McKinley Tech and Banneker - why don't more white students attend?

[Anonymous]

I think Jay Mathews and the challenge index he does with the Post only looks at number of seniors taking APs and their AP results. It is possible that US News looks at the entire high school population. That might / could explain the difference. Just a theory.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:They may be application schools but I don't think they have impressive AP pass rates, graduation rates, etc for "application" schools. The standards in DC are so low sometimes, just because you pass a test doesnt mean anything. I have seen a lot of DCPS graduates in my office as interns and many are functionally illiterate but UDC can't wait to take their loan money for tuition. Its such a racket.

Banneker's graduation rate: 100%, Banneker's college acceptance rate: 100%. Washington Post: "Banneker is 60 percent low-income, yet its passing rate for AP tests is 89 percent, right up there with Wootton at 88 percent and Langley at 88 percent. It has about the same test participation rate as the two suburban schools. According to principal Anita Berger, less than 1 percent of students ever leave because the work is too hard."

I'd like to see a data source for Banneker's alleged 89% AP pass rate. Erich Martel's data has Banneker's 3 or higher rate at about 20% for 2012 and 2013, with just one 5 out of 560 tests taken.

The above quote is from a Jay Mathews column from March 2015. This is what US News reported in their 2015 high schools report http://www.usnews.com/education/best-high-schools/district-of-columbia/districts/district-of-columbia-public-schools/benjamin-banneker-academic-high-school-4650/test-scores

The US News page also reports a 20% pass rate. I guess Jay Mathews pulled the 89% number out of his ass.

Exactly. So the real mystery would be IF more white students chose to attend either school. There's zero mystery why they don't: they have better alternatives, and closer.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:They may be application schools but I don't think they have impressive AP pass rates, graduation rates, etc for "application" schools. The standards in DC are so low sometimes, just because you pass a test doesnt mean anything. I have seen a lot of DCPS graduates in my office as interns and many are functionally illiterate but UDC can't wait to take their loan money for tuition. Its such a racket.

Banneker's graduation rate: 100%, Banneker's college acceptance rate: 100%. Washington Post: "Banneker is 60 percent low-income, yet its passing rate for AP tests is 89 percent, right up there with Wootton at 88 percent and Langley at 88 percent. It has about the same test participation rate as the two suburban schools. According to principal Anita Berger, less than 1 percent of students ever leave because the work is too hard."

Maybe the academics need to be more rigorous.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I don't know very much about either school. Are they neighborhood schools and the student population reflects that?

They're both city-wide application only public schools. With great academic results.

+1. This is the point of the question, I believe. High SES parents clamoring for schools that have high academic standards, particularly white parents whose children are not zoned for the Deal/Wilson feeder, but who do not give McKinley and Banneker a chance either.

There was a long Banneker thread here a few months ago. Essentially, yes, academics there are higher than other black-majority schools, but lower than TJ, Wilson, SWS, so there's no particular reason why a white family would choose to send their kids there.

Have you looked at test scores and college admission rates? Where do you get your information about Banneker having lower academics than SWS or Wilson? As a previous poster stated, many white students probably would not pass the admission test. Anyway, the school is doing quite well without white students.

Current Banneker parent here, regarding the bolded, Banneker does not have an admissions test. There is an interview and an essay.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I don't know very much about either school. Are they neighborhood schools and the student population reflects that?

They're both city-wide application only public schools. With great academic results.

+1. This is the point of the question, I believe. High SES parents clamoring for schools that have high academic standards, particularly white parents whose children are not zoned for the Deal/Wilson feeder, but who do not give McKinley and Banneker a chance either.

There was a long Banneker thread here a few months ago. Essentially, yes, academics there are higher than other black-majority schools, but lower than TJ, Wilson, SWS, so there's no particular reason why a white family would choose to send their kids there.

Have you looked at test scores and college admission rates? Where do you get your information about Banneker having lower academics than SWS or Wilson? As a previous poster stated, many white students probably would not pass the admission test. Anyway, the school is doing quite well without white students.

Current Banneker parent here, regarding the bolded, Banneker does not have an admissions test. There is an interview and an essay.

Thank you. Can you clarify something else: is there some kind of counselling out for kids, especially boys, who are not up to academic standards? I've heard that happens often, but not sure how, and whether it's purely voluntary or not.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I don't know very much about either school. Are they neighborhood schools and the student population reflects that?

They're both city-wide application only public schools. With great academic results.

+1. This is the point of the question, I believe. High SES parents clamoring for schools that have high academic standards, particularly white parents whose children are not zoned for the Deal/Wilson feeder, but who do not give McKinley and Banneker a chance either.

There was a long Banneker thread here a few months ago. Essentially, yes, academics there are higher than other black-majority schools, but lower than TJ, Wilson, SWS, so there's no particular reason why a white family would choose to send their kids there.

Have you looked at test scores and college admission rates? Where do you get your information about Banneker having lower academics than SWS or Wilson? As a previous poster stated, many white students probably would not pass the admission test. Anyway, the school is doing quite well without white students.

White students in DC would easily gain admission to Banneker, unless they were turned down due to race.

