SWW - when do notices go out about interviews?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:How many kids got interviews? Seems like everyone did! Def below the 4.0 threshold based on anecdotes…

You mean the 4 people posting over and over?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I just have to laugh. This is quite a robust magnet school that DCPS is running. Academic record has completely ceased to be a factor in admissions. 🤔🤪

I just have to laugh at this post. Because a few parents on DCUM post their 4.0 kids didn’t get an interview the school has completely let go of academic records as a factor? Hyperbolic much? My 4.0 kid got an interview. As I’m sure many of 4.0 kids did.

Knowing stats would be helpful. How many applicants were there? How many had a 4.0? How many spots are there total? How many interview invites did they extend? Did all the kids being invited to interview rank school without walls as number one? I really think the recommendation letter process was not fair. This was a lot of extra unpaid work for the teachers, some of whom probably were not too happy, and it might've shown in their letters.

Correct. There were teachers asked to write one letter and teachers asked to write 50.
There were kids whose parents applied in the 11th hour (for a million reasons) and I can imagine that if they asked the teacher writing 50 recs, that might have not have been viewed favorably.

there were teachers who had to be reminded by parents (a process probably also not viewed favorably by the teacher who is already over burdened).

There were kids who were the first kid to ask a teacher (and probably were also not high scorers as recommenders always tend to leave room at the top for those who come later).

All sorts of room for error and bias, which is why recs don't typically count for everything in an admissions process like this. But in this case they did since 4.0s were turned down.

King of crazy. This was ultimately decided entirely by the recs!!

So much conjecture. First of all, you don’t know what the recs say about your kid. A kid might not have gotten an interview because their rec wasn’t as good as other kids, which is valid. The recs ask about all sorts of things, including social skills. Maybe a 4.0 kid isn’t mature, or kind, or whatever….they have to differentiate between the apps, and so the recs add to the big picture. Even if there were no recs, many 4.0 kids would not get interviews because they just can’t interview everyone. I think the system is crazy that everyone is vying for spots for what is really not even a particularly awesome school (we did apply, though), but even I can recognize that recs aren’t inherently an unfair part of the process.

Walls used to have an entrance exam. Do you think that would be fairer?

Actually, no. I’m not a fan of the entrance exam. Kids take loads of tests during middle school, all of which are factored into their grades, which make up their gpa. I know the arguments for the test, but I’ve never heard a good enough argument for it that outweighs the reasons against it.

Is the argument that not having an entrance exam makes it harder for minority kids not good enough for you? Because that’s what current studies regarding the SAT demonstrate.

Different MSs may do things differently but outside of PARC my 8th has had few serious tests. His grades have been mostly determined by homework assignments, with a few late, missing, or lost meaning the difference between a grade level.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The rubric says grades count for 10 points, so the 4.0 kids got 10 of 10. I think 3.8 was worth 8. The recs are worth 15 points each, total of 30. So if a 4.0 kid lost 1 point from each teacher they now have the same score as a 3.8 with full marks from recs

The teacher above said that they did not assign points.

So a SWW staff member read each rec and assigned a point value to the phrases?



"This kid is great". Hmm. Let's give that one a 9/10. What about "this kid has potential". Hmm. Definite 8/10. Or maybe 9/10. "this kid has REAL potential." Now that is a 10/10.

Sure, we can nitpick this, but GPAs are also largely based on subjective grading. Math tests or multiple choice tests are more straight forward, but there is subjectivity in pretty much every grade a kid gets. Rubrics don’t make for clear cut grading. And throw in any kind of bias, and you’ve got even more problematic subjectivity. So, sure, maybe they are making subjective decisions, but that’s no different from school, every day.

Ok, this is a massive stretch---beyond massive. GPAs are based on hundreds of assignments accumulated over years. This is based on someone turning a few lines of text (written by a third party) into a numeric value.

The point is that it’s all subjective. So it’s not a stretch. The recs are given by teachers chosen by parents and students to evaluate the kid. The application school takes the rec into account. It’s not a gotcha system.

Parents and students DO NOT choose who fills out the rec. It's the current math and English teacher.

Nope. They could choose between their 7th or 8th grade math and ELA teachers. My kid’s current ELA teacher was checked out so he went with his 7th grade teacher.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I just have to laugh. This is quite a robust magnet school that DCPS is running. Academic record has completely ceased to be a factor in admissions. 🤔🤪

I just have to laugh at this post. Because a few parents on DCUM post their 4.0 kids didn’t get an interview the school has completely let go of academic records as a factor? Hyperbolic much? My 4.0 kid got an interview. As I’m sure many of 4.0 kids did.

