Reply to Question for Supporters of New WotP High School

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]
You're dodging the question:  really, what's the purpose of the lottery proposal other than to threaten Wilson families?  I don't get it.[/quote]

Families that can't get into Wilson think it's unfair that they can't get into Wilson. Unless you live in-bounds for Wilson, or attended an elementary school that feeds a middle school that feeds Wilson, you currently have zero percent chance of being admitted. With a lottery that chance moves from zero to non-zero for those families.

The problem the task force has been stumped by is that when you have a limited number of seats at a desirable school there really isn't any defensible way of deciding who gets them and who doesn't. By "defensible" I mean a system where the outcome is accepted by people other than the winners.

What the lottery has going for it is that the current system doesn't work all that well for very many people. Roughly 75% of the seats in public education right now are assigned by lottery. If you're in that group it's simple math that going to 100% improves your chances of getting a quality seat.  The current boundary system just doesn't have a large constituency.[/quote]

Interesting.  Then a number of stakeholders believe that going to a lottery system would leave the quality of the educational experience at Wilson unchanged.  It wouldn't.  Without Ward 3 families feeding directly into Wilson, the academics at Wilson would go into the dumpster pretty quick.  This equation should be obvious, but obviously, it is not.  I must admit I'm perplexed why people don't, or can't, see this reality.[/quote]

Half a loaf is better than none.

Which is better: a zero percent chance of getting into a school with proficiency scores in the 80's, or a non-zero chance of getting into a school with proficiency scores in the 60's? Some people would take the second, particularly those who currently have the zero chance.

(I hate using proficiency scores as a measure of anything but it's a handy shorthand).[/quote]

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