At our k-8 this cycle so far they will absolutely NOT be able to say "everyone got one of their top 3 choices this year".

Yeah, I think many people who have done this in previous years are not understanding just how bad admissions have been at a few schools this year. Once the lists comes out, I think people will be surprised. (My child did well because of a sport so this isn’t sour grapes.) But several top students at our school had very mediocre outcomes in ways that surprised basically everyone.

Yes, I get it- my kid can read and write and had fun at their K-8 and I am grateful for that. However, at the same time, many parents thought that their kids were working hard and would be good candidates at selective Big3/Big5 high schools because our school HS counseling team had told them over the years things like "we regularly get kids into their one of their top 3 choices, we regularly get many kids into the Big3 HS that you want, our kids are well prepared and these HS really want them, your kid has great grades/activities/recommendations and they are good candidates". Meanwhile, the school has been doing this for years and they know that these few spots will most likely go to the siblings, top athletes, legacies, big donors/VIP families but they are not transparent about it. Understandably there will be disappointed kids and families when the results come out and regular kids are shut out. Especially at our "well regarded, nurturing K-8" the results are not great for these unhooked kids so far this cycle. The HOS will hopefully be able to help some kids on the waitlist. If not, lesson learned and they can prepare accordingly for college because it will probably be more of the same. It would have been nice if the HS counseling team had been a little more honest and helped manage expectations. Hopefully families that are unhooked and looking for Big3/ Big 5 will make efforts to exit earlier. But I can totally understand the "my k-8 bombed" feeling this week.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I work in a K-12 independent school that many people on this thread want their children to attend. First, admission has gotten much harder, period. It's not necessarily the K-8's fault if fewer students are getting admitted to GDS or Sidwell or wherever. For one, there's less attrition in the independent k-12s. In part, I think people are more wary of their public options these days. Second, the students that I work with who come out of K-8s stand out to me as being quite self-possessed and especially great at advocating for themselves. They're comfortable leading as well, and contribute so much to the community and my classroom. Overall, an impressive group. It's not all about the brand name or hedging your bets for the future. You're trying to raise skilled, caring, good, well-educated human beings. It's not a zero sum game.

Do the k-8 kids have to be, by and large, stronger students than the kids they will be joining who already attend the k-12?

Yes. However, they do not have to be stronger than other applicants, such as from public schools or other private schools.

All K-12s will have some weak students from PK/K admissions but are not looking to add more in 9th grade.

Weak K-12 lifers end up in weaker colleges.

This isn't quite right - some of these students have hooks and end up at T20 colleges. And, the strong students coming in at 9th grade are not getting into T20 if they don't have a hook.

Don't assume that just because your kid is smart and will get A's in hardest classes and goes to a HS with really great college placement record that your kid will land at one of those great colleges. It doesn't work that way. The college placements from the highly selective schools in the DMV are very very heavily kids with hooks (I'd venture 90% or more).

100% true both for college and high school admissions. Many parents don't get this and just think that if their child has excellent grades and standardized test scores that they can get in anywhere. Competitive high schools and colleges can fill their classes 10 times over with such kids and have to find some way of differentiating them.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If given the choice for starting 4th grade next year between a smaller K-8, where the grade sizes do start to shrink as you get to MS and a bigger co-ed K-12 (not top 3/5); what would you choose?
If you read the tea leaves, is MCPS in particular going to keep going down and getting into co-ed , non religious high schools just going to get harder in 5 years?

If the K-8 is really one that dwindles in class size, this can be an issue. So in that case you might want to choose the k-12.

Not all k-8 are like that though (for others reading).

Yes to this. Double check the size of the 8th grade versus 6th/7th. If similar in size, parents at the k-8 must be happy with outplacement.

Also - at a school that was small to begin with (like Sheridan) sometimes people leave because they want a larger cohort. There are other schools that have strong numbers throughout, so that you don't end up with a tiny number of 7th/8th graders.

Two homeroom classes may feel great for 1st grade but those numbers are too small for middle schoolers - so pay attention to whether the k-8 you are considering expands to have solid numbers in middle school.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If given the choice for starting 4th grade next year between a smaller K-8, where the grade sizes do start to shrink as you get to MS and a bigger co-ed K-12 (not top 3/5); what would you choose?
If you read the tea leaves, is MCPS in particular going to keep going down and getting into co-ed , non religious high schools just going to get harder in 5 years?

If the K-8 is really one that dwindles in class size, this can be an issue. So in that case you might want to choose the k-12.

Not all k-8 are like that though (for others reading).

Yes to this. Double check the size of the 8th grade versus 6th/7th. If similar in size, parents at the k-8 must be happy with outplacement.

This can also be deceiving - our class had several families leave after 6th/7th to a school that is considered a safety and that our school sends many 8th graders to. Sometimes families leave for other reasons - like their kid is anxious about transitions or would like a social change or wants to play sports for a specific coach.

I also think some of this is all about the numbers. In a k-8 with 60 kids, there may be more kids applying to any one HS than the HS even has spots. If a HS is aiming for 20ish new students, they aren't going to take more than 2-4 from any one school.

