Reply to Did MCPS do a sneaky thing for the magnet lotteries?

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Reply to "Did MCPS do a sneaky thing for the magnet lotteries?"

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]So if a student “prepped” which means that they were prepared for enriched learning then that means that they should not receive enriched learning? I’m not sure I’m understanding the argument here.

BTW, my kid went to CES with no “prep” and we don’t know anyone who did. [/quote]

Yes. Even if the parents encourage kids to learn outside school or even point them in the direction of say a free enrichment resource like Khan Academy, it is inequitable. Because how can a parent who is not educated or doesn't have a fast internet connection compete? In some families there are even two parents. Not fair. Make it all equal first and then we'll see whose kids are actually gifted. How do we measure giftedness after we have equalized everything? I don't know. Why don't we just make it all a lottery and be done with it?  [/quote]
The only way to do what you suggest is to slow the whole system down to such a crawl that it would destroy everything.  The goal isn't to get everyone exactly equal.  It's to find the best of the best.  And those kids are the ones who study all the time and, yes, have some advantages like 2 parent households and books in the home.  There's no way for kids who don't have those things to compete and that's OK.  They can do something elae.[/quote]

I don't think anyone is against enrichment, but these cram schools that teach to the test help average kids present as gifted. These places are effective at improving a child's odds of accessing enriched opportunities but many can't afford them. I'm not honestly sure what the best solution is but the cohort criteria seem to do a good job of limiting their impact while allowing students from less affluent areas a sporting chance. Sure, a few of the less successful preppers may not make the cut but the outliers from all areas will. It isn't perfect by any means but is a big improvement over the system that existed previously where the majority of those being admitted were cram school alumni. At least now the hardworking gifted kid that only has access to Khan Academy has half a chance.[/quote]

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