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Analysis of Percentage of National Merit Semifinalists at Different Schools
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Anonymous
So you're saying that the best solution for a Bethesda-based, not-interested-in-science-and-tech, history buff is to go to TJ? The math-science magnet? In Virginia? |
Anonymous
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I must admit that I find this thread simply bizzare. TJ and STA are fundamentally different animals. TJ may have more NMSF, but so what. TJ is a public school in NoVa that focuses on the sciences, and that is great. Note its name and history as well as its eligibility requirements. Its creation was terrific idea by the technology oriented businesses in NoVa. STA is a traditional structured all-boys schools that is extremely strong in English, history, etc. with a long history of stressing public service. Though long welcoming students of all faiths, STA has certain religious requirements that are broadly mainstream Christian. The only people who should care about the TJ-STA differences are possibly those living in or willing to move to NoVa and who believe that both TJ and STA would be good fits for their sons and realistically could get admitted. My guess is that the number of boys falling into the latter category for any particular grade could be counted on no more than a few hands at most.
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Anonymous
| Why can't individuals accept TJ does extraordinarily well each year in the number of National Merit Finalists compared to other schools, public and private, including STA without civil war clarion calls by STA boosters that this implies the poster demands that one should head for the Virginia hills and get out of dodge. Bizarre indeed. Smacks of big time doubt and insecurity. |
Anonymous
| 19:43, thank you for a post that finally makes some sense! I think my son is actually one of those few, but we are leaning toward St. Anselms b/c my son is not particularly focused on the sciences, we are Catholic, and he is shy and might be intimidated at STA. The numbers are helpful, but what is really helpful is when people share their constructive thoughts about the types of kids who thrive at these various schools. |
Anonymous
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Here are the numbers for 2003 taken from the website www.mathteachingtoday.com. All the Independant Privates seem to be members of this organization.
I don't know where the OP got their data but they should cite their sources. The data would also be more helpful if they had an average of senior class sizes... not an average of the current sophmore, junior, senior years. The range is class size at some schools is questionable... case in point there is a substantial change in the OP's representation of Sidwell's Senior, Junior, and class sizes. I might add that the website lists 120 for as the number of students in all three classes which is larger than the poster's average class size of 114. Going back many years doesn't help in the context that several of Privates have larger Senior classes than they did 10 years ago which completely skews percentils against these schools. Furthermore, data dating back to further than a decade really isn't relevant at this point. Finally, remember any data can be manipulated. For example using the data going back to 2000 and dropping the high/low of each school and then look at the mean average. When this is done using an average class size of 120 for Sidwell Friends - the numbers go down, NCS goes up... my point is data can be manipulated. Here's the article from www.mathteachingtoday: This year, the cutoff points for semi-finalist were as follows: students who attend schools in Maryland, 218; Virginia, 217; and in D.C., 218. Note that D.C. is traditionally given a cutoff point equal to the highest cutoff point of any state in the country. Likewise, boarding school students have the maximum cutoff point. caps=public school District of Columbia Georgetown Day High School 17, Georgetown Visitation Preparatory School 5, Gonzaga College High School 5, Maret School 4, National Cathedral School 7, SCHOOL WITHOUT WALLS 2, Sidwell Friends School 13, St. Alban's School 12, St. Anselm's Abbey School 2, WOODROW WILSON HIGH SCHOOL 7 Montgomery County, Md. French International School 1, Holton-Arms School 7, WALTER JOHNSON 6, Stone Ridge Country Day 3, WALT WHITMAN 12, PAINT BRANCH 1, QUINCE ORCHARD 2, WATKINS MILL 2, NORTHWEST 1, SENECA VALLEY 1, Georgetown Preparatory 4, WINSTON CHURCHILL 7, St. Andrew's Episcopal 1, COLONEL ZADOK MAGRUDER 1, RICHARD MONTGOMERY 23, ROCKVILLE 2, Charles E. Smith Jewish Day School 9, THOMAS S. WOOTEN 7, Sandy Spring Friends 1, SHERWOOD 2, BETHESDA-CHEVY