Reply to I don't get it- very few CES kids get into magnet school?

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Reply to "I don't get it- very few CES kids get into magnet school?"

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]What it clearly shows is how heavily people were self selecting for the magnets before universal screening.  In 2016, 299 Asian students applied for Takoma, in 2018, 689 were screened--about a 60% increase.  By comparison only only 241 white students applied in 2016, while 1230 were identified for screening in 2018--a five fold increase.  Of course Asian numbers went down, they had a disproportionate interest in the program and they're applications from viable candidates were probably beyond saturation.  Anything that causes more students to apply, is going to disadvantage such a group.  URMs are still under represented but the numbers identified are up substantially.  Meanwhile Asians are still represented at twice their population, whites at 25% their population--so in no way has anyone been shut out or a quota been instituted.

I just don't see how it can be argued that screening more applicants is a bad thing.  Sure it means more people may not accept an offer, but that's better than having people who didn't even know their child should be in the program.[/quote]

It's a bad thing for parents who had gotten used to gaming the system to their child's advantage, but a good thing since changes like universal screening and cohort ensure more children benefit.[/quote]

Exactly, and no need to call it gaming the system, [b]it was a system that benefited those in the know[/b] and worked by word of mouth.  Yes, I know MCPS was contacting all parents and telling them they could apply, but I saw how it worked in my circle.  Before my child was in ES, I met a parent who's kid was at an HGC, just knowing them and their experience made us more likely to apply later, my DC got in.  Whenever I met a parent with younger kids I talked up the program.  Twelve years on, I know a one block region of my neighborhood has been over represented in application programs.  Now, maybe that's just a fluke and it would have worked out the same under universal screening, but I have my doubts.  When you don't know anyone who's been involved in the magnets, parents are reluctant to pull their DC from the current school.  It's much better to have parents make that decision after they know their child is eligible and they've had the opportunity to go to a selected students open house.[/quote]
This line of reasoning is getting stale.  Before they moved to the universal testing, there was no less than 2 phone calls per week for months (in both English and Spanish) explaining the magnet application process and the deadlines.  This is on top of all the countless handouts and flyers that came home with the kids explaining the same thing.  To simply say "I know MCPS was contacting all parents and telling them they could apply" is a huge understatement.  It was overwhelming - so every parent was "in the know" unless they chose not to be.  If you choose not to be involved in your child's education that child is likely not a good candidate for the Magnet program.  I have a child at Blair and know that the only way to keep up with the rigors of the program is to have a strong support structure at home.[/quote]

Look at the numbers!  Universal screening is pulling a very different cross section than phone blast, this is not stale reasoning, it's now backed up by data.[/quote]

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