TKPK public schools vs. AUP/Tenleytown/Friendship Heights public schools

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:That area is part of a consortium giving people some choice in HS...though Blair is often considered the strongest option.

You mean the 4/10 high school is the strongest?

Yes, Blair also has 10X the National Merit Finalists, Regeneron Scholarships than the other HS. It's head and shoulders over those other schools.

That is the magnet.

It has some impact but less than you'd think.

I believe what PP means is that the Blair magnet takes some of the county's brightest students whereas the rest of Blair just takes whomever. So the school is really a school within a school. The magnet is a 10. Genpop is a 3. Weighted average is a 4.

I mean, every public high school "just takes whomever." You seem to be throwing around scores like you know something, but no site breaks out magnet vs. non-magnet test scores.

False. A breakout of the magnet has been published up until at least 2018.
https://mbhs.edu/departments/counseling/MagnetProfile.pdf

It’s 100 kids per class, so 400 kids total which is 12.5% of the student population.

In 2018 these kids had a average ACT of 35 and an average SAT of 1531.

These kids are elite.

This was settled years ago.
The SAT group refers to one grade.
There are 100 magnet students per grade and about 30 of those are from out of boundary and belong to this cohort.
It has also been published the average magnet SAT was around 1520.
Now accounting for 30 students with 1520 from that total group reduces their score to a little over 1290 which is still much higher than this cohort at any W.ially higher

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:That area is part of a consortium giving people some choice in HS...though Blair is often considered the strongest option.

You mean the 4/10 high school is the strongest?

Yes, Blair also has 10X the National Merit Finalists, Regeneron Scholarships than the other HS. It's head and shoulders over those other schools.

That is the magnet.

It has some impact but less than you'd think.

I believe what PP means is that the Blair magnet takes some of the county's brightest students whereas the rest of Blair just takes whomever. So the school is really a school within a school. The magnet is a 10. Genpop is a 3. Weighted average is a 4.

I mean, every public high school "just takes whomever." You seem to be throwing around scores like you know something, but no site breaks out magnet vs. non-magnet test scores.

False. A breakout of the magnet has been published up until at least 2018.
https://mbhs.edu/departments/counseling/MagnetProfile.pdf

It’s 100 kids per class, so 400 kids total which is 12.5% of the student population.

In 2018 these kids had a average ACT of 35 and an average SAT of 1531.

These kids are elite.

This was settled years ago.
The SAT group refers to one grade.
There are 100 magnet students per grade and about 30 of those are from out of boundary and belong to this cohort.
It has also been published the average magnet SAT was around 1520.
Now accounting for 30 students with 1520 from that total group reduces their score to a little over 1290 which is still much higher than this cohort at any W.ially higher

I remember that. Makes sense to me.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:That area is part of a consortium giving people some choice in HS...though Blair is often considered the strongest option.

You mean the 4/10 high school is the strongest?

Yes, Blair also has 10X the National Merit Finalists, Regeneron Scholarships than the other HS. It's head and shoulders over those other schools.

That is the magnet.

It has some impact but less than you'd think.

I believe what PP means is that the Blair magnet takes some of the county's brightest students whereas the rest of Blair just takes whomever. So the school is really a school within a school. The magnet is a 10. Genpop is a 3. Weighted average is a 4.

I mean, every public high school "just takes whomever." You seem to be throwing around scores like you know something, but no site breaks out magnet vs. non-magnet test scores.

False. A breakout of the magnet has been published up until at least 2018.
https://mbhs.edu/departments/counseling/MagnetProfile.pdf

It’s 100 kids per class, so 400 kids total which is 12.5% of the student population.

In 2018 these kids had a average ACT of 35 and an average SAT of 1531.

These kids are elite.

This was settled years ago.
The SAT group refers to one grade.
There are 100 magnet students per grade and about 30 of those are from out of boundary and belong to this cohort.
It has also been published the average magnet SAT was around 1520.
Now accounting for 30 students with 1520 from that total group reduces their score to a little over 1290 which is still much higher than this cohort at any W.ially higher

That's fantastic. But why the constant comparison to the W schools?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:That area is part of a consortium giving people some choice in HS...though Blair is often considered the strongest option.

You mean the 4/10 high school is the strongest?

Yes, Blair also has 10X the National Merit Finalists, Regeneron Scholarships than the other HS. It's head and shoulders over those other schools.

That is the magnet.

