Best elementary school for a STEM gifted child?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

That is because 1) you apparently not accustomed to a middle class school on that side of the city and 2) as progressive as they pretend to be Takoma Park found a way to cut it’s zone in half and by some complete accident the majority of the poor kids in TP ended up at eastern middle school. Don’t worry they meet back up at Blair

?

Your mental map of the boundaries of Takoma Park must be very different from mine.

http://gis.mcpsmd.org/ServiceAreaMaps/EasternMS.pdf

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

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Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Takoma Park ES is the lower elementary K-2 that puts half of their first grade into their science "magnet" (it's called a magnet because they leave 10 spots open for out-of- boundary students, but they are not eligible for future benefits.) TPES feeds into Piney Branch ES where there is one 27-student class of fourth and fifth graders, respectively, at aside for their local Center for Enriched Studies. Then, about 25 PBES students are invited directly into the Takoma Park Middle School STEM magnet without the heavy competition the rest of the lower county. If I knew what I was doing 15 years ap when we'd bought our house, we'd have moved into that school some.

Lots of misinformation in this thread about TPES/PBES so let me address some things:

The TPES magnet curriculum happens starting in 1st grade, and if your child is above, say, the 80th percentile he'll be in it. MANY kids are in it at TPES - as far as I can tell there's no limit to who gets this. It's unremarkable, and frankly, it's just what parents who value education and have a brighter than average kid would expect out of regular school. This is for 1st and 2nd.

When you move to PBES in 3rd nothing happens. Not even enriched math. ]For my child, a very bright, 99th percentile kid, it was an incredible boring year. We were disappointed with the curriculum but had a good teacher so it was fine.

In 4th you can attend the local CES. This year there are TWO classes of 4th graders (about 1/4 of the 4th grade). No idea if it will continue to be this large. Local CES is nice, and we are grateful for it, but it's not great for a truly super gifted kid for a few reasons. 1.) The local cohort, filled with lots of super smart and motivated kids, is watered down compared to the centers. 2.) It's just accelerated work and lots of it. It's not going to suit a kid who is truly off the charts exceptional (our kid is not this, and therefore does fine). Don't get me wrong - it's a good thing, but a kid who needs genius-level support is not going to be well suited to a local CES.

Middle School magnets of an accelerated academic (not interest-based) nature in MCPS are a crapshoot. Of all the qualified kids, only a fraction are permitted to attend through lottery. We're hoping to find another county to move to by that time so that we can have a smaller environment with more accessible paths to enrichment.

That's not accurate. There are differentiated groupings that work on different things. For example, DC who is in 3rd at PBES recently finished long-division and is currently working multiplying fractions. I do not think this is standard for 2.0.

Unremarkable and “what you would expect” are a bit of an oxymoron in MCPS 1st and 2nd math! As someone who knows children of the same age in both TPES and a regular ES, I’d like to state that the TPES program is remarkable and definitely moves at a faster rate than the regular curriculum.


To PP above, that sounds exactly like what my DC in a regional CES is doing in compacted 4/5 right now. So those third graders may be doing 2.0 compacted 4/5? How I wish that were more widely available....

Our youngest is at TPES and our oldest is at PBES. We really couldn't be happier with the schools. The smaller class sizes combined with dedicated STEM and accelerated math classes are unique. We moved to the area because we liked the feel of Takoma, but the schools are a huge plus.

TPES has the only elementary level magnet program in MCPS and PBES also has a dedicated STEM teacher.

The accelerated math track that starts at TPES by 3rd is similar to 4th grade compacted as an earlier poster mentioned.

Also, find the smaller class sizes at TPES which range from 16-20 kids is especially helpful for the younger kids.

Keep in mind that those programs were put into those schools due to the very high level of poverty in the Takoma Park Area and the parents clamored for years for enrichment to keep their kids in different classes than the kids who don’t need “enrichment”. I would tour the area before I made any decisions to send my kids to a program over there. TP uses the STEM classes as carrots to middle class parents. Ask your self if it is worth it

Keep in mind that those programs remain in those schools due to the political savvy of the parents and the outsized sway of the town of Takoma Park.

Seriously, PP, have you ever stepped foot in that school??? It's been a few years but my DC was supposed to have a basketball practice at the TPES that unbeknownst to me was cancelled due to their back to school nite. Since we were there we went ahead and fought our way through the throngs of parents to confirm the gym was otherwise occupied. Entirely different class of people than my nearby ES, by all appearances that's the place the intelligentsia send their little ones.

