Anonymous
03/09/2018 20:56
Subject: How is the new pilot offering equivalent to TPMS/Eastern
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:open up two more magnet programs then. not in east county.
Yes. Open as many magnets as it takes for my kid to get in one, and make sure that it's convenient to my home.
^^^to clarify -- I am not being sincere.
200+ schools 160,000+ students and what teeny weeny portion is actual magnet seats in MS and in HS?
run the numbers for the NYC schools, bet its 5x as many seats for outstanding students than MCPS. That's a real shame. Underserved.
12,000 5th graders in 2016-17, 375 (125 + 100 + 75 + 75) MS application magnet seats per grade, so just over 3%. What do you consider to be the appropriate percentage?
More than double that.
Anonymous
03/09/2018 19:24
Subject: How is the new pilot offering equivalent to TPMS/Eastern
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:open up two more magnet programs then. not in east county.
Yes. Open as many magnets as it takes for my kid to get in one, and make sure that it's convenient to my home.
^^^to clarify -- I am not being sincere.
200+ schools 160,000+ students and what teeny weeny portion is actual magnet seats in MS and in HS?
run the numbers for the NYC schools, bet its 5x as many seats for outstanding students than MCPS. That's a real shame. Underserved.
12,000 5th graders in 2016-17, 375 (125 + 100 + 75 + 75) MS application magnet seats per grade, so just over 3%. What do you consider to be the appropriate percentage?
Run the comps, fairfax is over 5-6% with TJ and more given the tracking they do at the rest of the schools.
I think you know what the previous poster meant.
TJ is a middle school? I didn't know that.
Anonymous
03/09/2018 19:23
Subject: How is the new pilot offering equivalent to TPMS/Eastern
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:open up two more magnet programs then. not in east county.
Yes. Open as many magnets as it takes for my kid to get in one, and make sure that it's convenient to my home.
^^^to clarify -- I am not being sincere.
200+ schools 160,000+ students and what teeny weeny portion is actual magnet seats in MS and in HS?
run the numbers for the NYC schools, bet its 5x as many seats for outstanding students than MCPS. That's a real shame. Underserved.
12,000 5th graders in 2016-17, 375 (125 + 100 + 75 + 75) MS application magnet seats per grade, so just over 3%. What do you consider to be the appropriate percentage?
Run the comps, fairfax is over 5-6% with TJ and more given the tracking they do at the rest of the schools.
TJ is a middle school? I didn't know that.
Anonymous
03/09/2018 19:20
Subject: How is the new pilot offering equivalent to TPMS/Eastern
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:open up two more magnet programs then. not in east county.
Yes. Open as many magnets as it takes for my kid to get in one, and make sure that it's convenient to my home.
^^^to clarify -- I am not being sincere.
200+ schools 160,000+ students and what teeny weeny portion is actual magnet seats in MS and in HS?
run the numbers for the NYC schools, bet its 5x as many seats for outstanding students than MCPS. That's a real shame. Underserved.
12,000 5th graders in 2016-17, 375 (125 + 100 + 75 + 75) MS application magnet seats per grade, so just over 3%. What do you consider to be the appropriate percentage?
Run the comps, fairfax is over 5-6% with TJ and more given the tracking they do at the rest of the schools.
Anonymous
03/09/2018 18:15
Subject: Re:How is the new pilot offering equivalent to TPMS/Eastern
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:
Umm, No. MCPS has been planning this since Fall, when representatives alluded to it during the Magnet MS presentations. They did not communicate well about their plans, however, and everyone Freaked-the-heck-out. So now, MCPS is planning to spread their original plan to more schools.
Yeah, I'm not sure why everybody thinks that this is happening in response to pressure from parents who are upset that their children didn't get into the magnets. If you'd paid attention to the CES process in the field test areas last year, you'd know that what's happening now is very, very similar (I have a child in the 4th grade at one of the field test CES schools):
1) They expanded testing and identified more kids who would do well in the CES centers.
2) There were not enough spaces for all of them, so many children who had similar test scores (and would have probably done equally well) were not offered places at the centers.
