Reply to Positive review for Poolesville SMACS program

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]Both the Poolesville and Blair SMACs are HS choice Magnet programs.  Both offer classes that are not offered in other HS curriculum (especially advanced math).  Both are non-lottery applications.  However, both no longer use a Nationally-recognized test to qualify applicants, since MAP is only an indicator of "grade-level" progress and the course offerings are somewhat static, so it's not really a G-T program per-se, although most G-T kids are "grade-level" advanced, so there is significant overlap.

A factor that some college admissions boards may take note of are the national school rankings.  College admissions boards don't normally take the time to examine each HS individually, so will rely upon past performance of students they received as well as well-known national rankings as indicators of success.  For the latter, US News is probably the most widely-known national school ranking system, however, GreatSchools, Niche, Patch, etc. all are roughly comparable.

Outside of the Magnet programs, of the two schools, Poolesville is #248 in National Rankings and 4th in the State of Maryland, whereas Blair is #1,467 nationally and 34th within Maryland.

https://www.usnews.com/education/best-high-schools/maryland/districts/montgomery-county-public-schools/poolesville-high-school-9143
https://www.usnews.com/education/best-high-schools/maryland/districts/montgomery-county-public-schools/montgomery-blair-high-school-9141

Blair's low ranking is likely due to the fact that if you removed the SMACs program from Blair, it does not stand up well as a serious academic school.  Only 62.9% of it's students are "college ready" (even with SMACs).

https://www.montgomeryschoolsmd.org/departments/regulatoryaccountability/glance/currentyear/schools/04757.pdf

In terms of pure Magnet program ranking, Poolesville is #58 in Magnet Rankings whereas Blair was #173.  Compare that to TJ in Virginia which is #1.

https://www.usnews.com/education/best-high-schools/national-rankings/magnet-school-rankings

My understanding is some colleges first use the SAT (or similar) to somewhat mechanically establish cut off scores, then grades, to establish groups, then will look at essays, coursework and extracurruculars of the student to find differentiators.  Other colleges look wholistically at each application at the same time, but I question how many applications they have and how thoroughly they review those applications?  Either way, SAT and other standardized test scores, grades, academic coursework all form an important part of every college application, but for non-straight-A SAT 1500+ students, I would suggest that the real differentiators are what the kids are doing outside of the school and what they write on their individual essays.  Colleges understand that HS can only offer vanilla and chocolate ice cream.  If the kid is into tutti-fruitty, the only way that will shine is through what's done outside of schoolwork.

Blair parents and teachers will claim their courses are super difficult, and Poolesville is not as good.  I would argue, if a tree falls in the woods, does it make a sound?  As you read responses from the very vigorous pro-Blair crowd on DCUMS, see if they are only non-opinionated facts backed up by data within cited articles.

I think the reason for this is they are living in the past, from achievements made that are not theirs, and are in overall denial that the Magnet programs slid into the gutter under the current board, MCPS administration, and AEI office.  I believe the only way to fix this is to vote them out or fire them all, since they seem to be entrenched in their positions.  [/quote]

Wow, there are so many judgments in here, where to begin debunking?

I'll start with the test-- clearly this poster is new to the magnets because for years they had their own test,  not a "nationally recognized test." This was in the old "glory" days that people here mistakenly deufy when they propose the magnets are "watered down " or other such nonsense.  I had a kid in the program then and also later with cogat. All those tests can be prepped for, and the program is about opportunity and growth,  not just math scores. Today's admissions are fine.

Secondly,  Blair is a great school. Yes, I am a former parent,  but I was so impressed with school admin and student body. They perform lower because they have a greater percentage of low income kids who have not had tge enrichment access that students of middle and upper income do. It has excellent teachers and students earning entry to top colleges from magnet, cap and regular Blair.
I don't know why the one upmanship here.

In terms of magnet programs, they are all great. I'd say from parent feedback here and our own experience,  Blair may have some better teachers. One of the phs magnet teachers student taught at Blair and was not a good teacher. Great credits, nice person,  not a good teacher. I know all the top schools recognize Blair magnet, so usnews ranking is unnecessary.  I'm assuming they would know Poolesville as well.  They're not competing against each other![/quote]

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