Parents of DCPS HS graduates - were your kids prepared for college?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I would've been OK with Walls pre Covid, under the sharp, dynamic previous head, when an entrance exam was used to screen students and applicants had to submit a standardized test score (PARCC, PSAT, SAT). Post Covid, Walls obviously isn't the school it used to be. Neighbors and friends with sophomore, juniors and seniors describe serious problems like no subs, weak ad hoc humanities instruction (whatever individual teachers want it to be) and teachers quitting mid-year and not being replaced until the fall. We rejected our Walls offer for a private this spring.

You think the sub problem is limited to Walls?! The entire DMV region struggles to find subs. This was an issue before Covid and now it’s really bad. The us has more open positions than workers. Substitute teaching is low paying. Teachers across the country have really bad burnout, just like most working Americans.

Not buying it. I teach at an Arlington public high school where we don't let high school classes fend for themselves for weeks on end without an adult in the room like Walls does these days.

My 5th grader played video games and watched movies for half a school year in her language class time because they couldn’t find a sub. This was before the pandemic.

[Anonymous]

Six, eight, ten years ago, Walls routinely produced 4, 5 even half a dozen National Merit Scholarship semifinalists annually. Here in the 2020s, there are zero some years.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I would've been OK with Walls pre Covid, under the sharp, dynamic previous head, when an entrance exam was used to screen students and applicants had to submit a standardized test score (PARCC, PSAT, SAT). Post Covid, Walls obviously isn't the school it used to be. Neighbors and friends with sophomore, juniors and seniors describe serious problems like no subs, weak ad hoc humanities instruction (whatever individual teachers want it to be) and teachers quitting mid-year and not being replaced until the fall. We rejected our Walls offer for a private this spring.

You think the sub problem is limited to Walls?! The entire DMV region struggles to find subs. This was an issue before Covid and now it’s really bad. The us has more open positions than workers. Substitute teaching is low paying. Teachers across the country have really bad burnout, just like most working Americans.

Not buying it. I teach at an Arlington public high school where we don't let high school classes fend for themselves for weeks on end without an adult in the room like Walls does these days.

My 5th grader played video games and watched movies for half a school year in her language class time because they couldn’t find a sub. This was before the pandemic.

At which school? In VA?

[Anonymous]

The Walls AP score drop-off wave will crest in the next few years. The sophomore class is the first that was admitted without the entrance exam or a standardized test score.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The Walls AP score drop-off wave will crest in the next few years. The sophomore class is the first that was admitted without the entrance exam or a standardized test score.

The real question is how will "your kid" perform. Don't care about the rest. Parents supplement heavily at all the successful schools. Walls is no different.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The Walls AP score drop-off wave will crest in the next few years. The sophomore class is the first that was admitted without the entrance exam or a standardized test score.

There are already people bragging on the Hill Middle school thread how they plan to sneak into Walls even though they’re aware of the extremely weak academics at Stuart Hobson since luckily there is no entrance exam.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My very smart kid went to Walls and then to a selective SLAC and was NOT prepared at all. he didn't know how to organize his time and had bad study habits, and didn't really know how to write papers. It took him at least one semester to figure it out and it was very challenging. He ended up doing very well and has a great job now (2 years out) so it all worked out in the end but DCPS certainly didn't teach him the skills he needed to succeed

I mean...he must have been prepared somewhat. You don't go from struggling in the first semester to doing very well overall with no preparation. I don't know if the W schools can claim they prepare a student better for a selective SLAC...and I have no doubt your kid would have been better prepared if they went to Sidwell. The real question though is would it have made sense for you to pay $200k for Sidwell just to not struggle for one semester? I don't have an answer.

To answer your question, no, paying for Sidwell wasn't an option, and private schools, while excellent academically, come with their own host of issues. And ultimately it all comes out in the wash. I think kids who are poorly prepared by their high schools have to struggle a little more and work a little harder (if they want to succeed) the first couple of years of college, learning the skills others learn in HS. Also, asa college professor I can tell you that kids are generally less prepared now than they were 10-15 years ago and that's across the board. The amount of spoon-feeding we need to do ( we call is diplomatically "scaffolding") is staggering

This works out ok for most but there is very little room (or no) room for error for freshman grades for kids who want to go into medicine or probably competitive law schools or competitive finance jobs. I'm not familiar with the law or finance worlds but I do work closely in medical school admissions and many (most) pre-med students' dreams are broken by the first semester of freshman year. The reality is that probably 5% of kids who enter college being pre-med end up going to med school and much of this is not by choice but because of grades and there is no leeway for a poor first semester.
I recognize that this is not is not a post about medical school admissions but I wanted to point out that there are career choices that are not as forgiving about a kid needing to struggle for a semester or two in college.