That is because 1) you apparently not accustomed to a middle class school on that side of the city and 2) as progressive as they pretend to be Takoma Park found a way to cut it’s zone in half and by some complete accident the majority of the poor kids in TP ended up at eastern middle school. Don’t worry they meet back up at Blair

I'm the immediate PP, and I wasn't being sarcastic, the TPES catchment is too swank for my family. Yes, the nearby schools like Rolling Terrace have a different demographic breakdown, and that's due to self-preservation on the part of the wealthiest part of TP. But, I'm very familiar and satisfied with the adjacent schools. I've raised my kids in them and now, horror, they're at Blair. I only commented because of the scare tactics in the previous post. The idea that the magnets at this point in time, are masking otherwise undesirable schools, couldn't be further from the truth.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:




Cabin John and Frost cannot come close to Takoma Park.

Are you sure about that?

For example, in competitions like mathcounts, I've never seen anyone from Takoma Park MS NOT from their magnet program.
If you just pick the top kids, yes, TPMS is stronger. But that is not a program you just enter if you live in the zone.

Again, TPMS is strong in STEM if you can get in the magnet program. But there is simply no point to live in its school zone.
For non-magnet part, Cabin John and RFMS are clearly stronger.

#1 I would hope no one would judge an entire program of science and math standings based on math counts! Many of the kids on math counts at TPMS have done lots of outside prep. That really doesn't define the quality of the program overall.

#2 Many kids at TPMS magnet are in-boundary and would be at TPMS anyway.

I'm sure CJ and Frost are good schools too. I don't know why y'all need to try to one up here, though. It's silly.

1. I am not judging it only based on math counts, but it is an example that can be used for comparison. Other than these competitions, what can one use to compare? I don't have access to MAP or PARCC scores from other children. In addition, when we say a school is good at STEM, we are not talking about the teachers being good. We are talking about the students being stronger, whether that is due to "outside prep" or not. The reality at MCPS is - it is clear that the students define the schools, not the other way around.

2. I am only making the comparison because the PP claimed that Cabin John and Robert Frost were not even close to TPMS in STEM. I think that conclusion is wrong. If you compare those schools, in average,
CJ and RF are stronger. TPMS top students are stronger (there could be exceptions, occasionally), but that is because of the magnet program.

If only considering the STEM part, choosing a home ES which feeds into Cabin John and Frost would be a better choice. That way even if the kids fail to get into the TPMS magnet program , they can still go into strong STEM programs. If you choose a ES that feeds into TP, it does not increase your chance of getting into the magnet program, and if fails, TPMS in general is not as good as CJ or RF.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:




Cabin John and Frost cannot come close to Takoma Park.

Are you sure about that?

For example, in competitions like mathcounts, I've never seen anyone from Takoma Park MS NOT from their magnet program.
If you just pick the top kids, yes, TPMS is stronger. But that is not a program you just enter if you live in the zone.

Again, TPMS is strong in STEM if you can get in the magnet program. But there is simply no point to live in its school zone.
For non-magnet part, Cabin John and RFMS are clearly stronger.

#1 I would hope no one would judge an entire program of science and math standings based on math counts! Many of the kids on math counts at TPMS have done lots of outside prep. That really doesn't define the quality of the program overall.

#2 Many kids at TPMS magnet are in-boundary and would be at TPMS anyway.

I'm sure CJ and Frost are good schools too. I don't know why y'all need to try to one up here, though. It's silly.

1. I am not judging it only based on math counts, but it is an example that can be used for comparison. Other than these competitions, what can one use to compare? I don't have access to MAP or PARCC scores from other children. In addition, when we say a school is good at STEM, we are not talking about the teachers being good. We are talking about the students being stronger, whether that is due to "outside prep" or not. The reality at MCPS is - it is clear that the students define the schools, not the other way around.

2. I am only making the comparison because the PP claimed that Cabin John and Robert Frost were not even close to TPMS in STEM. I think that conclusion is wrong. If you compare those schools, in average,
CJ and RF are stronger. TPMS top students are stronger (there could be exceptions, occasionally), but that is because of the magnet program.

If only considering the STEM part, choosing a home ES which feeds into Cabin John and Frost would be a better choice. That way even if the kids fail to get into the TPMS magnet program , they can still go into strong STEM programs. If you choose a ES that feeds into TP, it does not increase your chance of getting into the magnet program, and if fails, TPMS in general is not as good as CJ or RF.