Banneker is better than most of the high schools in DC, but the average test scores are well below what the College Board has identified as predictive of success in an accredited four-year college or university.

You have to be willing to work hard. My dd told the interviewing committee that she couldn't handle pressure. She was not accepted.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I don't know very much about either school. Are they neighborhood schools and the student population reflects that?

They're both city-wide application only public schools. With great academic results.

+1. This is the point of the question, I believe. High SES parents clamoring for schools that have high academic standards, particularly white parents whose children are not zoned for the Deal/Wilson feeder, but who do not give McKinley and Banneker a chance either.

There was a long Banneker thread here a few months ago. Essentially, yes, academics there are higher than other black-majority schools, but lower than TJ, Wilson, SWS, so there's no particular reason why a white family would choose to send their kids there.

Have you looked at test scores and college admission rates? Where do you get your information about Banneker having lower academics than SWS or Wilson? As a previous poster stated, many white students probably would not pass the admission test. Anyway, the school is doing quite well without white students.

Current Banneker parent here, regarding the bolded, Banneker does not have an admissions test. There is an interview and an essay.

Thank you. Can you clarify something else: is there some kind of counselling out for kids, especially boys, who are not up to academic standards? I've heard that happens often, but not sure how, and whether it's purely voluntary or not.

There is definitely counseling out, and it isn't just for boys (I know a girl who was told she was not going to 'make it' during her and she withdrew, transferring to CHEC). I have never found anything in writing but have heard that one must maintain a 2.5 GPA, which is actually challenging given Banneker's unusual grading scale.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I don't know very much about either school. Are they neighborhood schools and the student population reflects that?

They're both city-wide application only public schools. With great academic results.

+1. This is the point of the question, I believe. High SES parents clamoring for schools that have high academic standards, particularly white parents whose children are not zoned for the Deal/Wilson feeder, but who do not give McKinley and Banneker a chance either.

There was a long Banneker thread here a few months ago. Essentially, yes, academics there are higher than other black-majority schools, but lower than TJ, Wilson, SWS, so there's no particular reason why a white family would choose to send their kids there.

Have you looked at test scores and college admission rates? Where do you get your information about Banneker having lower academics than SWS or Wilson? As a previous poster stated, many white students probably would not pass the admission test. Anyway, the school is doing quite well without white students.

Current Banneker parent here, regarding the bolded, Banneker does not have an admissions test. There is an interview and an essay.

Thank you. Can you clarify something else: is there some kind of counselling out for kids, especially boys, who are not up to academic standards? I've heard that happens often, but not sure how, and whether it's purely voluntary or not.

There is definitely counseling out, and it isn't just for boys (I know a girl who was told she was not going to 'make it' during her and she withdrew, transferring to CHEC). I have never found anything in writing but have heard that one must maintain a 2.5 GPA, which is actually challenging given Banneker's unusual grading scale.

Thank you. That explains what some PP claimed before -- "Banneker's graduation rate: 100%, Banneker's college acceptance rate: 100%" Those rates obviously exclude everyone who has been counselled out.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I don't know very much about either school. Are they neighborhood schools and the student population reflects that?

They're both city-wide application only public schools. With great academic results.

+1. This is the point of the question, I believe. High SES parents clamoring for schools that have high academic standards, particularly white parents whose children are not zoned for the Deal/Wilson feeder, but who do not give McKinley and Banneker a chance either.

There was a long Banneker thread here a few months ago. Essentially, yes, academics there are higher than other black-majority schools, but lower than TJ, Wilson, SWS, so there's no particular reason why a white family would choose to send their kids there.

Have you looked at test scores and college admission rates? Where do you get your information about Banneker having lower academics than SWS or Wilson? As a previous poster stated, many white students probably would not pass the admission test. Anyway, the school is doing quite well without white students.

Current Banneker parent here, regarding the bolded, Banneker does not have an admissions test. There is an interview and an essay.

Thank you. Can you clarify something else: is there some kind of counselling out for kids, especially boys, who are not up to academic standards? I've heard that happens often, but not sure how, and whether it's purely voluntary or not.

I see someone answered already, but I'm the person you quoted so I'll also answer. I have a son and he's a sophmore. Many of his classmates were told they could not return after freshman year. Most of them boys and some of them didn't even make it halfway through freshman year. They definitely put you out, although I think it's a 2.0 and not a 2.5. I don't know for sure though. This year Banneker modified their grading scale so it's more in line to what other schools use. Thank goodness. That alternative grading scale they used was ridiculously hard!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I don't know very much about either school. Are they neighborhood schools and the student population reflects that?

They're both city-wide application only public schools. With great academic results.

+1. This is the point of the question, I believe. High SES parents clamoring for schools that have high academic standards, particularly white parents whose children are not zoned for the Deal/Wilson feeder, but who do not give McKinley and Banneker a chance either.

There was a long Banneker thread here a few months ago. Essentially, yes, academics there are higher than other black-majority schools, but lower than TJ, Wilson, SWS, so there's no particular reason why a white family would choose to send their kids there.

Have you looked at test scores and college admission rates? Where do you get your information about Banneker having lower academics than SWS or Wilson? As a previous poster stated, many white students probably would not pass the admission test. Anyway, the school is doing quite well without white students.

