Reply to MCPS to end areawide Blair Magnet and countywide Richard Montgomery's IB program

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]I agree that all mcps students who want these options (13 APs, Calc AB or BC? Multivariable?) should have them.

I do not think the regional program is the way to do that. I would add additional countywide programs as needed.

But realize that the universities are going to meet your student where they are and done may not give credit for certain APs.

Your student needs to maximize the opportunities at their school and give back to their community. That’s the key.[/quote]

That's [i]one[/i] key, and places the burden entirely on the student (and possibly sympathetic teachers working outside the norm) to rectify the difference in opportunity afforded by the local school.

Rectifying [i]that[/i] disparity is the other key, and is on MCPS to resolve.  That is, if they are being honest about their priorities.[/quote]

MCPS is not willing to rectify it.  They've been clear to some of us who have kids at schools that don't meet their needs.  And, the new regions are going to make things worse, not better.[/quote]
Generally, the A students (by objective measure, not report cards) are the ones who are able to handle rigor.

There are only 440 seats in Blair SMCS, for over 51,000 students in MCPS. More than 40% of those 440 seats are taken by students from Wootton and Churchill. This is not equitable. I like that the regional model will allow many more students access to sought-after programs.[/quote]

These 440 kids were the best STEM kids in MCPS.  It does not matter what cluster they came from.  Now there will be dilution of all programs.
[/quote]

Wrong.  Very few Blair SMCS kids come from Whitman, whose students win plenty of awards.   If only 4 clusters send the vast majority of students, Blair SMCS is not getting the &quot;best STEM kids&quot; in MCPS.  It's getting the nearest STEM kids in MCPS plus a few whose home high schools are not very good and don't mind busing for 2 hours a day.[/quote]

Your claim is vastly untrue based on the fact that Blair SMCS on average sending 5-10 students to MIT, 10-20 to other ivies, 50% students to TOP 20 colleges, and 1-2 students to represent U.S.A. in international STEM competitions every year. That's the outcome from a total of 100-100 student body. Show me evidence that Whitman can produce that good stats.  [/quote]

You must not understand sampling.  Whitman is a 3000+ student public high school cluster that accepts every student in its geographic cachement, whether they're English language learners or have cognitive disabilities.  Comparing its results to a tiny magnet program that accepts only kids with high MAP-M scores is not the correct comparison.  [/quote]

No need to show percentage as it's unfair to compare percentage for a selected program vs. a public catchment. Show me the absolute college admission numbers because Whitman only can send &gt;=100 qualified students to Blair if SMCS becomes regional. I think I can find the past results on Bethesda magazine, but you need to exclude the ones taking advantage of alumni heritage, or whatever money/power can buy as Whitman has many affluent families (the number is unknown on paper but Whitman parents should have a good understanding).

e.g., this one for 2023: https://bethesdamagazine.com/2023/09/13/where-montgomery-county-high-school-graduates-are-going-to-college/ 
Blair SMCS: MIT - 7; Harvard - 3; Princeton - 2; Yale - 6;
RMIB: MIT - 1; Harvard - 2; Princeton - 4; Yale - 1;
Whitman: MIT - 0; Harvard - 0; Princeton - 2; Yale - 3.

I'm just taking a quick look but you are welcome to provide more evidence. [/quote]

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