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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]Let me respectfully disagree with the pp in that this is NOT how you evaluate a school. You should not be interested as much in the average performance of a school (SAT scores, National Merit, etc.) as you should be in how YOUR student will do there. The truth is that a relatively larger number of first-generation Americans are in the school and are taking the SAT and are the 1st generation to go to college, sometimes at less prestigious places. This brings down the average. But there are also students from educated families with a lot of resources who know about and can afford to go to fancy schools. Averages don't mean much, though I will admit it is much easier to look at a page of statistics than ask people, visit, go to Einstein events, etc.[/quote]

Yes, this.  SAT scores, in particular, are heavily correlated with family income.  These four charts from the Washington Post lay it out: http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/wonkblog/wp/2014/03/05/these-four-charts-show-how-the-sat-favors-the-rich-educated-families/

Similarly, many colleges have stopped participating in the National Merit Scholarship program because of the degree to which family income and test scores are linked.

So, the PP would have us look at SAT scores, PSAT scores, and elite college admissions to determine whether Einstein meets the educational needs of our children.  But all those things tell us is that Einstein families tend to, on average, be less rich than the families at other schools in the area.  She is literally listing things are are purely a proxy for wealth.

If your main proxy for whether a high school is a good fit for your family is "presence of rich kids," then Einstein will fail.  But that's a very shallow rationale for choosing a high school.  [/quote]

People are full of excuses for poor performance, but when I saw how low the percentage of Einstein students even bothering to take the SATs was a few years ago, I ruled it out as an option.  I'd have been OK with lower scores and higher participation rates, but not a school where so many kids aren't being prepared for much beyond a counter at McDonald's.   Sorry if that's not PC enough for you, but being around high-achieving peers is more important in my opinion to letting kids know what they're facing in a global economy.  The only good thing I hear about Einstein is that you can be a big fish in a small pond, and the pond is getting bigger all the time. [/quote]

Many of us in eastern MoCo are sufficiently confident in our parenting choices that we do not feel the need to surround our children with affluent peers.  We know that the family, community, and school choices we make will position our kids for success.

I no longer have kids in MCPS, but my two went to Woodlin, Sligo MS, and Einstein HS.  My older child is now in medical school, and will begin her residency at an excellent teaching hospital in the fall.  My second is a rising senior at a highly competitive college, considering whether to work for a few years, or continue on to grad school.

When my kids attended Einstein, it had many more problems than it does now.  Their high-achieving cohort/peers were far fewer in number, and the administration had a difficult time grappling with the many social problems other students brought to school.  But my kids' peer group was large enough in number, and supported enough at home and in our community that we never felt that their success was in jeopardy by virtue of our school choice.  I understand from neighbors that Einstein has improved exponentially in the last several years, and fwiw I only know one family whose child attends private school.

My DH and I are both physicians.  We were never forced into sending our kids to Silver Spring schools.  We chose to do so.  I have no regrets at all about that.  [/quote]

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