Knowing stats would be helpful. How many applicants were there? How many had a 4.0? How many spots are there total? How many interview invites did they extend? Did all the kids being invited to interview rank school without walls as number one? I really think the recommendation letter process was not fair. This was a lot of extra unpaid work for the teachers, some of whom probably were not too happy, and it might've shown in their letters.

Correct. There were teachers asked to write one letter and teachers asked to write 50.
There were kids whose parents applied in the 11th hour (for a million reasons) and I can imagine that if they asked the teacher writing 50 recs, that might have not have been viewed favorably.

there were teachers who had to be reminded by parents (a process probably also not viewed favorably by the teacher who is already over burdened).

There were kids who were the first kid to ask a teacher (and probably were also not high scorers as recommenders always tend to leave room at the top for those who come later).

All sorts of room for error and bias, which is why recs don't typically count for everything in an admissions process like this. But in this case they did since 4.0s were turned down.

King of crazy. This was ultimately decided entirely by the recs!!

So much conjecture. First of all, you don’t know what the recs say about your kid. A kid might not have gotten an interview because their rec wasn’t as good as other kids, which is valid. The recs ask about all sorts of things, including social skills. Maybe a 4.0 kid isn’t mature, or kind, or whatever….they have to differentiate between the apps, and so the recs add to the big picture. Even if there were no recs, many 4.0 kids would not get interviews because they just can’t interview everyone. I think the system is crazy that everyone is vying for spots for what is really not even a particularly awesome school (we did apply, though), but even I can recognize that recs aren’t inherently an unfair part of the process.

Walls used to have an entrance exam. Do you think that would be fairer?

Actually, no. I’m not a fan of the entrance exam. Kids take loads of tests during middle school, all of which are factored into their grades, which make up their gpa. I know the arguments for the test, but I’ve never heard a good enough argument for it that outweighs the reasons against it.

Is the argument that not having an entrance exam makes it harder for minority kids not good enough for you? Because that’s what current studies regarding the SAT demonstrate.

Different MSs may do things differently but outside of PARC my 8th has had few serious tests. His grades have been mostly determined by homework assignments, with a few late, missing, or lost meaning the difference between a grade level.

Actually, I wasn’t aware of that being a factor for high school entrance admittances. And if that’s the case, then I stand corrected. Regarding the SATs, I know about one school reporting that it affected their admittances in that way, but I wasn’t aware that was generalized to all colleges or even high schools. In fact, there is plenty of research that shows that entrance exams do not lead to more favorable outcomes for minority kids, which also concerns me. So with this one school reporting how they have, I am not sure what that actually means for every minority kid (including my kids), applying to whatever college, or a high school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:i have one kid who is thriving at Walls and my 8th grader didn’t get an interview. My younger is a wonderful, smart, kind and athletic kid. I guess i can take solace in the fact that they will likely thrive anywhere.

I'm in the same boat. It stinks, and younger kid is feeling very down.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:i have one kid who is thriving at Walls and my 8th grader didn’t get an interview. My younger is a wonderful, smart, kind and athletic kid. I guess i can take solace in the fact that they will likely thrive anywhere.

So no sort of sibling preference? If. Kid had a high gpa and a sibling at walls, I think that younger sibling should get some sort of bump. SWW is a citywide school and making it easy on families by allowing their kids to attend the same school should be factored into the calculations. No dog in this fight. Just my opinion. And I'm not suggesting younger siblings that don't have a high gpa should get special treatment. But sibling preference should be worth a point or something in the calculation.

Correct: Walls has no sibling preference.

[Anonymous]

So all the interview notices happen one day?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I just have to laugh. This is quite a robust magnet school that DCPS is running. Academic record has completely ceased to be a factor in admissions. 🤔🤪

I just have to laugh at this post. Because a few parents on DCUM post their 4.0 kids didn’t get an interview the school has completely let go of academic records as a factor? Hyperbolic much? My 4.0 kid got an interview. As I’m sure many of 4.0 kids did.

Knowing stats would be helpful. How many applicants were there? How many had a 4.0? How many spots are there total? How many interview invites did they extend? Did all the kids being invited to interview rank school without walls as number one? I really think the recommendation letter process was not fair. This was a lot of extra unpaid work for the teachers, some of whom probably were not too happy, and it might've shown in their letters.

Correct. There were teachers asked to write one letter and teachers asked to write 50.
There were kids whose parents applied in the 11th hour (for a million reasons) and I can imagine that if they asked the teacher writing 50 recs, that might have not have been viewed favorably.

there were teachers who had to be reminded by parents (a process probably also not viewed favorably by the teacher who is already over burdened).