TPMS is in general stronger than CJ or RF.
TPMS is the strongest MS in the state.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
1. I am not judging it only based on math counts, but it is an example that can be used for comparison. Other than these competitions, what can one use to compare? I don't have access to MAP or PARCC scores from other children. In addition, when we say a school is good at STEM, we are not talking about the teachers being good. We are talking about the students being stronger, whether that is due to "outside prep" or not. The reality at MCPS is - it is clear that the students define the schools, not the other way around.

2. I am only making the comparison because the PP claimed that Cabin John and Robert Frost were not even close to TPMS in STEM. I think that conclusion is wrong. If you compare those schools, in average,
CJ and RF are stronger. TPMS top students are stronger (there could be exceptions, occasionally), but that is because of the magnet program.

If only considering the STEM part, choosing a home ES which feeds into Cabin John and Frost would be a better choice. That way even if the kids fail to get into the TPMS magnet program , they can still go into strong STEM programs. If you choose a ES that feeds into TP, it does not increase your chance of getting into the magnet program, and if fails, TPMS in general is not as good as CJ or RF.

TPMS is in general stronger than CJ or RF.
TPMS is the strongest MS in the state.

I see.

Thank you for making such a strong statement! Very convincing!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The curriculum is the same across the county. At the MS level there are magnet and enriched classes. At the high school level there are STEM tracks, AP and magnets. There is no acceleration or advancement for K-3 and only compacted math for 4/5. Science is bad at the ES level across the county. It just isn't in the curriculum in a substantive manner.

The highest academic math performers are at ES schools in Churchill, Whitman and Wootton. A portion of these kids used to travel to the TPMS magnet but with the cohort changes they are in their home schools. Pyle, Frost, and Cabin John now have the highest math performers - mostly in the 99-98 percentiles in the county while TPMS now has a few high performers from other schools but mostly able yet not very high performers in the program. If your kid likes math/science but is not a genius or one of the highest performers than TPMS is helpful with the 25 spots for kids that wouldn't normally make it . What is bad is that if your kid misses that cut off then you may not even have an able cohort within TPMS. SSMI has more high performers than TPMS so if you want Silver Spring but don't want to bank on the magnet this is another option.

For a STEM gifted kid, I'd choose a school that feeds into Cabin John, Pyle or Frost.

What??? Is this joke?
For STEM, these schools don't even come close to TPMS

TPMS magnet program only takes a limited number of students. If one considers the rest of the school, Cabin John and Frost are much stronger in STEM.

Of course, if people have confidence that their kids can get into the Magnet program in TPMS, it would not with ES they go to (as long as it is down county).

Cabin John and Frost cannot come close to Takoma Park.

Are you sure about that?

For example, in competitions like mathcounts, I've never seen anyone from Takoma Park MS NOT from their magnet program.
If you just pick the top kids, yes, TPMS is stronger. But that is not a program you just enter if you live in the zone.

Again, TPMS is strong in STEM if you can get in the magnet program. But there is simply no point to live in its school zone.
For non-magnet part, Cabin John and RFMS are clearly stronger.

#1 I would hope no one would judge an entire program of science and math standings based on math counts! Many of the kids on math counts at TPMS have done lots of outside prep. That really doesn't define the quality of the program overall.

#2 Many kids at TPMS magnet are in-boundary and would be at TPMS anyway.

I'm sure CJ and Frost are good schools too. I don't know why y'all need to try to one up here, though. It's silly.

DP:

#1 Oh my, where do I start!

First, you are beating a straw man when you say "That really doesn't define the quality of the program overall" since nobody has questioned the quality of the program. In fact the previous posters are pointing out that TPMS is in the discussion *because of the magnet program.* The comparison they are trying to make is between the NON-magnet TPMS with other schools.

Secondly, saying those kids who represent TPMS in inter school contests had outside prep is neither here nor there: For one, it does nothing to prove the statement that you are defending: "Cabin John and Frost cannot come close to Takoma Park." Secondly, if you think outside prep is what makes the difference in state and/or national level contests, with all due respect, you are clueless (Even if your claim is true, you might want to think about why not everyone of the thousands that attend CTY/RSM/Kumon/AoPS/etc. end up winning state or national level contests). Third, it is very easy to diminish others' achievements by saying things like "Kyrie is very good only because he practices basketball a lot more than my son" but IMHO, it reeks of sour grapes.

