Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:High performing students in any school - W or ganglandia- will end up in mostly AP classes. You could be in W or QO or Watkins Mill HS and not take AP classes and the chances would be that you were mediocre or below. There is a reason that colleges look for mostly A's in the hardest courses that your school offers. Hardest classes currently are either AP or IB.

The AP courses at these schools are not at the same level. Look at the test results (just a selection of schools):

2017 AP Pass Rates (3 or above):
Kennedy - 36.2
Watkins Mill - 34.1
Rockville - 54.9
QO - 57.2
Einstein - 61.9
Clarksburg - 69.1
RM - 79.9
B-CC - 80.4
Churchill - 85.3
Blair - 86.3
WJ - 87.1
Poolesville - 87.7
Whitman - 88.2
Wootton - 89.2

These pass rates also don't show the wide disparity between schools on scores between 3 and 5. The schools at the low end do not provide the same quality of education.

Thanks for posting this information about AP results

Oh dear me. What does it prove? That there are more students in Wootton taking AP courses than Watkins Mill? Duh! That is given,

If 3/10 students in WM take APs and 8/10 students in Wootton take APs is that surprising? No.

What is surprising is that anyone would think that the quality of education that the 3 students in WM in the AP classes received is less than that the 8 students receive in Wootton.

Those stats are for rates of passing APs, not taking them.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:High performing students in any school - W or ganglandia- will end up in mostly AP classes. You could be in W or QO or Watkins Mill HS and not take AP classes and the chances would be that you were mediocre or below. There is a reason that colleges look for mostly A's in the hardest courses that your school offers. Hardest classes currently are either AP or IB.

The AP courses at these schools are not at the same level. Look at the test results (just a selection of schools):

2017 AP Pass Rates (3 or above):
Kennedy - 36.2
Watkins Mill - 34.1
Rockville - 54.9
QO - 57.2
Einstein - 61.9
Clarksburg - 69.1
RM - 79.9
B-CC - 80.4
Churchill - 85.3
Blair - 86.3
WJ - 87.1
Poolesville - 87.7
Whitman - 88.2
Wootton - 89.2

These pass rates also don't show the wide disparity between schools on scores between 3 and 5. The schools at the low end do not provide the same quality of education.

Thanks for posting this information about AP results

Oh dear me. What does it prove? That there are more students in Wootton taking AP courses than Watkins Mill? Duh! That is given,

If 3/10 students in WM take APs and 8/10 students in Wootton take APs is that surprising? No.

What is surprising is that anyone would think that the quality of education that the 3 students in WM in the AP classes received is less than that the 8 students receive in Wootton.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:High performing students in any school - W or ganglandia- will end up in mostly AP classes. You could be in W or QO or Watkins Mill HS and not take AP classes and the chances would be that you were mediocre or below. There is a reason that colleges look for mostly A's in the hardest courses that your school offers. Hardest classes currently are either AP or IB.

The AP courses at these schools are not at the same level. Look at the test results (just a selection of schools):

2017 AP Pass Rates (3 or above):
Kennedy - 36.2
Watkins Mill - 34.1
Rockville - 54.9
QO - 57.2
Einstein - 61.9
Clarksburg - 69.1
RM - 79.9
B-CC - 80.4
Churchill - 85.3
Blair - 86.3
WJ - 87.1
Poolesville - 87.7
Whitman - 88.2
Wootton - 89.2

These pass rates also don't show the wide disparity between schools on scores between 3 and 5. The schools at the low end do not provide the same quality of education.

Thanks for posting this information about AP results

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My experience has primarily been with the magnet programs. We have been in very diverse schools with high rates of FARMS/ESOL population and the overall experience has been good for us mainly because the classroom dynamics and peer group has been that of like-ability students.

I will say that Magnet program in HS was much more intense, Middle school was by far the weakest (even in the test-in) because it was just a few classes that were magnet. As a result we continued to supplement outside of the school.

We see a lot of private school kids in the magnet program in ES and MS, and my sense from talking to many of the parents is that the needs of highly able students are seldom met in private schools both in terms of peer grouping as well as curriculum.

