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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]As the OP of this thread pointed out, times are changing.

Here are the 9th-to-10th grade retention rates for Banneker over the past decade or so, based on OSSE data. (https://osse.dc.gov/enrollment)

* Class of 2016, 88/108, 81%
* Class of 2017, 114/142, 80%
* Class of 2018, 128/167, 77%
* Class of 2019, 133/155, 86%
* Class of 2020, 115/135, 85%
* Class of 2021, 125/142, 88%
* Class of 2022, 135/151, 89%
* Class of 2023, 157/187, 89%
* Class of 2024, 139/161, 86%
* Class of 2025, 135/145, 93%
* Class of 2026, 162/168, 96%
* Class of 2027, 232/245, 95%
* Class of 2028, 179/188, 95%

Note the gradual rise from the Classes of 2016-18, when only 4 out of every 5 students returned for sophomore year, to the Classes of 21-23, when nearly 9 in 10 returned, and then the final jump to the current period, when we have 19 out of 20 returning. Old timers who remember “counseling out” as a major feature at Banneker aren’t lying, but they are out of date. Current families aren’t noticing the phenomenon because it isn’t happening anymore.

[i]Some other indications of change at Banneker:[/i]

[u]GPA[/u]. My recollection is that when my student started at Banneker, there was a minimum GPA required to return. I went looking for it and couldn’t find it in the current handbook. But I did find evidence that the average GPA at Banneker is rising. The GPA cutoff for NHS used to be 3.2 (https://www.benjaminbanneker.org/m/pages/index.jsp?uREC_ID=261782&type=d). It’s currently 3.7. For the Class of 2029, it’s going up to 3.9 (https://www.benjaminbanneker.org/m/pages/index.jsp?uREC_ID=382211&type=d) (page 10).

[u]SAT scores[/u]. Banneker is reporting that the average SAT for the Class of 2025 was 1127 (https://www.benjaminbanneker.org/ourpages/auto/2025/10/21/27554456/25-26%20Banneker%20Information%20Resources.pdf?rnd=1761072180399), up 20 points from even the 23-24 number reported by DCPS (https://dcps.dc.gov/publication/dcps-data-set-sat).

[b][u]AP scores[/u]. Similarly, Banneker is reporting that the AP pass rate for the 24-25 school year was 70% (https://www.benjaminbanneker.org/ourpages/auto/2025/10/21/27554456/25-26%20Banneker%20Information%20Resources.pdf?rnd=1761072180399), up from the 23-24 figure of 57% (https://dcps.dc.gov/publication/ap-score-data-sets).[/b]

That’s FOUR discrepancies in the data, all tied to the Class of 2025 and subsequent classes: increased retention, increased GPA, increased average SAT score, and increased AP pass rate.

The Class of 2025 was also the first class admitted to high school after Walls dropped the exam. It looks to me like the most banal and predictable result possible: Walls used to use an exam to cherry pick students who are good at taking exams. Take away that exam, and more of those students wind up at Banneker (some because Walls is rejecting a lot of high-scoring students these days, and others because, knowing that Walls now rejects a lot of high-scoring students, they cast a broader net and decide they prefer Banneker). And the result is that the student body at Banneker is performing better on a variety of metrics than it was in the past. [/quote]

Very informative. Thank you for this. That link also lists all the college destinations, which readers might be interested in.

And for a PP  who asked, Walls' AP pass rate was 91 percent for the past two years that DCPS reported.[/quote]

Oof. The DCPS AP pass rate definition is very soft-bigotry-of-low-expectations. Students with at least one pass score over students who did APs. So if you took 7 APs and passed 1, you count in the numerator. Unless I completely misinterpreted it.[/quote]

The other factor, though, is that DC schools often require you to take AP classes and the exam as part of that class, so far more students are taking the exam than in some other states.[/quote]

USNews profiles have the more rigorous stat of % of AP exams taken with a score of 3 or higher. SWW is at 86% and Banneker is 45%. Jackson-Reed is at 56%.[/quote]

Wow that is really low for Banneker.  3 is a low bar too.  It is more informative % of 4 and 5.[/quote]

This is so tiresome. If Banneker is not good enough for your child, then don’t apply and be quiet. The school has been pumping out successful graduates for decades now and does not need a bunch of entitled white parents who think their mere presence of their children improves things. If you feel like a 1450 average SAT is what your kid needs to be around, then best of luck to you with your Walls and Cathedral school apps. [/quote]

Someone cites stats and you rage bait them as an “entitled white parent” ….[/quote]

Well I wonder if this speaks to a tension in the school. Clearly many parents, students, teachers and city leadership think of Banneker as the high school version of an HBCU. So what happens when more and more white students start attending?[/quote]

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