If you're in Takoma Park schools...

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
the percentage of Blair magnet students who come from "Westside schools" is nowhere near as high as folks on DCUM seem to think. There are a lot of in-bounds kids, some kids from other DCC schools, etc.

Roughly 40% of the 81 OOB magnet kids who took SAT's at Blair belong to the cohort if someone wants to figure it out.

Here’s a ballpark attempt to eliminate the out of boundary magnet scores from Blair’s SAT average for the largest common cohort.

1526 Blair Magnet SAT average
1326 Blair SAT average score for common cohort
250 total number of kids from cohort that took SAT
32 number of out of boundary magnet kids from cohort that took the SAT
where “x” is Blair’s in boundary SAT average for largest common cohort

(250 - 32) / 250 = 87% non-magnet cohort total
13% magnet % of cohort total

0.85x + 0.13 * 1526 = 1326
0.87x + 198 = 1326
0.9x = 1326 – 198
x = (1326 – 198) / 0.87 = 1296 SAT average without

Blair’s SAT average for the largest cohort common to those schools even without magnet scores is still respectable, but mostly aside the point that these schools are pretty much the same when looking at similar cohorts.

[Anonymous]

^^^^^ Thanks for that, although I do think removing Blair cohort but not other DCC feeders elides the issue a little.

PP asserted that "whites and asian magnet kids" were artificially inflating Blair's scores.

The insinuation, given the topic of this thread, was that those white and Asian students are coming from outside the DCC. So, while it is basically impossible to tease out DCC magnet kids from non-DCC magnet kids, we should be clear that non-cohort does not mean "W kids." It means some "W kids" PLUS some Northwood and Einstein and others.

[Anonymous]

The PP's intent was to look past simple averages that GS uses which serve only to identify which high-schools draw a higher percentage of rich kids., and provide a better, refined analysis that looks at the granular data.

When you isolate for race which is proxy a for socioeconomic status there is not much of a disparity between the performance of kids of the same backgrounds across these schools.

For example, when you compare average SAT scores for MCPS schools for a larger demographic common to all these schools the great schools narrative begins to fall apart and it becomes clear they're not all that different.

Blair 1326
Walter Johnson 1275
Wooton 1262
Churchill 1257
Wheaton 1173
Einstein 1148

The data is for the largest cohort common to the aforementioned schools on page 8.
http://montgomeryschoolsmd.org/departments/sharedaccountability/reports/2017/1771102HS%20Princ_SAT%20Partic_Perf%20Class%20of%202017.pdf

Thanks! I see the data on page 8. Thanks for clearing that up.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:^^^^^ Thanks for that, although I do think removing Blair cohort but not other DCC feeders elides the issue a little.

PP asserted that "whites and asian magnet kids" were artificially inflating Blair's scores.

The insinuation, given the topic of this thread, was that those white and Asian students are coming from outside the DCC. So, while it is basically impossible to tease out DCC magnet kids from non-DCC magnet kids, we should be clear that non-cohort does not mean "W kids." It means some "W kids" PLUS some Northwood and Einstein and others.

I had read that 81 OOB magnet kids took the SAT and simply multiplied that by the magnet's cohort percentage. Basically 32 OOB white magnet kids with an SAT average of 1526 out of 250 total from that cohort that took the SATs and contributed to the statistic (1326).

The point being is Blair and the other schools listed perform similarly for similar cohorts.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:^^^^^ Thanks for that, although I do think removing Blair cohort but not other DCC feeders elides the issue a little.

PP asserted that "whites and asian magnet kids" were artificially inflating Blair's scores.

The insinuation, given the topic of this thread, was that those white and Asian students are coming from outside the DCC. So, while it is basically impossible to tease out DCC magnet kids from non-DCC magnet kids, we should be clear that non-cohort does not mean "W kids." It means some "W kids" PLUS some Northwood and Einstein and others.

That's a good point. The statistic was inclusive and my attempt to filter out the magnet kids was just an exercise. I don't honestly believe that's important or meaningful. Especially since those kids in particular chose to attend Blair.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:If you're in Takoma Park schools, do you wish you could send your kids to another MoCo or NW DC school instead? Why or why not? We are currently in TP and are interested in hearing people's experiences with the schools as our children aren't yet school-aged. Do you have concerns about the quality of education your child is receiving and/or their safety?

Does living in TP make sense for your current jobs and commutes and possibly any future jobs' locations?
I assume you're living there to balance cost of a house with distance of a commute?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If you're in Takoma Park schools, do you wish you could send your kids to another MoCo or NW DC school instead? Why or why not? We are currently in TP and are interested in hearing people's experiences with the schools as our children aren't yet school-aged. Do you have concerns about the quality of education your child is receiving and/or their safety?

Does living in TP make sense for your current jobs and commutes and possibly any future jobs' locations?
I assume you're living there to balance cost of a house with distance of a commute?

For many people who work downtown, it does. For example, the subway ride from the Takoma station to Metro Center is under 20 minutes. I also enjoy being a short bike ride to other interesting places in areas like Petworth. However, I didn't choose to live here because it was less expensive that was a perk. I liked the vibe mostly.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:^^^^^ Thanks for that, although I do think removing Blair cohort but not other DCC feeders elides the issue a little.