Of course, this is all just an opinion. As parents we take best decisions for our family and circumstances.

Honest question: if highly able kids aren’t being served well in private or public school, then what’s the answer for how to educate them before they get to magnet or top private HS’s?

I am the PP whose post you commented on.

Ideally parents should keep a close eye on the abilities and needs of their children. That way, you can customize what and how you supplement and enrich your child outside the school day. You can never ever control for all the variables in a school day - teachers, peers, curriculum, length of the period, student interest, length of instruction year, illness, textbooks. So, leaving it all to the school will be a recipe for at least a small disaster. How can a model that is based on giving a uniform education to all students (magnet, public, private) be able to hone in on your kids need for more specific and personalized education in a particular subject or topic? Especially as your kids needs and abilities may change every single day, in each period, in each subject, in each topic? I am not advocating for homeschooling. I actually like public schools. I like the diversity in all forms - SES, race, culture, abilities/needs that is represented and felt that it was worthwhile for my kids to be exposed to it. Parents can't be hands-off.

There are three things that we did as parents 1) made sure that a solid foundational curriculum was being imparted to our kids 2) researched all kinds of resources and incorporated what we felt was worthwhile and 3) as they grew up and showed aptitude and interest towards something, we made sure that we made opportunities and material available to them.

There is a baseline foundational curriculum that all students should get and there are some solid resources available that allows you to do so. (BTW - I am the OP of a thread about curriculum and resources for ES and MS years - http://www.dcurbanmom.com/jforum/posts/list/716481.page ). What they are learning at school can certainly be supplemented by these resources. Finally, we are resource heavy in DMV for all kinds of enriching experiences and we can certainly avail of them.

Once they enter HS, everything gets focussed on the HS journey and the college application process. So it is vital that the first 14 years of their lives is spent in making their academic and educational foundation as strong and wide as it can be. The pace is HS becomes intense and so the less gaps in knowledge and foundational skills there are, the better.

As parents you have to maintain a delicate balance between not pushing too hard but pushing hard enough. You have to become knowledgeable enough that you know when the instruction/curriculum/rigor is lacking for your child and how to rectify it.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Have you visited Bullis? My child's abilities exceeded what the W schools could provide. Bullis even had classes for him that was not available at any MCPS school thanks to their STEM program and new science building.

If your child is happy with a magnet school, then good for you. Our experience, a private looked at the whole child and offered him courses based on his needs. Public told us that he exceeded what they offered and they could not have classes for 1 child. He would have had to be dual enrolled at MC versus having a class with a teacher at a private.

Bullis tuition and fees, 2018-2019 school year

K-1: $34,073
2-5: $38,720
6-8: $41,274
9-10: $42,961
11: $43,046
12: $43,131

For that kind of money, I would hope that Bullis offers something that MCPS doesn't.

+1 How many Bullis students have won science and math competitions? I'm sure private schools are fine for most kids and provides smaller class sizes and more 1:1 attention. But c'mon, as far as the best STEM program, there is no way Bullis is better than Blair or even Poolesville.

Bullis parent is delusional.
Who can blame her? After paying that kind of money for an inferior product , I'd be delusional too.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I know this is dumb but... What do y'all think? I'd say-

Whitman
Churchill
WJ
BCC
Wootton
Poolesville
QO
RM
Sherwood
Clarksburg

Magnet MCPS anything
Private school HS
Catholic school HS
.
.
.
.
.
W schools

I actually don't think so.
The W's are equal to the top privates but they both (W's & privates ) are way behind the Magnets.

New PP chiming in. I have had several children go through Churchill cluster schools. High school standards were not what I had as an MCPS student and school standards in the elementary and middle school were lowered from 2.0. I toured the privates close to our house - Georgetown Prep (Catholic) and Bullis (non religious) - and I was amazed at their class offereings and resources. If you can swallow the price tag, these two schools are far beyond anything in MCPS.