There were kids who were the first kid to ask a teacher (and probably were also not high scorers as recommenders always tend to leave room at the top for those who come later).

All sorts of room for error and bias, which is why recs don't typically count for everything in an admissions process like this. But in this case they did since 4.0s were turned down.

King of crazy. This was ultimately decided entirely by the recs!!

So much conjecture. First of all, you don’t know what the recs say about your kid. A kid might not have gotten an interview because their rec wasn’t as good as other kids, which is valid. The recs ask about all sorts of things, including social skills. Maybe a 4.0 kid isn’t mature, or kind, or whatever….they have to differentiate between the apps, and so the recs add to the big picture. Even if there were no recs, many 4.0 kids would not get interviews because they just can’t interview everyone. I think the system is crazy that everyone is vying for spots for what is really not even a particularly awesome school (we did apply, though), but even I can recognize that recs aren’t inherently an unfair part of the process.

Walls used to have an entrance exam. Do you think that would be fairer?

Actually, no. I’m not a fan of the entrance exam. Kids take loads of tests during middle school, all of which are factored into their grades, which make up their gpa. I know the arguments for the test, but I’ve never heard a good enough argument for it that outweighs the reasons against it.

Is the argument that not having an entrance exam makes it harder for minority kids not good enough for you? Because that’s what current studies regarding the SAT demonstrate.

Different MSs may do things differently but outside of PARC my 8th has had few serious tests. His grades have been mostly determined by homework assignments, with a few late, missing, or lost meaning the difference between a grade level.

Actually, I wasn’t aware of that being a factor for high school entrance admittances. And if that’s the case, then I stand corrected. Regarding the SATs, I know about one school reporting that it affected their admittances in that way, but I wasn’t aware that was generalized to all colleges or even high schools. In fact, there is plenty of research that shows that entrance exams do not lead to more favorable outcomes for minority kids, which also concerns me. So with this one school reporting how they have, I am not sure what that actually means for every minority kid (including my kids), applying to whatever college, or a high school.

Here is a good summary of the research on SATs and college admittances:
https://www.nytimes.com/2024/01/07/briefing/the-misguided-war-on-the-sat.html

Chances are that the results generalize to high school admissions as well.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I just have to laugh. This is quite a robust magnet school that DCPS is running. Academic record has completely ceased to be a factor in admissions. 🤔🤪

I just have to laugh at this post. Because a few parents on DCUM post their 4.0 kids didn’t get an interview the school has completely let go of academic records as a factor? Hyperbolic much? My 4.0 kid got an interview. As I’m sure many of 4.0 kids did.

Knowing stats would be helpful. How many applicants were there? How many had a 4.0? How many spots are there total? How many interview invites did they extend? Did all the kids being invited to interview rank school without walls as number one? I really think the recommendation letter process was not fair. This was a lot of extra unpaid work for the teachers, some of whom probably were not too happy, and it might've shown in their letters.

Correct. There were teachers asked to write one letter and teachers asked to write 50.
There were kids whose parents applied in the 11th hour (for a million reasons) and I can imagine that if they asked the teacher writing 50 recs, that might have not have been viewed favorably.

there were teachers who had to be reminded by parents (a process probably also not viewed favorably by the teacher who is already over burdened).

There were kids who were the first kid to ask a teacher (and probably were also not high scorers as recommenders always tend to leave room at the top for those who come later).

All sorts of room for error and bias, which is why recs don't typically count for everything in an admissions process like this. But in this case they did since 4.0s were turned down.

King of crazy. This was ultimately decided entirely by the recs!!

So much conjecture. First of all, you don’t know what the recs say about your kid. A kid might not have gotten an interview because their rec wasn’t as good as other kids, which is valid. The recs ask about all sorts of things, including social skills. Maybe a 4.0 kid isn’t mature, or kind, or whatever….they have to differentiate between the apps, and so the recs add to the big picture. Even if there were no recs, many 4.0 kids would not get interviews because they just can’t interview everyone. I think the system is crazy that everyone is vying for spots for what is really not even a particularly awesome school (we did apply, though), but even I can recognize that recs aren’t inherently an unfair part of the process.

Walls used to have an entrance exam. Do you think that would be fairer?

Actually, no. I’m not a fan of the entrance exam. Kids take loads of tests during middle school, all of which are factored into their grades, which make up their gpa. I know the arguments for the test, but I’ve never heard a good enough argument for it that outweighs the reasons against it.

Is the argument that not having an entrance exam makes it harder for minority kids not good enough for you? Because that’s what current studies regarding the SAT demonstrate.