This is a good point. DCPS kids are underrepresented in careers such as medicine and Wall Street

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My very smart kid went to Walls and then to a selective SLAC and was NOT prepared at all. he didn't know how to organize his time and had bad study habits, and didn't really know how to write papers. It took him at least one semester to figure it out and it was very challenging. He ended up doing very well and has a great job now (2 years out) so it all worked out in the end but DCPS certainly didn't teach him the skills he needed to succeed

Wait a minute, my kid is at Walls and I know a few other kids that have graduated from there. None of the previous graduates indicate any of the issues you describe. In particular, the time management piece and writing papers. You will drown at Walls without time management skills. They have senior projects and a lot of papers over the years. Walls certainly has issues but not the ones described. Sounds like the independence was just too much initially and he had to stop the partying. That's not on any high school.

True that some of the time management issues were on him. But writing college-level essays is something that a school like Walls ought to have do a better job with. And it just wasn't happening. Also the school did a terrible, terrible job with the senior project. It was a big joke. The "advisor" he was assigned had no idea what he was doing, they got no meaningful guidance whatsoever. It was a huge disappointment. All that said, the kid turned out just fine in the end so maybe it really doesn't matter all so much? One thing I can say about Walls is that other students that year were great-- smart, ambitious, and they all pushed each other intellectually.

I agree that the senior project could be organized much better. A lot of time is wasted and kids get very little guidance. Does anyone even read the final papers?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My very smart kid went to Walls and then to a selective SLAC and was NOT prepared at all. he didn't know how to organize his time and had bad study habits, and didn't really know how to write papers. It took him at least one semester to figure it out and it was very challenging. He ended up doing very well and has a great job now (2 years out) so it all worked out in the end but DCPS certainly didn't teach him the skills he needed to succeed

I mean...he must have been prepared somewhat. You don't go from struggling in the first semester to doing very well overall with no preparation. I don't know if the W schools can claim they prepare a student better for a selective SLAC...and I have no doubt your kid would have been better prepared if they went to Sidwell. The real question though is would it have made sense for you to pay $200k for Sidwell just to not struggle for one semester? I don't have an answer.

To answer your question, no, paying for Sidwell wasn't an option, and private schools, while excellent academically, come with their own host of issues. And ultimately it all comes out in the wash. I think kids who are poorly prepared by their high schools have to struggle a little more and work a little harder (if they want to succeed) the first couple of years of college, learning the skills others learn in HS. Also, asa college professor I can tell you that kids are generally less prepared now than they were 10-15 years ago and that's across the board. The amount of spoon-feeding we need to do ( we call is diplomatically "scaffolding") is staggering

This works out ok for most but there is very little room (or no) room for error for freshman grades for kids who want to go into medicine or probably competitive law schools or competitive finance jobs. I'm not familiar with the law or finance worlds but I do work closely in medical school admissions and many (most) pre-med students' dreams are broken by the first semester of freshman year. The reality is that probably 5% of kids who enter college being pre-med end up going to med school and much of this is not by choice but because of grades and there is no leeway for a poor first semester.
I recognize that this is not is not a post about medical school admissions but I wanted to point out that there are career choices that are not as forgiving about a kid needing to struggle for a semester or two in college.

This is a good point. DCPS kids are underrepresented in careers such as medicine and Wall Street

So how in the world would you know this.....................

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My very smart kid went to Walls and then to a selective SLAC and was NOT prepared at all. he didn't know how to organize his time and had bad study habits, and didn't really know how to write papers. It took him at least one semester to figure it out and it was very challenging. He ended up doing very well and has a great job now (2 years out) so it all worked out in the end but DCPS certainly didn't teach him the skills he needed to succeed

I mean...he must have been prepared somewhat. You don't go from struggling in the first semester to doing very well overall with no preparation. I don't know if the W schools can claim they prepare a student better for a selective SLAC...and I have no doubt your kid would have been better prepared if they went to Sidwell. The real question though is would it have made sense for you to pay $200k for Sidwell just to not struggle for one semester? I don't have an answer.

