Reply to Can "bad" schools get better?

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]We actually choose the Einstein cluster for our kids. Effortless commute to our offices on the redlin in DC, gorgeous home in Kensington for under 500k. Fantastic Oakland Terrace ES and Newport Mill is a great, under the radar MS that has IB middle years program.

Einstein has so much going for it. It's on the small side which is a plus to me (1500-1600 students). It houses the very competitive Visual Arts Center, offers the IB program and has at least 3 different academies for kids to choose from (Renaissance, International Business, and Visual and Performing Arts). It also has a nice mix of races. It does have a high FARMS rate, about 50%, but I've found MCPS to be very good at providing appropriate academic challenge in our kids' schools which have always had a mixed range of abilities and needs.

My family is white, and when evaluating schools we tend to look at white performance on MSA, SAT, etc. Einstein's white student population performs as well as and sometimes better than what are being referred to as the "good" schools. Einstien's white students had the fifth highest SAT scores for the past school year. Clearly these kids are doing very well. Here's the link to the data: 
http://www.montgomeryschoolsmd.org/info/pdf/SATBOEMemo10614.pdf

While the other racial groups at Einstein are not performing at the same level as a whole, that does not mean that they are terrible, underachievers. They are by and large bright, hard working kids who have a lot to offer. Most of these kids go on to college and are well prepared to do so. Just because a student doesn't get a 5 on an AP exam doesn't mean the student learned nothing. Research has shown that taking AP classes in high school, regardless of the scores, is great preparation for college.  I love that MCPS offers challenging classes to anyone who wants to take them.

Off my soap box now.

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Why are you only looking at white scores? Why does it matter what the race breakdown of the school is? You should only be concerned with the test, SAT scores and poverty rates.[/quote]

Because I'm pretty sure Jay Matthews told me this was the best way to evaluate a school with a diverse ses and ethnic student population. This was also my experience growing up in city schools myself.  The white kids in the Einstein cluster are a pretty homogenous middle/upper middle class group with college educated parents. How these kids perform is a very good indicator of how my kids will perform at the same school.

The performance of FARMS, black and Hispanic kids at Einstein are important to me, but there are many issues factoring into their performance that I don't understand and can't identify with. But I like these kids and they are my kids' friends. Getting a C in a class doesn't mean you're ruining the class with your presence. Earning an SAT score that is in line with the national average doesn't make you a useless waste case not fit to sit next to my child in a class.

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