And to the poster who mentioned that publics do better--um no. The top schools will take roughly 10% from each k-8 which leaves maybe 30% to come from all the publics combined. The K-8's most definitely offer a leg up in private HS admissions.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If given the choice for starting 4th grade next year between a smaller K-8, where the grade sizes do start to shrink as you get to MS and a bigger co-ed K-12 (not top 3/5); what would you choose?
If you read the tea leaves, is MCPS in particular going to keep going down and getting into co-ed , non religious high schools just going to get harder in 5 years?

If the K-8 is really one that dwindles in class size, this can be an issue. So in that case you might want to choose the k-12.

Not all k-8 are like that though (for others reading).

Yes to this. Double check the size of the 8th grade versus 6th/7th. If similar in size, parents at the k-8 must be happy with outplacement.

Anonymous wrote:The entire premise behind this post "My K-8 bombed" is confusing to me. How did it "bomb"? Is the current 8th grade class illiterate or reading below grade level? Do they have no public speaking skills or study skills? Are they not prepared for the demands of high school? Do they have low self-esteem and aren't well-rounded? If the answer to most of those questions is yes, then I would agree with you that your K-8 bombed. But if most of the 8th graders didn't get into their top choices, I don't see that as the school or the kids bombing. I see that as a reflection of the arbitrary nature of the application process that puts an emphasis on legacy and donors. It's not fair, but that's life and will continue to be life.

If the 8th graders at your school have gotten a good education, have learned how to advocate for themselves, can do public speaking, have been exposed to many different art forms and music, have felt known and valued by teachers and the administration, and, dare I say, have actually enjoyed their MS experience, then your K-8, and most importantly those kids, are winners.[b]

+1

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This isn't quite right - some of these students have hooks and end up at T20 colleges.

Not usually, because there are plenty of stronger students with the same or similar hooks.

Maybe I need to put this another way - looking a the list of kids attending T20 from our Big 3 the past two years - this list is NOT skewed to 9th grade admits. Alternatively, it is skewed by VIP, legacy, athlete, and URM families - most of whom were already at the school before 9th grade. (and note that legacy admit often needs a hook in that list).

So when people argue that 9th grade admits at the school are "stronger" than average rising 8th grader at a Big3.... it may be true that the new 9th graders are well represented in the highest rigor classes, but it doesn't mean they are the only ones in the high rigor classes and it 100% DOES NOT mean that this will translate into T20 college attendance.

I will add that there are benefits to being top of the class at a "lower-ranked" high school, both in terms of college admissions and anxiety level/self-esteem. Meanwhile, the "top" HSs will always take some kids from the K-8s. You can't game everything and trying to do so will make you nuts.

Anonymous wrote:The entire premise behind this post "My K-8 bombed" is confusing to me. How did it "bomb"? Is the current 8th grade class illiterate or reading below grade level? Do they have no public speaking skills or study skills? Are they not prepared for the demands of high school? Do they have low self-esteem and aren't well-rounded? If the answer to most of those questions is yes, then I would agree with you that your K-8 bombed. But if most of the 8th graders didn't get into their top choices, I don't see that as the school or the kids bombing. I see that as a reflection of the arbitrary nature of the application process that puts an emphasis on legacy and donors. It's not fair, but that's life and will continue to be life.

If the 8th graders at your school have gotten a good education, have learned how to advocate for themselves, can do public speaking, have been exposed to many different art forms and music, have felt known and valued by teachers and the administration, and, dare I say, have actually enjoyed their MS experience, then your K-8, and most importantly those kids, are winners.

+100! This!

The entire premise behind this post "My K-8 bombed" is confusing to me. How did it "bomb"? Is the current 8th grade class illiterate or reading below grade level? Do they have no public speaking skills or study skills? Are they not prepared for the demands of high school? Do they have low self-esteem and aren't well-rounded? If the answer to most of those questions is yes, then I would agree with you that your K-8 bombed. But if most of the 8th graders didn't get into their top choices, I don't see that as the school or the kids bombing. I see that as a reflection of the arbitrary nature of the application process that puts an emphasis on legacy and donors. It's not fair, but that's life and will continue to be life.

If the 8th graders at your school have gotten a good education, have learned how to advocate for themselves, can do public speaking, have been exposed to many different art forms and music, have felt known and valued by teachers and the administration, and, dare I say, have actually enjoyed their MS experience, then your K-8, and most importantly those kids, are winners.

Geez, this post is like a beacon for the anxiety-ridden parents of DCUM. Just chill out. It’s like college. There aren’t enough spots to go around for all the talented kids; it is becoming like a lottery. Do your best and be confident that your kid will succeed even at a non-top 5 high school. Enjoy your K-8 for as long as the environment works for your child instead of trying to jump and secure your next spot. Don’t let your anxiety control you.

Anonymous wrote:This isn't quite right - some of these students have hooks and end up at T20 colleges.

Not usually, because there are plenty of stronger students with the same or similar hooks.