To answer your question, no, paying for Sidwell wasn't an option, and private schools, while excellent academically, come with their own host of issues. And ultimately it all comes out in the wash. I think kids who are poorly prepared by their high schools have to struggle a little more and work a little harder (if they want to succeed) the first couple of years of college, learning the skills others learn in HS. Also, asa college professor I can tell you that kids are generally less prepared now than they were 10-15 years ago and that's across the board. The amount of spoon-feeding we need to do ( we call is diplomatically "scaffolding") is staggering

This works out ok for most but there is very little room (or no) room for error for freshman grades for kids who want to go into medicine or probably competitive law schools or competitive finance jobs. I'm not familiar with the law or finance worlds but I do work closely in medical school admissions and many (most) pre-med students' dreams are broken by the first semester of freshman year. The reality is that probably 5% of kids who enter college being pre-med end up going to med school and much of this is not by choice but because of grades and there is no leeway for a poor first semester.
I recognize that this is not is not a post about medical school admissions but I wanted to point out that there are career choices that are not as forgiving about a kid needing to struggle for a semester or two in college.

This is a good point. DCPS kids are underrepresented in careers such as medicine and Wall Street

So how in the world would you know this.....................

I know this because I’m in one of these fields. I hardly ever come across new employees coming from DCPS. Plenty of local private school kids. You can also search on linked in for career professionals from JR or Walls, etc so you can network with alumni from your high school. If your kid tries that once they are in college, it can be frustrating because they will hardly find any DCPS graduates in these particular fields. This is partly where the private school advantage kicks in. Because powerful alumni can help recent graduates get internships, etc.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My very smart kid went to Walls and then to a selective SLAC and was NOT prepared at all. he didn't know how to organize his time and had bad study habits, and didn't really know how to write papers. It took him at least one semester to figure it out and it was very challenging. He ended up doing very well and has a great job now (2 years out) so it all worked out in the end but DCPS certainly didn't teach him the skills he needed to succeed

I mean...he must have been prepared somewhat. You don't go from struggling in the first semester to doing very well overall with no preparation. I don't know if the W schools can claim they prepare a student better for a selective SLAC...and I have no doubt your kid would have been better prepared if they went to Sidwell. The real question though is would it have made sense for you to pay $200k for Sidwell just to not struggle for one semester? I don't have an answer.

To answer your question, no, paying for Sidwell wasn't an option, and private schools, while excellent academically, come with their own host of issues. And ultimately it all comes out in the wash. I think kids who are poorly prepared by their high schools have to struggle a little more and work a little harder (if they want to succeed) the first couple of years of college, learning the skills others learn in HS. Also, asa college professor I can tell you that kids are generally less prepared now than they were 10-15 years ago and that's across the board. The amount of spoon-feeding we need to do ( we call is diplomatically "scaffolding") is staggering

This works out ok for most but there is very little room (or no) room for error for freshman grades for kids who want to go into medicine or probably competitive law schools or competitive finance jobs. I'm not familiar with the law or finance worlds but I do work closely in medical school admissions and many (most) pre-med students' dreams are broken by the first semester of freshman year. The reality is that probably 5% of kids who enter college being pre-med end up going to med school and much of this is not by choice but because of grades and there is no leeway for a poor first semester.
I recognize that this is not is not a post about medical school admissions but I wanted to point out that there are career choices that are not as forgiving about a kid needing to struggle for a semester or two in college.

This is a good point. DCPS kids are underrepresented in careers such as medicine and Wall Street

So how in the world would you know this.....................

I know this because I’m in one of these fields. I hardly ever come across new employees coming from DCPS. Plenty of local private school kids. You can also search on linked in for career professionals from JR or Walls, etc so you can network with alumni from your high school. If your kid tries that once they are in college, it can be frustrating because they will hardly find any DCPS graduates in these particular fields. This is partly where the private school advantage kicks in. Because powerful alumni can help recent graduates get internships, etc.

you’re not very quantitatively smart for someone who likely believes they are smart

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My very smart kid went to Walls and then to a selective SLAC and was NOT prepared at all. he didn't know how to organize his time and had bad study habits, and didn't really know how to write papers. It took him at least one semester to figure it out and it was very challenging. He ended up doing very well and has a great job now (2 years out) so it all worked out in the end but DCPS certainly didn't teach him the skills he needed to succeed

I mean...he must have been prepared somewhat. You don't go from struggling in the first semester to doing very well overall with no preparation. I don't know if the W schools can claim they prepare a student better for a selective SLAC...and I have no doubt your kid would have been better prepared if they went to Sidwell. The real question though is would it have made sense for you to pay $200k for Sidwell just to not struggle for one semester? I don't have an answer.

