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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]Here’s what I don’t understand and can hope someone can help me out. What does the grueling 3-4 hours of homework so for these kids? If the college outcomes at a less rigorous school like Maret look nearly identical or GDS or Sidwell, what is the point of it all? It doesn’t seem like the high schools better prepare these kids for college. So what gives? [/quote]

For our kid, the goal isn't college placement or outcome (and they are still this way in college search).  They chose their school over Maret because they felt like there were more kids in class that were serious about academics and were fully prepared for class. Maret had more of a mix (which, I personally like).  This is not to diss Maret or any other school, as DC felt they could succeed in any of the area schools and get the academic challenge at all of them. But for them, they liked the more serious nature at the school they chose.[/quote]

How can you gauge a class of kids’ academic seriousness? Was this done in one day of a shadow day going into 9th? I don’t have a dog here but am truly trying to wonder. If Maret’s lowest ranking college matriculation one year is a school like ODU and Sidwell’s is Montgomery College, doesn’t that indicate there are a mixes of many types of kids? I know dozens of smart kids with 4.0s that were equally shut out of both schools.[/quote]

I can't speak to your larger question of placement, but my kid based this opinion on time in classes at the schools.  This was pre-COVID and my kid was at each school two separate times shadowing (Fall and after admit). They could tell by how students interacted in class and their discussions outside of class (in between class discussions). They could also tell by how many people had done the homework.  For example, a class where out of 10, 1/3 had clearly done no work at all, 1/3 had done it but probably at a surface level based on class discussions, 1/3 had done it well and were fully engaged in class discussion. At Maret this was very obvious.  Granted it "could" be at the school they chose, it's the same breakdown as to 1/3 no work, 1/3 just getting by work, 1/3 did work in depth but that the seriousness of the culture at their chosen school would mean that students would mask their HW effort better in the classroom setting - and still try to participate as if they had done the work whether they did it or not.  In either case, my kid preferred the more serious one.  But, as I noted, they thought they could thrive and be academically challenged at Maret - so this speaks to your specific college placement comparison.  I am certain my kid would do equally in placement at both. We let them choose. I think it's important they are happy with school fit. I know many families who have chosen Maret over Big 3 schools and their kids are happy and do very very well in college admissions. They were all very strong students going in.[/quote]

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