You are definitely dreaming and delusional.
No private schools in the area can match the Magnets.
Only the top privates are equal to the W's. Bullis is not one of them

Have you visited Bullis? My child's abilities exceeded what the W schools could provide. Bullis even had classes for him that was not available at any MCPS school thanks to their STEM program and new science building.

If your child is happy with a magnet school, then good for you. Our experience, a private looked at the whole child and offered him courses based on his needs. Public told us that he exceeded what they offered and they could not have classes for 1 child. He would have had to be dual enrolled at MC versus having a class with a teacher at a private.

Again, what has your kid and Bullis done in Math and Science?
When it comes to STEM, Bullis does not even register on the radar.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Regeneron_Science_Talent_Search

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Sometimes in life, you get what you pay for. Privates do often consider financial need so there's a sliding scale as far as tuition. Finally, children are different. What is working for one child may not meet the needs of another. The public school model is based on serving the middle 50%. That leaves the top and bottom 50% underserved.

No wonder MCPS schools are overcrowded.

Or put another way: a great example of higher level private school math.

Anonymous wrote:Sometimes in life, you get what you pay for. Privates do often consider financial need so there's a sliding scale as far as tuition. Finally, children are different. What is working for one child may not meet the needs of another. The public school model is based on serving the middle 50%. That leaves the top and bottom 50% underserved.

No wonder MCPS schools are overcrowded.

Sometimes in life, you get what you pay for. Privates do often consider financial need so there's a sliding scale as far as tuition. Finally, children are different. What is working for one child may not meet the needs of another. The public school model is based on serving the middle 50%. That leaves the top and bottom 50% underserved.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Have you visited Bullis? My child's abilities exceeded what the W schools could provide. Bullis even had classes for him that was not available at any MCPS school thanks to their STEM program and new science building.

If your child is happy with a magnet school, then good for you. Our experience, a private looked at the whole child and offered him courses based on his needs. Public told us that he exceeded what they offered and they could not have classes for 1 child. He would have had to be dual enrolled at MC versus having a class with a teacher at a private.

Bullis tuition and fees, 2018-2019 school year

K-1: $34,073
2-5: $38,720
6-8: $41,274
9-10: $42,961
11: $43,046
12: $43,131

For that kind of money, I would hope that Bullis offers something that MCPS doesn't.

+1 How many Bullis students have won science and math competitions? I'm sure private schools are fine for most kids and provides smaller class sizes and more 1:1 attention. But c'mon, as far as the best STEM program, there is no way Bullis is better than Blair or even Poolesville.

Even Poolesville? You realize the Blair and Poolesville programs are the same, right? The anti-upcounty bias on this board is unbelievable sometimes.

Anonymous wrote:What criteria is used to decide which is "top?" If it's who sends the most students to Harvard, Princeton and MIT, according to polarislist.com, Blair is tops:

Montgomery Blair High School (Silver Spring), with a total of 21 sent to those three institutions 2015-2017:
Richard Montgomery High School (Rockville), with 20 students sent
Winston Churchill High School (Potomac), with 13 students sent
Thomas S. Wootton High School (Rockville), with 12 students sent
Walt Whitman High School (Bethesda), with 11 students sent
Walter Johnson High School (Bethesda), with 8 students sent
Poolesville High School (Poolesville), with 5 students sent
BCC (Bethesda), with 4 students sent
Einstein (Kensington), with 1 student sent
Gaithersburg High School (Gaithersburg), with 1 student sent

Of course, what's much more important is who turns out the happiest, most well adjusted students, not just the stressed out over achievers.

And three schools among the elite mean nothing. This survey is silly; see other thread, Blair magnet cheerleader

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I know this is dumb but... What do y'all think? I'd say-

Whitman
Churchill
WJ
BCC
Wootton
Poolesville
QO
RM
Sherwood
Clarksburg

Magnet MCPS anything
Private school HS
Catholic school HS
.
.
.
.
.
W schools

I actually don't think so.
The W's are equal to the top privates but they both (W's & privates ) are way behind the Magnets.