To answer your question, no, paying for Sidwell wasn't an option, and private schools, while excellent academically, come with their own host of issues. And ultimately it all comes out in the wash. I think kids who are poorly prepared by their high schools have to struggle a little more and work a little harder (if they want to succeed) the first couple of years of college, learning the skills others learn in HS. Also, asa college professor I can tell you that kids are generally less prepared now than they were 10-15 years ago and that's across the board. The amount of spoon-feeding we need to do ( we call is diplomatically "scaffolding") is staggering

This works out ok for most but there is very little room (or no) room for error for freshman grades for kids who want to go into medicine or probably competitive law schools or competitive finance jobs. I'm not familiar with the law or finance worlds but I do work closely in medical school admissions and many (most) pre-med students' dreams are broken by the first semester of freshman year. The reality is that probably 5% of kids who enter college being pre-med end up going to med school and much of this is not by choice but because of grades and there is no leeway for a poor first semester.
I recognize that this is not is not a post about medical school admissions but I wanted to point out that there are career choices that are not as forgiving about a kid needing to struggle for a semester or two in college.

This is a good point. DCPS kids are underrepresented in careers such as medicine and Wall Street

So how in the world would you know this.....................

I know this because I’m in one of these fields. I hardly ever come across new employees coming from DCPS. Plenty of local private school kids. You can also search on linked in for career professionals from JR or Walls, etc so you can network with alumni from your high school. If your kid tries that once they are in college, it can be frustrating because they will hardly find any DCPS graduates in these particular fields. This is partly where the private school advantage kicks in. Because powerful alumni can help recent graduates get internships, etc.

SMH...I really hope no one depends on your analysis in any meaningful way

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Six, eight, ten years ago, Walls routinely produced 4, 5 even half a dozen National Merit Scholarship semifinalists annually. Here in the 2020s, there are zero some years.

So, here is the list of schools in DC and number of 2023 NMSFs:

Maret - 1
JR - 1
NCS - 2
STA - 3
GDS - 4
Sidwell -5
Walls - 6 (I am not NMSF...but I think that is 1/2 a dozen)

Look at the Presidential Scholars as well which is based primarily on SAT Scores and Walls has the most in DC.

Why do people post demonstrably false information?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My very smart kid went to Walls and then to a selective SLAC and was NOT prepared at all. he didn't know how to organize his time and had bad study habits, and didn't really know how to write papers. It took him at least one semester to figure it out and it was very challenging. He ended up doing very well and has a great job now (2 years out) so it all worked out in the end but DCPS certainly didn't teach him the skills he needed to succeed

I mean...he must have been prepared somewhat. You don't go from struggling in the first semester to doing very well overall with no preparation. I don't know if the W schools can claim they prepare a student better for a selective SLAC...and I have no doubt your kid would have been better prepared if they went to Sidwell. The real question though is would it have made sense for you to pay $200k for Sidwell just to not struggle for one semester? I don't have an answer.

To answer your question, no, paying for Sidwell wasn't an option, and private schools, while excellent academically, come with their own host of issues. And ultimately it all comes out in the wash. I think kids who are poorly prepared by their high schools have to struggle a little more and work a little harder (if they want to succeed) the first couple of years of college, learning the skills others learn in HS. Also, asa college professor I can tell you that kids are generally less prepared now than they were 10-15 years ago and that's across the board. The amount of spoon-feeding we need to do ( we call is diplomatically "scaffolding") is staggering

This works out ok for most but there is very little room (or no) room for error for freshman grades for kids who want to go into medicine or probably competitive law schools or competitive finance jobs. I'm not familiar with the law or finance worlds but I do work closely in medical school admissions and many (most) pre-med students' dreams are broken by the first semester of freshman year. The reality is that probably 5% of kids who enter college being pre-med end up going to med school and much of this is not by choice but because of grades and there is no leeway for a poor first semester.
I recognize that this is not is not a post about medical school admissions but I wanted to point out that there are career choices that are not as forgiving about a kid needing to struggle for a semester or two in college.

This is a good point. DCPS kids are underrepresented in careers such as medicine and Wall Street

So how in the world would you know this.....................

I know this because I’m in one of these fields. I hardly ever come across new employees coming from DCPS. Plenty of local private school kids. You can also search on linked in for career professionals from JR or Walls, etc so you can network with alumni from your high school. If your kid tries that once they are in college, it can be frustrating because they will hardly find any DCPS graduates in these particular fields. This is partly where the private school advantage kicks in. Because powerful alumni can help recent graduates get internships, etc.

you’re not very quantitatively smart for someone who likely believes they are smart

Feel free to insult me if you want but I’m not wrong. You can do the analysis yourself using linked in. No need to shoot the messenger. It is possible JR kids are not interested in these particular jobs but that also raises the question - why not?

[Anonymous]

On average, kids often follow in their parents footsteps to some degree. There is a high correlation between doctors kids becoming doctors. Same with lawyers, Wall Street related careers. Many DC folk at JR are feds.
You see many JR kids majoring in Poli Sci, International Relations, Econ, Communications.