It has some impact but less than you'd think.

I believe what PP means is that the Blair magnet takes some of the county's brightest students whereas the rest of Blair just takes whomever. So the school is really a school within a school. The magnet is a 10. Genpop is a 3. Weighted average is a 4.

I mean, every public high school "just takes whomever." You seem to be throwing around scores like you know something, but no site breaks out magnet vs. non-magnet test scores.

False. A breakout of the magnet has been published up until at least 2018.
https://mbhs.edu/departments/counseling/MagnetProfile.pdf

It’s 100 kids per class, so 400 kids total which is 12.5% of the student population.

In 2018 these kids had a average ACT of 35 and an average SAT of 1531.

These kids are elite.

This was settled years ago.
The SAT group refers to one grade.
There are 100 magnet students per grade and about 30 of those are from out of boundary and belong to this cohort.
It has also been published the average magnet SAT was around 1520.
Now accounting for 30 students with 1520 from that total group reduces their score to a little over 1290 which is still much higher than this cohort at any W.ially higher

That's fantastic. But why the constant comparison to the W schools?

DP
It is the W schools posters who always like to point test scores (the only metric they can use) to brag that somehow their schools are better than Blair.
Blair envy is real

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:That area is part of a consortium giving people some choice in HS...though Blair is often considered the strongest option.

You mean the 4/10 high school is the strongest?

Yes, Blair also has 10X the National Merit Finalists, Regeneron Scholarships than the other HS. It's head and shoulders over those other schools.

That is the magnet.

It has some impact but less than you'd think.

I believe what PP means is that the Blair magnet takes some of the county's brightest students whereas the rest of Blair just takes whomever. So the school is really a school within a school. The magnet is a 10. Genpop is a 3. Weighted average is a 4.

I mean, every public high school "just takes whomever." You seem to be throwing around scores like you know something, but no site breaks out magnet vs. non-magnet test scores.

False. A breakout of the magnet has been published up until at least 2018.
https://mbhs.edu/departments/counseling/MagnetProfile.pdf

It’s 100 kids per class, so 400 kids total which is 12.5% of the student population.

In 2018 these kids had a average ACT of 35 and an average SAT of 1531.

These kids are elite.

This was settled years ago.
The SAT group refers to one grade.
There are 100 magnet students per grade and about 30 of those are from out of boundary and belong to this cohort.
It has also been published the average magnet SAT was around 1520.
Now accounting for 30 students with 1520 from that total group reduces their score to a little over 1290 which is still much higher than this cohort at any W.ially higher

That's fantastic. But why the constant comparison to the W schools?

DP
It is the W schools posters who always like to point test scores (the only metric they can use) to brag that somehow their schools are better than Blair.
Blair envy is real

I didn't realize there was a competition.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:That area is part of a consortium giving people some choice in HS...though Blair is often considered the strongest option.

You mean the 4/10 high school is the strongest?

Yes, Blair also has 10X the National Merit Finalists, Regeneron Scholarships than the other HS. It's head and shoulders over those other schools.

That is the magnet.

It has some impact but less than you'd think.

I believe what PP means is that the Blair magnet takes some of the county's brightest students whereas the rest of Blair just takes whomever. So the school is really a school within a school. The magnet is a 10. Genpop is a 3. Weighted average is a 4.

I mean, every public high school "just takes whomever." You seem to be throwing around scores like you know something, but no site breaks out magnet vs. non-magnet test scores.

False. A breakout of the magnet has been published up until at least 2018.
https://mbhs.edu/departments/counseling/MagnetProfile.pdf

It’s 100 kids per class, so 400 kids total which is 12.5% of the student population.

In 2018 these kids had a average ACT of 35 and an average SAT of 1531.

These kids are elite.

This was settled years ago.
The SAT group refers to one grade.
There are 100 magnet students per grade and about 30 of those are from out of boundary and belong to this cohort.
It has also been published the average magnet SAT was around 1520.
Now accounting for 30 students with 1520 from that total group reduces their score to a little over 1290 which is still much higher than this cohort at any W.ially higher

I remember that. Makes sense to me.

More than 30 students are oob for Blair.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:DP
It is the W schools posters who always like to point test scores (the only metric they can use) to brag that somehow their schools are better than Blair.
Blair envy is real

I didn't realize there was a competition.

It seems the envy cuts both ways.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:That area is part of a consortium giving people some choice in HS...though Blair is often considered the strongest option.

