Anonymous
I’m sure there are employers who extend offers to prospective employees for the same reasons. There are administrators and teachers who select students based on biases they’re not even aware they have. It’s certainly not right, but how do you prevent it? If humans are involved in the process, nothing is foolproof. |
Anonymous
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The point is that there are ways to mitigate the impact of implicit biases - and all evidence points to the fact that, not only has Walls not taken steps to do such mitigation, but that the subjectivity in the process they have in place likely amplifies them.
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Anonymous
I think you mean well, but you've just deployed an age old rhetorical device. Nothing is perfect. Humans are fallible. Therefore let's do nothing. Employers who conduct interviews without standards, job descriptions, rubrics or standard scoring get sued. And lose. Smart employers mandate bias education and development for all employees, and for sure those that conduct interviews. One of the reasons that objective standards (tests, project based assessments, GPA) are used in lieu of interviews and other purely subjective measures is that we have learned over time that subjectivity results in bias, which in turn results in discriminatory behaviors and outcomes. Somehow DC has decided that the way to overcome bias and discrimination is to employ a purely objective standard led by teenagers. |
Anonymous
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I think there are a lot of good points being made about the application/interview process not being as clear and transparent as it should/could be, and that there are elements of implicit bias in play that are likely contributing to whom is being chosen based on the interview that the administration should consider and be more aware of throughout this process.
AND - there is a lot of stock being put into what happened during the interview process for the 2021/2022 school year, which left a lot of disgruntled parents and students. While we did not participate that year, I'm sure it was extremely frustrating and the process was difficult, however it is also important to realize there were a lot of anomalies that year that I do believe they are trying to work out. It was the first year without a test, it was the first time for, at that time, an interim administration who had been put into place with little to no warning, they interviewed twice as many students as they ever had before, and it was all online. Also remember that the interviews are done by teachers and staff - not an admissions team, as in most private schools, so this is outside of their regular work day. I have kids currently attending Walls in 11th grade and 9th grade, so one through the process pre-pandemic and one post. There were problems with both, but nothing like I have heard about 21/22. And I do believe they are trying to figure out what this will all look like going forward and feedback will be important, so if you can find a way to provide that constructively by participating in DCPS surveys or other communication, or even providing it here, that would probably be really helpful. But those looking for information here should consider taking some of what they read with a grain of salt, as it may be being provided by experience during a particularly "off" year. |
Anonymous
This is reasoned and fair. The problem, however, is that nature abhors a vacuum. SWW does not publish or disclose the process (standards, interview structure, etc.). The predictable result result occurs. |
Anonymous
So what is your solution? My children have gone through the admissions process at both Walls and DC private high schools. The private schools were not one iota more transparent than Walls in terms of what they were looking for during the interview. Yes, the interview lasted longer, but that doesn’t yield more insight for the student about how they’re being evaluated. Oh, private school interviews are also subject to the same implicit bias. |
Anonymous
Has it occurred to you that private schools are not a taxpayer-funded public good? |
Anonymous
This. A private school having an opaque system is not the same thing as a public school having a similar system |
Anonymous
The other difference, which I think plays into the emotions surrounding this situation, is that no private school and no other public school that I’m aware of purports to rank its waitlist by merit, using an opaque and subjective process, and then tell each waitlisted student exactly how far from the mark they were. It’s absurd and gratuitously cruel, and I have no idea why Walls devotes so many resources to this project. |