PP asserted that "whites and asian magnet kids" were artificially inflating Blair's scores.

The insinuation, given the topic of this thread, was that those white and Asian students are coming from outside the DCC. So, while it is basically impossible to tease out DCC magnet kids from non-DCC magnet kids, we should be clear that non-cohort does not mean "W kids." It means some "W kids" PLUS some Northwood and Einstein and others.

That's a good point. The statistic was inclusive and my attempt to filter out the magnet kids was just an exercise. I don't honestly believe that's important or meaningful. Especially since those kids in particular chose to attend Blair.

PP that you quoted here and I agree. I just get so tired of seeing folks claim that Blair is some sort of hellhole outside of the "white and Asian" magnet kids who are bused in from Potomac or whatever. It erases so many kids - including non-Asian kids of color in the magnet program, kids zoned for Blair or other DCC schools who are in the magnet, and all the kids not in the magnet who are thriving at the school.

[Anonymous]

Blair students did an excellent journalistic piece on racism within Blair a few years ago. They had examples such as an AA kid found in the hallways was given a penalty while a white kid found in the hallway was simply asked to go back to class. The kids at Blair all see and know this. There is a term "white girl pass". The poster upstream talking about white kids being on one set of classes while AA/Latino kids are sitting in another is correct. They may get mixed for electives or classes that don't have different levels but its disturbing how separate things are there. Too many white parents think that if their kid has one POC or biracial friend that everything is integrated. There are small outliers but no one at Blair or anywhere else in Montgomery would argue that there isn't racial and economic segregation within the schools. The magnet may make it a little more stark but its not solely the magnet. The same thing goes on at Einstein etc.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Blair students did an excellent journalistic piece on racism within Blair a few years ago. They had examples such as an AA kid found in the hallways was given a penalty while a white kid found in the hallway was simply asked to go back to class. The kids at Blair all see and know this. There is a term "white girl pass". The poster upstream talking about white kids being on one set of classes while AA/Latino kids are sitting in another is correct. They may get mixed for electives or classes that don't have different levels but its disturbing how separate things are there. Too many white parents think that if their kid has one POC or biracial friend that everything is integrated. There are small outliers but no one at Blair or anywhere else in Montgomery would argue that there isn't racial and economic segregation within the schools. The magnet may make it a little more stark but its not solely the magnet. The same thing goes on at Einstein etc.

The photographs and videos posted of Blair classrooms paint a different picture than your anonymous anecdotes. If this were even remotely true the BOE would definitely love to hear about it, but without real evidence, it sounds a lot like fake news.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:^^^^^ Thanks for that, although I do think removing Blair cohort but not other DCC feeders elides the issue a little.

PP asserted that "whites and asian magnet kids" were artificially inflating Blair's scores.

The insinuation, given the topic of this thread, was that those white and Asian students are coming from outside the DCC. So, while it is basically impossible to tease out DCC magnet kids from non-DCC magnet kids, we should be clear that non-cohort does not mean "W kids." It means some "W kids" PLUS some Northwood and Einstein and others.

That's a good point. The statistic was inclusive and my attempt to filter out the magnet kids was just an exercise. I don't honestly believe that's important or meaningful. Especially since those kids in particular chose to attend Blair.

PP that you quoted here and I agree. I just get so tired of seeing folks claim that Blair is some sort of hellhole outside of the "white and Asian" magnet kids who are bused in from Potomac or whatever. It erases so many kids - including non-Asian kids of color in the magnet program, kids zoned for Blair or other DCC schools who are in the magnet, and all the kids not in the magnet who are thriving at the school.

I agree. My non-magnet kid scored in the low 1400s, and niche.com ranked Blair the most diverse school in MD too. It's been a great experience for us.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If you're in Takoma Park schools, do you wish you could send your kids to another MoCo or NW DC school instead? Why or why not? We are currently in TP and are interested in hearing people's experiences with the schools as our children aren't yet school-aged. Do you have concerns about the quality of education your child is receiving and/or their safety?

Does living in TP make sense for your current jobs and commutes and possibly any future jobs' locations?
I assume you're living there to balance cost of a house with distance of a commute?

For many people who work downtown, it does. For example, the subway ride from the Takoma station to Metro Center is under 20 minutes. I also enjoy being a short bike ride to other interesting places in areas like Petworth. However, I didn't choose to live here because it was less expensive that was a perk. I liked the vibe mostly.

+1. Other than maybe Del Ray, Takoma Park is unique in community feel, down-to-earth values, friendliness and a certain sophistication from its urban-ish location (that also gives you a nice commute and you don't feel isolated or cut-off from DC or other close-in areas).

[Anonymous]

As a W parent I for one am glad that the DCC has Blair and that parents are excited about sending their children there. Imagine what it would be like for them if they didn’t have that, why would anyone wish that on them. The whole point of the DCC was to give them at least a chance to opt into a quality school.