You mean the 4/10 high school is the strongest?

Yes, Blair also has 10X the National Merit Finalists, Regeneron Scholarships than the other HS. It's head and shoulders over those other schools.

That is the magnet.

It has some impact but less than you'd think.

I believe what PP means is that the Blair magnet takes some of the county's brightest students whereas the rest of Blair just takes whomever. So the school is really a school within a school. The magnet is a 10. Genpop is a 3. Weighted average is a 4.

I mean, every public high school "just takes whomever." You seem to be throwing around scores like you know something, but no site breaks out magnet vs. non-magnet test scores.

False. A breakout of the magnet has been published up until at least 2018.
https://mbhs.edu/departments/counseling/MagnetProfile.pdf

It’s 100 kids per class, so 400 kids total which is 12.5% of the student population.

In 2018 these kids had a average ACT of 35 and an average SAT of 1531.

These kids are elite.

This was settled years ago.
The SAT group refers to one grade.
There are 100 magnet students per grade and about 30 of those are from out of boundary and belong to this cohort.
It has also been published the average magnet SAT was around 1520.
Now accounting for 30 students with 1520 from that total group reduces their score to a little over 1290 which is still much higher than this cohort at any W.ially higher

I remember that. Makes sense to me.

More than 30 students are oob for Blair.

If anything, it would be the opposite of what PP claims. 30 in-boundary (similar for TKPK MS) and the rest of out boundary.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:That area is part of a consortium giving people some choice in HS...though Blair is often considered the strongest option.

You mean the 4/10 high school is the strongest?

Yes, Blair also has 10X the National Merit Finalists, Regeneron Scholarships than the other HS. It's head and shoulders over those other schools.

That is the magnet.

It has some impact but less than you'd think.

I believe what PP means is that the Blair magnet takes some of the county's brightest students whereas the rest of Blair just takes whomever. So the school is really a school within a school. The magnet is a 10. Genpop is a 3. Weighted average is a 4.

I mean, every public high school "just takes whomever." You seem to be throwing around scores like you know something, but no site breaks out magnet vs. non-magnet test scores.

False. A breakout of the magnet has been published up until at least 2018.
https://mbhs.edu/departments/counseling/MagnetProfile.pdf

It’s 100 kids per class, so 400 kids total which is 12.5% of the student population.

In 2018 these kids had a average ACT of 35 and an average SAT of 1531.

These kids are elite.

This was settled years ago.
The SAT group refers to one grade.
There are 100 magnet students per grade and about 30 of those are from out of boundary and belong to this cohort.
It has also been published the average magnet SAT was around 1520.
Now accounting for 30 students with 1520 from that total group reduces their score to a little over 1290 which is still much higher than this cohort at any W.ially higher

I remember that. Makes sense to me.

More than 30 students are oob for Blair.

FYI the magnet is mostly Asian and this cohort is not.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:That area is part of a consortium giving people some choice in HS...though Blair is often considered the strongest option.

You mean the 4/10 high school is the strongest?

Yes, Blair also has 10X the National Merit Finalists, Regeneron Scholarships than the other HS. It's head and shoulders over those other schools.

That is the magnet.

It has some impact but less than you'd think.

I believe what PP means is that the Blair magnet takes some of the county's brightest students whereas the rest of Blair just takes whomever. So the school is really a school within a school. The magnet is a 10. Genpop is a 3. Weighted average is a 4.

I mean, every public high school "just takes whomever." You seem to be throwing around scores like you know something, but no site breaks out magnet vs. non-magnet test scores.

False. A breakout of the magnet has been published up until at least 2018.
https://mbhs.edu/departments/counseling/MagnetProfile.pdf

It’s 100 kids per class, so 400 kids total which is 12.5% of the student population.

In 2018 these kids had a average ACT of 35 and an average SAT of 1531.

These kids are elite.

This was settled years ago.
The SAT group refers to one grade.
There are 100 magnet students per grade and about 30 of those are from out of boundary and belong to this cohort.
It has also been published the average magnet SAT was around 1520.
Now accounting for 30 students with 1520 from that total group reduces their score to a little over 1290 which is still much higher than this cohort at any W.ially higher

I remember that. Makes sense to me.

More than 30 students are oob for Blair.

FYI the magnet is mostly Asian and this cohort is not.