#2 I have seen this before from other posters in DCUM as well - "the in-boundary kids at TPMS would be at the magnet anyway even without a quota" with no evidence whatsoever. Fact is, based on statistics, the in-boundary families have a great deal: There is just one middle school where if you are in the eighth percentile - roughly speaking - among the students at your home middle school you get the opportunity to be in the magnet, and that is TPMS. (25 students out of ~300) There is no other middle school where that would be possible. Even before the admissions process change, to be admitted to TPMS one needed to be generally in the top 1-2 percentile of the home middle school cohort.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The curriculum is the same across the county. At the MS level there are magnet and enriched classes. At the high school level there are STEM tracks, AP and magnets. There is no acceleration or advancement for K-3 and only compacted math for 4/5. Science is bad at the ES level across the county. It just isn't in the curriculum in a substantive manner.

The highest academic math performers are at ES schools in Churchill, Whitman and Wootton. A portion of these kids used to travel to the TPMS magnet but with the cohort changes they are in their home schools. Pyle, Frost, and Cabin John now have the highest math performers - mostly in the 99-98 percentiles in the county while TPMS now has a few high performers from other schools but mostly able yet not very high performers in the program. If your kid likes math/science but is not a genius or one of the highest performers than TPMS is helpful with the 25 spots for kids that wouldn't normally make it . What is bad is that if your kid misses that cut off then you may not even have an able cohort within TPMS. SSMI has more high performers than TPMS so if you want Silver Spring but don't want to bank on the magnet this is another option.

For a STEM gifted kid, I'd choose a school that feeds into Cabin John, Pyle or Frost.

What??? Is this joke?
For STEM, these schools don't even come close to TPMS

TPMS magnet program only takes a limited number of students. If one considers the rest of the school, Cabin John and Frost are much stronger in STEM.

Of course, if people have confidence that their kids can get into the Magnet program in TPMS, it would not with ES they go to (as long as it is down county).

Cabin John and Frost cannot come close to Takoma Park.

Are you sure about that?

For example, in competitions like mathcounts, I've never seen anyone from Takoma Park MS NOT from their magnet program.
If you just pick the top kids, yes, TPMS is stronger. But that is not a program you just enter if you live in the zone.

Again, TPMS is strong in STEM if you can get in the magnet program. But there is simply no point to live in its school zone.
For non-magnet part, Cabin John and RFMS are clearly stronger.

#1 I would hope no one would judge an entire program of science and math standings based on math counts! Many of the kids on math counts at TPMS have done lots of outside prep. That really doesn't define the quality of the program overall.

#2 Many kids at TPMS magnet are in-boundary and would be at TPMS anyway.

I'm sure CJ and Frost are good schools too. I don't know why y'all need to try to one up here, though. It's silly.

DP:

#1 Oh my, where do I start!

First, you are beating a straw man when you say "That really doesn't define the quality of the program overall" since nobody has questioned the quality of the program. In fact the previous posters are pointing out that TPMS is in the discussion *because of the magnet program.* The comparison they are trying to make is between the NON-magnet TPMS with other schools.

Secondly, saying those kids who represent TPMS in inter school contests had outside prep is neither here nor there: For one, it does nothing to prove the statement that you are defending: "Cabin John and Frost cannot come close to Takoma Park." Secondly, if you think outside prep is what makes the difference in state and/or national level contests, with all due respect, you are clueless (Even if your claim is true, you might want to think about why not everyone of the thousands that attend CTY/RSM/Kumon/AoPS/etc. end up winning state or national level contests). Third, it is very easy to diminish others' achievements by saying things like "Kyrie is very good only because he practices basketball a lot more than my son" but IMHO, it reeks of sour grapes.

#2 I have seen this before from other posters in DCUM as well - "the in-boundary kids at TPMS would be at the magnet anyway even without a quota" with no evidence whatsoever. Fact is, based on statistics, the in-boundary families have a great deal: There is just one middle school where if you are in the eighth percentile - roughly speaking - among the students at your home middle school you get the opportunity to be in the magnet, and that is TPMS. (25 students out of ~300) There is no other middle school where that would be possible. Even before the admissions process change, to be admitted to TPMS one needed to be generally in the top 1-2 percentile of the home middle school cohort.

PP here. You are VERY lost as to what I was saying. I was not defending that CJ and F can't "come close" to TPMS.I was merely responding to the poster who thought CJ and were clearly better. Did you read my post? You make false accusations then seem to have a lot to see with little grounding or evidence. Just stop. I don't know why you are down on the TPMS catchment kids. They are strong students at TPMS. If you want proof, look at this year's NMSF list -- many from TPMS catchment. The non boundary kid are fantastic too. The school would still be great without them, and I'm sure F & CJ are great too. Enough already!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:




Cabin John and Frost cannot come close to Takoma Park.

