I have a son at the Blair magnet, and while he likes it, I've met several parents who tell me their kids don't like it. One told me that her son doesn't like that it feels competitive all the time, but that he doesn't want to go back to his home high school because he feels he should finish what he started. Another whose son graduated a couple years ago told me that her son wasn't happy socially, because he didn't go to Takoma middle, and he thought the Takoma kids were cliquish.

Anonymous wrote:My 8th grader is resisting applying to Magnet programs -- the Blair program, in particular -- because she perceives it as insufficiently "cool."

She's always loved math and her MAP scores are the highest in her MS. She admits that her classes now aren't really challenging. But at this moment in her life, she's most interested in her social life and her after-school activities, so she wants to go to her home HS (where her friends are going.)

My thought is she should apply now and decide later -- who knows, right? -- but I was curious if anyone with experience could speak to the social dynamics at Blair, and whether it might be a good fit for a teen who is much more interested in using her free time to shop than study.

The best you can do is encourage her interest. I can pretty much guarantee you that no kid who really doesn't want to go to a magnet high school will get in. They can always test poorly if they want to.

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Perhaps this is not the real reason? The magnet high schools are incredibly selective, and your daughter might not want to apply if she's afraid of rejection. What MAP scores does she have?

The math person at her MS told me highest in the school. Math was 279 I think?

TPMS has plenty of MAP-M over 300 - .

Troll. OP Don't believe this post.

Oh no, this is absolutely true.

-- parent of two kids who went to Takoma

+ 1
- Another TPMS parent

Give me a break. A couple does not mean plenty.
Parent of a top nationally awarded math student.

That does not give you any insight of TPMS students performance on map-m test. Also MAP-M has nothing to do with math competition (if this nationally award was from math competition). A kid who is not good at math competition can still score map-m extremely high if he/she is learning well above his/her grade level. TPMS magnet math is above grade level, and some of magnets can skip Algebra II at 9th grade.

DP (also a parent of a TPMS magnet alum):

Following all these posts, I am not sure - if I were the OP - whose opinion I would give more weight to: parents (whose kids have gone to TPMS magnet, done well in math, may have gone onto Blair magnet, etc.) who say 279 MAP-M is pretty good (it is 99% after all) and encourage the kid to apply to Blair magnet OR parents who say there are plenty (what is plenty? 20%?, 32.6%?, 95%?) of kids in TPMS magnet who score 300+, 279 is not a competitive score, etc.

Oh, never mind - I actually am sure

OP: FYI: While TPMS sends a lot of students to Blair magnet, there are MANY non-TPMS kids in Blair magnet, some even with IEPs, and MAP scores similar to your DC. And there are kids who are not that much into math, but more into Biology, etc. Admission is not based on one single factor. Ignore all this focus on TPMS kids and their MAP scores. Good luck!

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Anonymous wrote:I am shocked so many people remember these scores!

It’s part of their identity as parents.

Sour grapes much?

What is easy to remember ? When your kid do a very good test, run a very good 1 mile race, you will remember his/her score and time.

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Anonymous wrote:
Perhaps this is not the real reason? The magnet high schools are incredibly selective, and your daughter might not want to apply if she's afraid of rejection. What MAP scores does she have?

The math person at her MS told me highest in the school. Math was 279 I think?

TPMS has plenty of MAP-M over 300 - .

Troll. OP Don't believe this post.

Oh no, this is absolutely true.

-- parent of two kids who went to Takoma

+ 1
- Another TPMS parent

Give me a break. A couple does not mean plenty.
Parent of a top nationally awarded math student.

That does not give you any insight of TPMS students performance on map-m test. Also MAP-M has nothing to do with math competition (if this nationally award was from math competition). A kid who is not good at math competition can still score map-m extremely high if he/she is learning well above his/her grade level. TPMS magnet math is above grade level, and some of magnets can skip Algebra II at 9th grade.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I am shocked so many people remember these scores!

It’s part of their identity as parents.

Sour grapes much?