Anonymous wrote:Is there any evidence that these gifted programs are necessary or that they produce genuine innovators or scholars?

I went to an HYP with lots of kids from Stuyvesant and Lowell. Do some have impressive outcomes? Sure. More impressive than the kids who were just the smart kid at the local public high school? Nope.

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Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Parent of a Walls sophomore; I don’t remember the prompt but they had to write a few paragraphs, handwritten. It was not too intense - just want to make sure your kid can write and organize their thoughts clearly.

This may sound a bit harsh, but it feels worth saying: if you are worried about your child being able to handle the admissions essay, I would think hard if Walls is the right place for your kid. There is a lot of independent work and the writing expectations are high, so if you’re providing a lot of support or have to motivate your child, Walls may not be the right fit.

Lol.

There is so much grade inflation at Walls that the average GPA is close to 4.0.

Cite your references!

Given how many APs kids take, and the fact that most other classes are honors, yes the average GPA is close to a 4.0.

Even if you got a B- in every AP class, that GPA is a 3.7.

How many ap classes do most walls kids take each year? Does it change for juniors and seniors?

Most juniors and seniors take 4 APs. All sophomores take at least one AP. Most freshmen take no APs. But the lower level math, history and English classes are honors so you get a 0.5 GPA bump for those.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Parent of a Walls sophomore; I don’t remember the prompt but they had to write a few paragraphs, handwritten. It was not too intense - just want to make sure your kid can write and organize their thoughts clearly.

This may sound a bit harsh, but it feels worth saying: if you are worried about your child being able to handle the admissions essay, I would think hard if Walls is the right place for your kid. There is a lot of independent work and the writing expectations are high, so if you’re providing a lot of support or have to motivate your child, Walls may not be the right fit.

Lol.

There is so much grade inflation at Walls that the average GPA is close to 4.0.

Cite your references!

The junior class at Walls has an average GPA of 3.93, a number school counselor Kathryn Moore called “very high.” She also noted that the median GPA was over a 4.0.

“It’s definitely hurt my work ethic,” Douglas said. “When I go to college, it’s going to hurt me because I’m not actively putting in as much effort as I should or as I could because of those policies. So when I go to college, I won’t be as prepared. I won’t have the strong work ethic that I probably could have [had] if those policies weren’t in place.”

https://www.swwrookery.com/post/hugely-inflated-are-pandemic-era-grading-policies-doing-more-harm-than-good

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Parent of a Walls sophomore; I don’t remember the prompt but they had to write a few paragraphs, handwritten. It was not too intense - just want to make sure your kid can write and organize their thoughts clearly.

This may sound a bit harsh, but it feels worth saying: if you are worried about your child being able to handle the admissions essay, I would think hard if Walls is the right place for your kid. There is a lot of independent work and the writing expectations are high, so if you’re providing a lot of support or have to motivate your child, Walls may not be the right fit.

Lol.

There is so much grade inflation at Walls that the average GPA is close to 4.0.

Cite your references!

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Parent of a Walls sophomore; I don’t remember the prompt but they had to write a few paragraphs, handwritten. It was not too intense - just want to make sure your kid can write and organize their thoughts clearly.

This may sound a bit harsh, but it feels worth saying: if you are worried about your child being able to handle the admissions essay, I would think hard if Walls is the right place for your kid. There is a lot of independent work and the writing expectations are high, so if you’re providing a lot of support or have to motivate your child, Walls may not be the right fit.

Lol.

There is so much grade inflation at Walls that the average GPA is close to 4.0.

Cite your references!

Given how many APs kids take, and the fact that most other classes are honors, yes the average GPA is close to a 4.0.

Even if you got a B- in every AP class, that GPA is a 3.7.

How many ap classes do most walls kids take each year? Does it change for juniors and seniors?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Parent of a Walls sophomore; I don’t remember the prompt but they had to write a few paragraphs, handwritten. It was not too intense - just want to make sure your kid can write and organize their thoughts clearly.

This may sound a bit harsh, but it feels worth saying: if you are worried about your child being able to handle the admissions essay, I would think hard if Walls is the right place for your kid. There is a lot of independent work and the writing expectations are high, so if you’re providing a lot of support or have to motivate your child, Walls may not be the right fit.

Lol.

There is so much grade inflation at Walls that the average GPA is close to 4.0.

Cite your references!

Given how many APs kids take, and the fact that most other classes are honors, yes the average GPA is close to a 4.0.

Even if you got a B- in every AP class, that GPA is a 3.7.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Parent of a Walls sophomore; I don’t remember the prompt but they had to write a few paragraphs, handwritten. It was not too intense - just want to make sure your kid can write and organize their thoughts clearly.

This may sound a bit harsh, but it feels worth saying: if you are worried about your child being able to handle the admissions essay, I would think hard if Walls is the right place for your kid. There is a lot of independent work and the writing expectations are high, so if you’re providing a lot of support or have to motivate your child, Walls may not be the right fit.

Lol.

There is so much grade inflation at Walls that the average GPA is close to 4.0.

Cite your references!

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Parent of a Walls sophomore; I don’t remember the prompt but they had to write a few paragraphs, handwritten. It was not too intense - just want to make sure your kid can write and organize their thoughts clearly.

This may sound a bit harsh, but it feels worth saying: if you are worried about your child being able to handle the admissions essay, I would think hard if Walls is the right place for your kid. There is a lot of independent work and the writing expectations are high, so if you’re providing a lot of support or have to motivate your child, Walls may not be the right fit.

Lol.

There is so much grade inflation at Walls that the average GPA is close to 4.0.

Anonymous wrote:Parent of a Walls sophomore; I don’t remember the prompt but they had to write a few paragraphs, handwritten. It was not too intense - just want to make sure your kid can write and organize their thoughts clearly.

This may sound a bit harsh, but it feels worth saying: if you are worried about your child being able to handle the admissions essay, I would think hard if Walls is the right place for your kid. There is a lot of independent work and the writing expectations are high, so if you’re providing a lot of support or have to motivate your child, Walls may not be the right fit.

Anonymous wrote:Tell us why you think academic merit and objective tests are bad? Bonus points if you can explain why diversity is more important than what you learn.