Reply to Magnet MS results - Takoma Park & Eastern

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]The curriculum at the home middle schools is very different than at the magnets. I have a child currently in 8th at a magnet and one in 6th at our home middle school and the differences I see have little to do with the peer group and much to do with the expectations and curriculum in the magnet subjects. [/quote]

This - my Eastern child is incensed by this - he says, and rightly so, that if there are that many qualified kids, then there should be more slots for them.  He's also more than a little concerned that there were no essays this year - he says with all the writing at Eastern how do they know whether those kids are going to be up to the task, or are they going to water down the curriculum?  I told him that the kids will self-select, and they are all more than capable of doing the work - in fact there are probably several hundred more kids that are more than capable of doing this work and being told that they are not going to get the opportunity.[/quote]

Yes, I am stymied as to why they ditched the essay, awards, activities and teacher recs.  All of these give insights beyond testing that hep determine if a kid is a good fit for MSM.  Isn't that what the choice report was saying? Don't strictly base on testing?  THis year's approach seems to  cater towards the good testers (and those in advantageous locations for the selection it seems).

My kids have gotten into ES, MS & HS magnets. Every one they applied to. Not because they had the best test scores across the board either. There were other factors that recommended them that were revealed through the essays, awards, activities and teacher recs. They are A students in magnet.  It seems like this more holistic view of the submitted material was a better way forward than eliminating it all.

Though, I do think universal testing is good for inclusion. Maybe it should be used as a screening tool. Take top half and have them submit apps?[/quote]

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