About 60 of 100 magnet students are Asian the remaining 40 are a combination of white, latino and black. From that group maybe a dozen are from zoned for Blair to begin with because it is the largest HS in the county. So I'd reckon there are fewer than 30 white out of boundary magnet kids in the program.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:That area is part of a consortium giving people some choice in HS...though Blair is often considered the strongest option.

You mean the 4/10 high school is the strongest?

Yes, Blair also has 10X the National Merit Finalists, Regeneron Scholarships than the other HS. It's head and shoulders over those other schools.

That is the magnet.

It has some impact but less than you'd think.

True, I remember reading the post that showed Blair's SAT average was 50 points higher for the largest common cohort to it and any W. Some people argued but the magnet which was ridiculous because it's a small program in a large school that's also mostly Asian. It goes to show that Blair envy is a real thing.

Blair 1326
Walter Johnson 1275
Wootton 1262
Churchill 1257

https://www.montgomeryschoolsmd.org/departments/sharedaccountability/reports/2017/1771102HS%20Princ_SAT%20Partic_Perf%20Class%20of%202017.pdf

This just reinforces the PP's point that one can get a strong education at most high-schools despite the silly GS ratings mainly used to artificially inflate home values.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:That area is part of a consortium giving people some choice in HS...though Blair is often considered the strongest option.

You mean the 4/10 high school is the strongest?

Yes, Blair also has 10X the National Merit Finalists, Regeneron Scholarships than the other HS. It's head and shoulders over those other schools.

That is the magnet.

It has some impact but less than you'd think.

True, I remember reading the post that showed Blair's SAT average was 50 points higher for the largest common cohort to it and any W. Some people argued but the magnet which was ridiculous because it's a small program in a large school that's also mostly Asian. It goes to show that Blair envy is a real thing.

Blair 1326
Walter Johnson 1275
Wootton 1262
Churchill 1257

https://www.montgomeryschoolsmd.org/departments/sharedaccountability/reports/2017/1771102HS%20Princ_SAT%20Partic_Perf%20Class%20of%202017.pdf

This just reinforces the PP's point that one can get a strong education at most high-schools despite the silly GS ratings mainly used to artificially inflate home values.

OK, now to Springbrook, Kennedy, Einstein, and Watkins Mill.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:As new parents, I wouldn't get too hung up on what the current magnet or gifted programs are at the Takoma Park schools--it's just too far down the road, and things change. See which area you like better, especially looking at what you can get for your money. You posted in the MCPS forum, so there's a lot of responses about the Takoma Park schools and very little on the DC schools you're looking at.

A PP is spot on that the TPES feeds directly to PBES, there's no change in student population. MCPS generally is not great at teaching reading in the early grades, including at TPES, but it doesn't show up in test scores until third grade and the kids are at PBES.

TPES and PBES are big schools, with 9-10 classes per grade, which can be hard when kids end up not having friends from their prior class in their current class. Blair is also huge. I'm not sure how all that compares with the DC schools you're looking at.

OP here. I cross-posted in the DC Public Schools forum, but the thread was taken down as duplicative. Speaking of this point, however, anyone have any thoughts on how Takoma Park schools compare to those West of the Park in DC?

It depends on the WOTP school. But, speaking in generalities, here is why I chose Takoma Park over a WOTP DCPS school for my kids at the time when we were buying a house:

* Neighborhood schools. Most kids in TKPK and MCPS in general attend their local neighborhood school for ES. Because we don't have charter schools, the options are pretty much your local school or maybe language immersion if you "won" the lottery, but most TKPK kids go to TKPK schools. This makes the elementary school the center of the neighborhood if you have young children, which is nice.

* Similarly, most TKPK kids go to the same middle school. From my child's class, a handful of kids were selected for the Eastern Humanities magnet, but the vast majority of his peers went from PBES to TPMS. No one is applying out in 4th grade to get on the charter school track the way they do in DC.

* There are options for acceleration and differentiation within the public schools, starting in 1st grade for math at TPES. With the exception of dyslexia, which we've established no MCPS school does well, there are really excellent specialized programs for special needs, including an Asperger's Program at a nearby school, and a 2E program that a lot of bright kids with learning disabilities are able to access.

* We wanted the diversity of a Takoma Park school. This may be the biggest difference between the WOTP school listed in the OP (Janney in particular) and TPES/PBES. Janney is predominantly white. Deal isn't, but that's because Deal brings together a handful of predominantly white schools and some predominantly Black schools, creating an integrated middle school. TKPK schools are integrated from the start.