New PP chiming in. I have had several children go through Churchill cluster schools. High school standards were not what I had as an MCPS student and school standards in the elementary and middle school were lowered from 2.0. I toured the privates close to our house - Georgetown Prep (Catholic) and Bullis (non religious) - and I was amazed at their class offereings and resources. If you can swallow the price tag, these two schools are far beyond anything in MCPS.

You are definitely dreaming and delusional.
No private schools in the area can match the Magnets.
Only the top privates are equal to the W's. Bullis is not one of them

Have you visited Bullis? My child's abilities exceeded what the W schools could provide. Bullis even had classes for him that was not available at any MCPS school thanks to their STEM program and new science building.

If your child is happy with a magnet school, then good for you. Our experience, a private looked at the whole child and offered him courses based on his needs. Public told us that he exceeded what they offered and they could not have classes for 1 child. He would have had to be dual enrolled at MC versus having a class with a teacher at a private.

I wasn’t aware hat bullies offered classes more advanced quantum physics and mathematical physics (which itself is beyond multivariable calculus and derivatives),

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Have you visited Bullis? My child's abilities exceeded what the W schools could provide. Bullis even had classes for him that was not available at any MCPS school thanks to their STEM program and new science building.

If your child is happy with a magnet school, then good for you. Our experience, a private looked at the whole child and offered him courses based on his needs. Public told us that he exceeded what they offered and they could not have classes for 1 child. He would have had to be dual enrolled at MC versus having a class with a teacher at a private.

Bullis tuition and fees, 2018-2019 school year

K-1: $34,073
2-5: $38,720
6-8: $41,274
9-10: $42,961
11: $43,046
12: $43,131

For that kind of money, I would hope that Bullis offers something that MCPS doesn't.

+1 How many Bullis students have won science and math competitions? I'm sure private schools are fine for most kids and provides smaller class sizes and more 1:1 attention. But c'mon, as far as the best STEM program, there is no way Bullis is better than Blair or even Poolesville.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I know this is dumb but... What do y'all think? I'd say-

Whitman
Churchill
WJ
BCC
Wootton
Poolesville
QO
RM
Sherwood
Clarksburg

Magnet MCPS anything
Private school HS
Catholic school HS
.
.
.
.
.
W schools

I actually don't think so.
The W's are equal to the top privates but they both (W's & privates ) are way behind the Magnets.

New PP chiming in. I have had several children go through Churchill cluster schools. High school standards were not what I had as an MCPS student and school standards in the elementary and middle school were lowered from 2.0. I toured the privates close to our house - Georgetown Prep (Catholic) and Bullis (non religious) - and I was amazed at their class offereings and resources. If you can swallow the price tag, these two schools are far beyond anything in MCPS.

You are definitely dreaming and delusional.
No private schools in the area can match the Magnets.
Only the top privates are equal to the W's. Bullis is not one of them

Have you visited Bullis? My child's abilities exceeded what the W schools could provide. Bullis even had classes for him that was not available at any MCPS school thanks to their STEM program and new science building.

If your child is happy with a magnet school, then good for you. Our experience, a private looked at the whole child and offered him courses based on his needs. Public told us that he exceeded what they offered and they could not have classes for 1 child. He would have had to be dual enrolled at MC versus having a class with a teacher at a private.

Pathological.

Anonymous wrote:

Have you visited Bullis? My child's abilities exceeded what the W schools could provide. Bullis even had classes for him that was not available at any MCPS school thanks to their STEM program and new science building.

If your child is happy with a magnet school, then good for you. Our experience, a private looked at the whole child and offered him courses based on his needs. Public told us that he exceeded what they offered and they could not have classes for 1 child. He would have had to be dual enrolled at MC versus having a class with a teacher at a private.

Bullis tuition and fees, 2018-2019 school year

K-1: $34,073
2-5: $38,720
6-8: $41,274
9-10: $42,961
11: $43,046
12: $43,131

For that kind of money, I would hope that Bullis offers something that MCPS doesn't.