Are you sure about that?

For example, in competitions like mathcounts, I've never seen anyone from Takoma Park MS NOT from their magnet program.
If you just pick the top kids, yes, TPMS is stronger. But that is not a program you just enter if you live in the zone.

Again, TPMS is strong in STEM if you can get in the magnet program. But there is simply no point to live in its school zone.
For non-magnet part, Cabin John and RFMS are clearly stronger.

#1 I would hope no one would judge an entire program of science and math standings based on math counts! Many of the kids on math counts at TPMS have done lots of outside prep. That really doesn't define the quality of the program overall.

#2 Many kids at TPMS magnet are in-boundary and would be at TPMS anyway.

I'm sure CJ and Frost are good schools too. I don't know why y'all need to try to one up here, though. It's silly.

1. I am not judging it only based on math counts, but it is an example that can be used for comparison. Other than these competitions, what can one use to compare? I don't have access to MAP or PARCC scores from other children. In addition, when we say a school is good at STEM, we are not talking about the teachers being good. We are talking about the students being stronger, whether that is due to "outside prep" or not. The reality at MCPS is - it is clear that the students define the schools, not the other way around.

2. I am only making the comparison because the PP claimed that Cabin John and Robert Frost were not even close to TPMS in STEM. I think that conclusion is wrong. If you compare those schools, in average,
CJ and RF are stronger. TPMS top students are stronger (there could be exceptions, occasionally), but that is because of the magnet program.

If only considering the STEM part, choosing a home ES which feeds into Cabin John and Frost would be a better choice. That way even if the kids fail to get into the TPMS magnet program , they can still go into strong STEM programs. If you choose a ES that feeds into TP, it does not increase your chance of getting into the magnet program, and if fails, TPMS in general is not as good as CJ or RF.

If you don't have any relevant data, why assume you can compare? They all seem like good schools.

Outside prep is important to note if you are trying to compare quality of programs. Sounds like you have confused that with preparedness of students. 2 different things.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

PP here. You are VERY lost as to what I was saying. I was not defending that CJ and F can't "come close" to TPMS.I was merely responding to the poster who thought CJ and were clearly better. Did you read my post? You make false accusations then seem to have a lot to see with little grounding or evidence. Just stop. I don't know why you are down on the TPMS catchment kids. They are strong students at TPMS. If you want proof, look at this year's NMSF list -- many from TPMS catchment. The non boundary kid are fantastic too. The school would still be great without them, and I'm sure F & CJ are great too. Enough already!

I am not the PP but I would be interested in knowing what is the reason that you believe TPMS non-magnet part is as good as CJ and RF? Personally I find it hard to make such comparison because in most of math activities I only see kids from Magnet program from TP. For the NMSF list you mentioned: how do you know which students are from the TPMS catchment but not in the magnet program, do they specifically spell out that information?

It may be meaningful for some of us to compare the schools, but many other people would like to have that information so that they can decide where to live.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

1. I am not judging it only based on math counts, but it is an example that can be used for comparison. Other than these competitions, what can one use to compare? I don't have access to MAP or PARCC scores from other children. In addition, when we say a school is good at STEM, we are not talking about the teachers being good. We are talking about the students being stronger, whether that is due to "outside prep" or not. The reality at MCPS is - it is clear that the students define the schools, not the other way around.

2. I am only making the comparison because the PP claimed that Cabin John and Robert Frost were not even close to TPMS in STEM. I think that conclusion is wrong. If you compare those schools, in average,
CJ and RF are stronger. TPMS top students are stronger (there could be exceptions, occasionally), but that is because of the magnet program.

If only considering the STEM part, choosing a home ES which feeds into Cabin John and Frost would be a better choice. That way even if the kids fail to get into the TPMS magnet program , they can still go into strong STEM programs. If you choose a ES that feeds into TP, it does not increase your chance of getting into the magnet program, and if fails, TPMS in general is not as good as CJ or RF.

If you don't have any relevant data, why assume you can compare? They all seem like good schools.

Outside prep is important to note if you are trying to compare quality of programs. Sounds like you have confused that with preparedness of students. 2 different things.

It is true that it is hard to make an accurate comparison without data. For MS in MoCo, does any one have such data?