Different MSs may do things differently but outside of PARC my 8th has had few serious tests. His grades have been mostly determined by homework assignments, with a few late, missing, or lost meaning the difference between a grade level.

Actually, I wasn’t aware of that being a factor for high school entrance admittances. And if that’s the case, then I stand corrected. Regarding the SATs, I know about one school reporting that it affected their admittances in that way, but I wasn’t aware that was generalized to all colleges or even high schools. In fact, there is plenty of research that shows that entrance exams do not lead to more favorable outcomes for minority kids, which also concerns me. So with this one school reporting how they have, I am not sure what that actually means for every minority kid (including my kids), applying to whatever college, or a high school.

Here is a good summary of the research on SATs and college admittances:
https://www.nytimes.com/2024/01/07/briefing/the-misguided-war-on-the-sat.html

Chances are that the results generalize to high school admissions as well.

That’s a good article, but this one is more relevant: https://www.nytimes.com/2024/02/05/briefing/dartmouth-sat.html

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:i have one kid who is thriving at Walls and my 8th grader didn’t get an interview. My younger is a wonderful, smart, kind and athletic kid. I guess i can take solace in the fact that they will likely thrive anywhere.

So no sort of sibling preference? If. Kid had a high gpa and a sibling at walls, I think that younger sibling should get some sort of bump. SWW is a citywide school and making it easy on families by allowing their kids to attend the same school should be factored into the calculations. No dog in this fight. Just my opinion. And I'm not suggesting younger siblings that don't have a high gpa should get special treatment. But sibling preference should be worth a point or something in the calculation.

That would make some sense but doesn't for families with 12th graders and 8th graders (our situation and looks like one from family above). No bump b/c you won't have two kids there at same time so you don't have the logistical issues. I do think they give some preference if you are going to have two there at same time (pretty sure we heard that at open house).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I just have to laugh. This is quite a robust magnet school that DCPS is running. Academic record has completely ceased to be a factor in admissions. 🤔🤪

I just have to laugh at this post. Because a few parents on DCUM post their 4.0 kids didn’t get an interview the school has completely let go of academic records as a factor? Hyperbolic much? My 4.0 kid got an interview. As I’m sure many of 4.0 kids did.

Knowing stats would be helpful. How many applicants were there? How many had a 4.0? How many spots are there total? How many interview invites did they extend? Did all the kids being invited to interview rank school without walls as number one? I really think the recommendation letter process was not fair. This was a lot of extra unpaid work for the teachers, some of whom probably were not too happy, and it might've shown in their letters.

Correct. There were teachers asked to write one letter and teachers asked to write 50.
There were kids whose parents applied in the 11th hour (for a million reasons) and I can imagine that if they asked the teacher writing 50 recs, that might have not have been viewed favorably.

there were teachers who had to be reminded by parents (a process probably also not viewed favorably by the teacher who is already over burdened).

There were kids who were the first kid to ask a teacher (and probably were also not high scorers as recommenders always tend to leave room at the top for those who come later).

All sorts of room for error and bias, which is why recs don't typically count for everything in an admissions process like this. But in this case they did since 4.0s were turned down.

King of crazy. This was ultimately decided entirely by the recs!!

So much conjecture. First of all, you don’t know what the recs say about your kid. A kid might not have gotten an interview because their rec wasn’t as good as other kids, which is valid. The recs ask about all sorts of things, including social skills. Maybe a 4.0 kid isn’t mature, or kind, or whatever….they have to differentiate between the apps, and so the recs add to the big picture. Even if there were no recs, many 4.0 kids would not get interviews because they just can’t interview everyone. I think the system is crazy that everyone is vying for spots for what is really not even a particularly awesome school (we did apply, though), but even I can recognize that recs aren’t inherently an unfair part of the process.

Walls used to have an entrance exam. Do you think that would be fairer?

Actually, no. I’m not a fan of the entrance exam. Kids take loads of tests during middle school, all of which are factored into their grades, which make up their gpa. I know the arguments for the test, but I’ve never heard a good enough argument for it that outweighs the reasons against it.

Is the argument that not having an entrance exam makes it harder for minority kids not good enough for you? Because that’s what current studies regarding the SAT demonstrate.

Different MSs may do things differently but outside of PARC my 8th has had few serious tests. His grades have been mostly determined by homework assignments, with a few late, missing, or lost meaning the difference between a grade level.

Actually, I wasn’t aware of that being a factor for high school entrance admittances. And if that’s the case, then I stand corrected. Regarding the SATs, I know about one school reporting that it affected their admittances in that way, but I wasn’t aware that was generalized to all colleges or even high schools. In fact, there is plenty of research that shows that entrance exams do not lead to more favorable outcomes for minority kids, which also concerns me. So with this one school reporting how they have, I am not sure what that actually means for every minority kid (including my kids), applying to whatever college, or a high school.