I live in the DC area OP is talking about and almost none of the kids in those neighborhoods go to charter schools because those public schools are so strong. There aren't even any charter schools in those neighborhoods. The DC Charter schools are all located in other areas (mostly NE and SE, but also other parts of NW like Petworth and Brghtwood) because that's where parents are looking for alternatives. I'm an MCPS teacher but I do not know a lot about the Takoma MCPS schools. I am looking forward to sending my son to our neighborhood DCPS school along with all the kids in our neighborhood!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:As new parents, I wouldn't get too hung up on what the current magnet or gifted programs are at the Takoma Park schools--it's just too far down the road, and things change. See which area you like better, especially looking at what you can get for your money. You posted in the MCPS forum, so there's a lot of responses about the Takoma Park schools and very little on the DC schools you're looking at.

A PP is spot on that the TPES feeds directly to PBES, there's no change in student population. MCPS generally is not great at teaching reading in the early grades, including at TPES, but it doesn't show up in test scores until third grade and the kids are at PBES.

TPES and PBES are big schools, with 9-10 classes per grade, which can be hard when kids end up not having friends from their prior class in their current class. Blair is also huge. I'm not sure how all that compares with the DC schools you're looking at.

OP here. I cross-posted in the DC Public Schools forum, but the thread was taken down as duplicative. Speaking of this point, however, anyone have any thoughts on how Takoma Park schools compare to those West of the Park in DC?

It depends on the WOTP school. But, speaking in generalities, here is why I chose Takoma Park over a WOTP DCPS school for my kids at the time when we were buying a house:

* Neighborhood schools. Most kids in TKPK and MCPS in general attend their local neighborhood school for ES. Because we don't have charter schools, the options are pretty much your local school or maybe language immersion if you "won" the lottery, but most TKPK kids go to TKPK schools. This makes the elementary school the center of the neighborhood if you have young children, which is nice.

* Similarly, most TKPK kids go to the same middle school. From my child's class, a handful of kids were selected for the Eastern Humanities magnet, but the vast majority of his peers went from PBES to TPMS. No one is applying out in 4th grade to get on the charter school track the way they do in DC.

* There are options for acceleration and differentiation within the public schools, starting in 1st grade for math at TPES. With the exception of dyslexia, which we've established no MCPS school does well, there are really excellent specialized programs for special needs, including an Asperger's Program at a nearby school, and a 2E program that a lot of bright kids with learning disabilities are able to access.

* We wanted the diversity of a Takoma Park school. This may be the biggest difference between the WOTP school listed in the OP (Janney in particular) and TPES/PBES. Janney is predominantly white. Deal isn't, but that's because Deal brings together a handful of predominantly white schools and some predominantly Black schools, creating an integrated middle school. TKPK schools are integrated from the start.

I live in the DC area OP is talking about and almost none of the kids in those neighborhoods go to charter schools because those public schools are so strong. There aren't even any charter schools in those neighborhoods. The DC Charter schools are all located in other areas (mostly NE and SE, but also other parts of NW like Petworth and Brghtwood) because that's where parents are looking for alternatives. I'm an MCPS teacher but I do not know a lot about the Takoma MCPS schools. I am looking forward to sending my son to our neighborhood DCPS school along with all the kids in our neighborhood!

How do you feel about the lack of acceleration and differentiation in DCPS? We're deciding between WOTP DC and MCPS and as a former G&T kid, the lack of ANY acceleration in DCPS concerns me.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:That area is part of a consortium giving people some choice in HS...though Blair is often considered the strongest option.

You mean the 4/10 high school is the strongest?

Yes, Blair also has 10X the National Merit Finalists, Regeneron Scholarships than the other HS. It's head and shoulders over those other schools.

That is the magnet.

It has some impact but less than you'd think.

I believe what PP means is that the Blair magnet takes some of the county's brightest students whereas the rest of Blair just takes whomever. So the school is really a school within a school. The magnet is a 10. Genpop is a 3. Weighted average is a 4.

Considering how strong the some posters think the Magnet it makes one ask how bad is the local population that pulls it down to such a low rating and what causes that. It is disingenuous to just point to Magnet test scores or one year aberrations, also one must also consider the factors on why MoCo put the magnet in that school because we all know it wasn't because it is centrally located. If someone needs charity it is daft to go around claiming to be academically) rich.