Current Banneker parent here, regarding the bolded, Banneker does not have an admissions test. There is an interview and an essay.

Thank you. Can you clarify something else: is there some kind of counselling out for kids, especially boys, who are not up to academic standards? I've heard that happens often, but not sure how, and whether it's purely voluntary or not.

I see someone answered already, but I'm the person you quoted so I'll also answer. I have a son and he's a sophmore. Many of his classmates were told they could not return after freshman year. Most of them boys and some of them didn't even make it halfway through freshman year. They definitely put you out, although I think it's a 2.0 and not a 2.5. I don't know for sure though. This year Banneker modified their grading scale so it's more in line to what other schools use. Thank goodness. That alternative grading scale they used was ridiculously hard!

I looked up the grading scale. An 87 is a C! Insane.

[Anonymous]

When I took ap tests in the 80's they cost about... 75 dollars per? I doubt that's gone down.

Do banneker students take them for free? No? Might that not effect their scores? That many of their students don't bother spending hundreds of dollars for a bullshit test because they just want to... go to college and learn stuff? Not skip things? I took a few AP exams and got 3s and 4s. It didn't really make any difference. I think they're kind of bullshit.

[Anonymous]

affect their scores, even. Apologies. Typing o phone.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:When I took ap tests in the 80's they cost about... 75 dollars per? I doubt that's gone down.

Do banneker students take them for free? No? Might that not effect their scores? That many of their students don't bother spending hundreds of dollars for a bullshit test because they just want to... go to college and learn stuff? Not skip things? I took a few AP exams and got 3s and 4s. It didn't really make any difference. I think they're kind of bullshit.

DCPS pays the fees for kids at all DCPS high schools.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I don't know very much about either school. Are they neighborhood schools and the student population reflects that?

They're both city-wide application only public schools. With great academic results.

+1. This is the point of the question, I believe. High SES parents clamoring for schools that have high academic standards, particularly white parents whose children are not zoned for the Deal/Wilson feeder, but who do not give McKinley and Banneker a chance either.

There was a long Banneker thread here a few months ago. Essentially, yes, academics there are higher than other black-majority schools, but lower than TJ, Wilson, SWS, so there's no particular reason why a white family would choose to send their kids there.

Have you looked at test scores and college admission rates? Where do you get your information about Banneker having lower academics than SWS or Wilson? As a previous poster stated, many white students probably would not pass the admission test. Anyway, the school is doing quite well without white students.

Current Banneker parent here, regarding the bolded, Banneker does not have an admissions test. There is an interview and an essay.

Thank you. Can you clarify something else: is there some kind of counselling out for kids, especially boys, who are not up to academic standards? I've heard that happens often, but not sure how, and whether it's purely voluntary or not.

I see someone answered already, but I'm the person you quoted so I'll also answer. I have a son and he's a sophmore. Many of his classmates were told they could not return after freshman year. Most of them boys and some of them didn't even make it halfway through freshman year. They definitely put you out, although I think it's a 2.0 and not a 2.5. I don't know for sure though. This year Banneker modified their grading scale so it's more in line to what other schools use. Thank goodness. That alternative grading scale they used was ridiculously hard!

I looked up the grading scale. An 87 is a C! Insane.

That's the old grade scale, they are horrible about updating the website. Although I do see they have a new website that looks so much better than the old one. But yeah, thank God they modified that old grading scale. It was horrible!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I don't know very much about either school. Are they neighborhood schools and the student population reflects that?

They're both city-wide application only public schools. With great academic results.

+1. This is the point of the question, I believe. High SES parents clamoring for schools that have high academic standards, particularly white parents whose children are not zoned for the Deal/Wilson feeder, but who do not give McKinley and Banneker a chance either.

There was a long Banneker thread here a few months ago. Essentially, yes, academics there are higher than other black-majority schools, but lower than TJ, Wilson, SWS, so there's no particular reason why a white family would choose to send their kids there.

Have you looked at test scores and college admission rates? Where do you get your information about Banneker having lower academics than SWS or Wilson? As a previous poster stated, many white students probably would not pass the admission test. Anyway, the school is doing quite well without white students.

Current Banneker parent here, regarding the bolded, Banneker does not have an admissions test. There is an interview and an essay.

Thank you. Can you clarify something else: is there some kind of counselling out for kids, especially boys, who are not up to academic standards? I've heard that happens often, but not sure how, and whether it's purely voluntary or not.

There is definitely counseling out, and it isn't just for boys (I know a girl who was told she was not going to 'make it' during her and she withdrew, transferring to CHEC). I have never found anything in writing but have heard that one must maintain a 2.5 GPA, which is actually challenging given Banneker's unusual grading scale.

Thank you. That explains what some PP claimed before -- "Banneker's graduation rate: 100%, Banneker's college acceptance rate: 100%" Those rates obviously exclude everyone who has been counselled out.

That doesn't take away from the fact that it still has high graduation and college acceptance rates. Private schools counsel out kids that cant cut it but no one tries to make their outcomes look fake. I think Banneker is doing a wonderful job.