Here is a good summary of the research on SATs and college admittances:
https://www.nytimes.com/2024/01/07/briefing/the-misguided-war-on-the-sat.html

Chances are that the results generalize to high school admissions as well.

Magnet schools in NYC, SF, and other urban centers use an entrance exam. They obviously think it makes sense and does not discriminate.

DC is an outlier.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:i have one kid who is thriving at Walls and my 8th grader didn’t get an interview. My younger is a wonderful, smart, kind and athletic kid. I guess i can take solace in the fact that they will likely thrive anywhere.

So no sort of sibling preference? If. Kid had a high gpa and a sibling at walls, I think that younger sibling should get some sort of bump. SWW is a citywide school and making it easy on families by allowing their kids to attend the same school should be factored into the calculations. No dog in this fight. Just my opinion. And I'm not suggesting younger siblings that don't have a high gpa should get special treatment. But sibling preference should be worth a point or something in the calculation.

That would make some sense but doesn't for families with 12th graders and 8th graders (our situation and looks like one from family above). No bump b/c you won't have two kids there at same time so you don't have the logistical issues. I do think they give some preference if you are going to have two there at same time (pretty sure we heard that at open house).

I see someone above said no sibling preference at SWW. So maybe I'm misremembering from the open house. But it's definitely the case of no sibling preference if they're not both there at same time.

[Anonymous]

I didn't love going through the randomness of last year, but reading this makes me thankful we arent doing it this year!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I just have to laugh. This is quite a robust magnet school that DCPS is running. Academic record has completely ceased to be a factor in admissions. 🤔🤪

I just have to laugh at this post. Because a few parents on DCUM post their 4.0 kids didn’t get an interview the school has completely let go of academic records as a factor? Hyperbolic much? My 4.0 kid got an interview. As I’m sure many of 4.0 kids did.

Knowing stats would be helpful. How many applicants were there? How many had a 4.0? How many spots are there total? How many interview invites did they extend? Did all the kids being invited to interview rank school without walls as number one? I really think the recommendation letter process was not fair. This was a lot of extra unpaid work for the teachers, some of whom probably were not too happy, and it might've shown in their letters.

Correct. There were teachers asked to write one letter and teachers asked to write 50.
There were kids whose parents applied in the 11th hour (for a million reasons) and I can imagine that if they asked the teacher writing 50 recs, that might have not have been viewed favorably.

there were teachers who had to be reminded by parents (a process probably also not viewed favorably by the teacher who is already over burdened).

There were kids who were the first kid to ask a teacher (and probably were also not high scorers as recommenders always tend to leave room at the top for those who come later).

All sorts of room for error and bias, which is why recs don't typically count for everything in an admissions process like this. But in this case they did since 4.0s were turned down.

King of crazy. This was ultimately decided entirely by the recs!!

So much conjecture. First of all, you don’t know what the recs say about your kid. A kid might not have gotten an interview because their rec wasn’t as good as other kids, which is valid. The recs ask about all sorts of things, including social skills. Maybe a 4.0 kid isn’t mature, or kind, or whatever….they have to differentiate between the apps, and so the recs add to the big picture. Even if there were no recs, many 4.0 kids would not get interviews because they just can’t interview everyone. I think the system is crazy that everyone is vying for spots for what is really not even a particularly awesome school (we did apply, though), but even I can recognize that recs aren’t inherently an unfair part of the process.

Walls used to have an entrance exam. Do you think that would be fairer?

Actually, no. I’m not a fan of the entrance exam. Kids take loads of tests during middle school, all of which are factored into their grades, which make up their gpa. I know the arguments for the test, but I’ve never heard a good enough argument for it that outweighs the reasons against it.

Grades mean different things at different schools. There are middle schools in DC where virtually no one is at grade level in math. It's not like they don't give out As there. The point of standardized testing is that it lets you compare skills across different schools.

Walls had 9 kids last year who got 1s and 2s on the Algebra PARCC. Those are kids who are substantially below grade level. Those are slots that could have gone to kids who are far enough ahead that DCPS has no ability to meet their academic needs at their neighborhood high schools. That should be the point of these high schools - to provide academic opportunities for kids who can take advantage of them and who otherwise wouldn't have appropriate curricula available. Even if a teacher thinks they don't have great social skills, they still should get an appropriate education.

[Anonymous]

Might I ask what middle schools your children are at? I wonder if there are quotas for the specific schools.