CHASE NORTH 8, MONTGOMERY BLAIR 30, Hebrew Academy of Greater Washington 3, SPRINGBROOK 2 Arlington County, Fairfax County, Alexandria, and Falls Church (Va.) Bishop Denis J. O'Connell 3, WAKEFIELD 2, WASHINGTON-LEE 3, YORKTOWN 4, ANNANDALE 1, CENTREVILLE 3, CHANTILLY 1, FAIRFAX HIGH 2, FLINT HILL 1, Islamic Saudi Academy 1, THOMAS JEFFERSON 144, LAKE BRADDOCK SECONDARY 2, Madeira 3, JAMES MADISON 3, MCLEAN 2, OAKTON 8, Paul VI 1, Potomac School 8, ROBINSON SECONDARY 3, SOUTH LAKES 4, J.E.B. STUART HIGH SCHOOL 1, W.T. WOODSON 1, WEST SPRINGFIELD 3, T.C. WILLIAMS 5, Episcopal 2, St. Stephen's and St. Agnes' 1, GEORGE MASON 3 BETHESDA-CHEVY CHASE 8, MONTGOMERY BLAIR 31, EUBIE BLAKE 1, WINSTON CHURCHILL 8, Connelly School of the Holy Child 3, ETS Chaiyim 1, Good Counsel 2, Georgetown Prep 4, The Heights 2, Holton Arms 13, Jewish Day 3, WALTER JOHNSON 7, JOHN F. KENNEDY 1, Landon 4, OXON HILL 3, Pallotti 1, Queen Anne 1, RICHARD MONTGOMERY 26, ROCKVILLE 1, ELEANOR ROOSEVELT 10, Sandy Spring Friends 1, SPRINGBROOK 2, Stone Ridge Country Day 4, WALT WHITMAN 19, THOMAS S. WOOTTON 11, Yeshiva 3, WATKINS MILL 1 District of Columbia Edmund Burke 1, Field 1, Georgetown Day 4, Georgetown Visitation Preparatory School 3, Gonzaga College High School 3, Maret 4, National Cathedral School 11, SCHOOL WITHOUT WALLS 1, Sidwell Friends 24, St. Albans 13, St. Anselm's Abbey 4 |
Anonymous
Interesting observation. I did not attend TJ or Blair but I majored in English in College. I personally found my depth and AP experience in the sciences (Physics and Biology) as well as Calculus in high school to be a tremendous advantage in my later rigorous study of the social sciences (Philosophy, Economics, History and English) in College. While it is not expected that kids attending public school go to such depths. Afterall, many have no intention of going on to College but trade schools or other avenues. One hundred percent of my prep school classmates, if not their parents, were headed to College after high school. Most did not go into science, medicine or engineering -- including those with a broad and deep exposure to math and science in high school. Too many times people make the assumption the student with a deep and strong background in math and science for all 4 high school years are heading to engineering, science or medicine. This is not always the case. In my school many ended up on Wall Street in finance for a good portion of their careers. I wouldn't assume that attending Blair magnet program of TJ makes you a one dimensional student. Today, I would even wager that comparative review of their ACT/SAT and APs scores will confirm this. But, we don't have the data so the latter assertion is pure speculation. |
SAM2
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Thanks for your interest, PP. I think the data you suggested adding is actually from Sept 1999 for the class of 2000, and is already in the spreadsheet. It's cited at row 51, I believe. I'm not certain I understand the logic of your point about tracking the numbers of old senior classes. But if you can dig up those numbers, maybe I can figure a way to include them. On your point about manipulating data, I understand how statistical tools can be used to skew data, but that's not what I'm interested in doing here.
Thanks again. Please keep the data coming. |
Anonymous
http://schoolprofiles.fcps.edu/schlprfl/f?p=108:5:372211914998867::NO:  0_CURRENT_SCHOOL_ID:300
here is the SAT and AP data on TJ you are looking for. Blair on the MCPS website but doesn't break out the magnet program. |
Anonymous
Yeah, I am not the original poster but I'll certainly postpone my analysis until the raw data is clean. |
Anonymous
| Thanks for the link to TJ. WOW!! I think that will suffice here. There is no subject breakdown for the APs ... but WOW!! Thank god my formal student days are long over. I would not be competitive in today's world. |
Anonymous
Looking at the trends of NMFs in the Blair Magnet and TJ I am confidant the magnet program at Blair will serve up numbers in the same ballpark. WOW!! |
Anonymous
| Thanks for the link to TJ. WOW!! I think that will suffice here. There is no subject breakdown for the APs ... but WOW!! Thank god my formal student days are long over. I would not be competitive in today's world. |
Anonymous
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________________________________________________________________________________________ Res ipsa loquitur Thanks for sharing. |
Anonymous
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Res ipsa loquitur Thanks for sharing. You might not be thanking me if you knew that I wrote the first post you quoted above, as well as posted the TJ data. |
Anonymous
| You bet. The words of a detractor sometimes makes the most powerful argument. |