As a parent I can only provide my impression based on what I see - in various math activities (in MS, math is the main part for STEM), I've seen many times recently, if TP participates, then normally (there could be a few exceptions) TP kids leading, RF coming after them, sometimes Roberto Clemente before RF. But I've never seen any non-magnet kids from TP showing up in these activities.

So my impression is: TP magnet is very strong in STEM, RF (and I know roughly how CJ is doing) would be around 2nd/3rd in the area. There is no evidence showing the strength of the non-magnet kids from TP so that part I can only speculate - maybe average?

As for the "quality of programs" part, I am comparing the quality of students. I can't judge the quality of teachers or the programs since I don't go to their classes and study with them. I can only look at the outcome - whether it is the result of "programs" at school or "out side prep", that is for people to make their own judgement.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

1. I am not judging it only based on math counts, but it is an example that can be used for comparison. Other than these competitions, what can one use to compare? I don't have access to MAP or PARCC scores from other children. In addition, when we say a school is good at STEM, we are not talking about the teachers being good. We are talking about the students being stronger, whether that is due to "outside prep" or not. The reality at MCPS is - it is clear that the students define the schools, not the other way around.

2. I am only making the comparison because the PP claimed that Cabin John and Robert Frost were not even close to TPMS in STEM. I think that conclusion is wrong. If you compare those schools, in average,
CJ and RF are stronger. TPMS top students are stronger (there could be exceptions, occasionally), but that is because of the magnet program.

If only considering the STEM part, choosing a home ES which feeds into Cabin John and Frost would be a better choice. That way even if the kids fail to get into the TPMS magnet program , they can still go into strong STEM programs. If you choose a ES that feeds into TP, it does not increase your chance of getting into the magnet program, and if fails, TPMS in general is not as good as CJ or RF.

If you don't have any relevant data, why assume you can compare? They all seem like good schools.

Outside prep is important to note if you are trying to compare quality of programs. Sounds like you have confused that with preparedness of students. 2 different things.

It is true that it is hard to make an accurate comparison without data. For MS in MoCo, does any one have such data?

As a parent I can only provide my impression based on what I see - in various math activities (in MS, math is the main part for STEM), I've seen many times recently, if TP participates, then normally (there could be a few exceptions) TP kids leading, RF coming after them, sometimes Roberto Clemente before RF. But I've never seen any non-magnet kids from TP showing up in these activities.

So my impression is: TP magnet is very strong in STEM, RF (and I know roughly how CJ is doing) would be around 2nd/3rd in the area. There is no evidence showing the strength of the non-magnet kids from TP so that part I can only speculate - maybe average?

As for the "quality of programs" part, I am comparing the quality of students. I can't judge the quality of teachers or the programs since I don't go to their classes and study with them. I can only look at the outcome - whether it is the result of "programs" at school or "out side prep", that is for people to make their own judgement.

Duh!!!
Have you seen a school competition where schools don't send their best teams?
Would RF and CJ send their best kids or middle the pack to a math competition? Then why wouldn't TPMS send their best? Have you seen non-magnet kids from Clemente showing up for these activities?

[Anonymous]

TPMS is head and shoulders above these schools. It’s no contest and to suggest otherwise is silly.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:TPMS is head and shoulders above these schools. It’s no contest and to suggest otherwise is silly.

OK let me put it this way - TPMS feeds into Blair.
It is very clear Wootton students are much stronger (look at the SAT) than Blair students.

If TPMS is stronger, they must have degraded when going to HS?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:TPMS is head and shoulders above these schools. It’s no contest and to suggest otherwise is silly.

OK let me put it this way - TPMS feeds into Blair.
It is very clear Wootton students are much stronger (look at the SAT) than Blair students.

If TPMS is stronger, they must have degraded when going to HS?

And look at the number of NMSF, Siemens and intel scholars and winners between Blair and Wootton, just to name these...
It is obvious that Blair is much stronger, head and shoulders above Wootton .

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:TPMS is head and shoulders above these schools. It’s no contest and to suggest otherwise is silly.

OK let me put it this way - TPMS feeds into Blair.
It is very clear Wootton students are much stronger (look at the SAT) than Blair students.

If TPMS is stronger, they must have degraded when going to HS?

And look at the number of NMSF, Siemens and intel scholars and winners between Blair and Wootton, just to name these...
It is obvious that Blair is much stronger, head and shoulders above Wootton .

We are talking about the non-magnet part, you know that, right?