3) The "peer group at the home school" was mentioned as a reason, although some children from those same home schools were selected to go to the CES (e.g., my child was selected, and another child with the same score on the magnet test was not selected and told there was a peer group as a reason -- I don't know what distinctions there were between the two children on other measures such as MAP tests, grades, etc., but both are the same race).
4) Some parents who were told there was a "peer group" were upset that their qualified children weren't offered spaces, but it didn't turn into a massive thread on DCUM. I knew that although my child was selected, it didn't mean she was more qualified than others who weren't selected; it meant she was qualified and lucky, since there were not enough spaces for everybody who was qualified and for some reason she was chosen.
5) In the meantime, MCPS was working on opening additional local centers and increasing enrichment offerings at home schools in an attempt to bring some benefit to larger groups of students, although information about these options was slow to reach parents.
This sounds exactly like what is happening this year; there's just more outrage because it's hitting a larger number of students and there are even fewer magnet MS spots compared to CES spots.
I am hopeful that MCPS is moving in the right direction to identify larger numbers of highly capable students and to provide additional opportunities beyond the limited magnet spaces that currently exist. I look forward to seeing what options my child has once she hits middle school.
Here, here. Very thoughtful and patient response. I applaud your optimism.
However, I don't think the outrage expressed over the recent changes in MS admission is a lack of knowing what happened in HGC programs and realizing it's not so bad. I think it has more to do with who was impacted by the MS changes. It was the schools in the highest income and most privileged part of Montgomery County. The super special snowflakes are no longer super special going to a different school than their neighbors. They are just special taking one or two accelerated courses.
Quite honestly, no one can know how MCPS will implement this in the end. I agree they could have done better communicating and planning. Parents whose kids were left out of the MS magnet because their home school was already packed with gifted kids should count their blessings and work towards improving the program at their home schools.
I am rooting for the poor kids from Rockville and Gaithersburg who now have a chance they never dreamed they would. Maybe MCPS just created 20 more doctors and engineers than we would have had before. The just special snowflakes in Bethesda will do just fine no matter what middle school they go to.
Anonymous
03/09/2018 17:17
Subject: How is the new pilot offering equivalent to TPMS/Eastern
And any demographic can be a top performer ...
Anonymous
03/09/2018 16:23
Subject: How is the new pilot offering equivalent to TPMS/Eastern
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:
I am sure the test cost MCPS a lot of money. If they want to select top 3%, why did they recommend 4000, or 50% students of the down county students, to take the test? MCPS leadership seems incompetent to identify talent and wasted a lot of money in the process of selecting students for the magnets.
Presumably because they want to find out who the top 3% are. If they already knew who the top 3% are, they wouldn't have to assess anybody, would they?
No matter what method is used, the top 3% shouldn't reflect the demographics of the whole MCPS student body, it'll reflect the demographics of the top performers.
Anonymous
03/09/2018 16:07
Subject: How is the new pilot offering equivalent to TPMS/Eastern
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:open up two more magnet programs then. not in east county.
Yes. Open as many magnets as it takes for my kid to get in one, and make sure that it's convenient to my home.
^^^to clarify -- I am not being sincere.
great, thx for the sarcasm. Most of the top public schools in the nation are not oversized bloated county systems with the silly issues MCPS creates itself.
They are city-wide districts or more manageable sized counties.
Maybe MCPS needs to go on a road show and see how LB Poly, Westlake HS (austin), or NYC run things. NO WHERE near the BS or chaos as here.
- Westlake HS grad (austin, TX)
Westlake is what happens when your schools are completely funded by property taxes, not redistributed, and all the rich white people live in one place. It's as if Potomac split off and decided to have its own school system and all of taxes paid got pumped right back into that school system instead of being distributed through the state. Good for the rich white people, perhaps.
Anonymous
03/09/2018 16:06
Subject: How is the new pilot offering equivalent to TPMS/Eastern
Anonymous wrote:
I am sure the test cost MCPS a lot of money. If they want to select top 3%, why did they recommend 4000, or 50% students of the down county students, to take the test? MCPS leadership seems incompetent to identify talent and wasted a lot of money in the process of selecting students for the magnets.
Presumably because they want to find out who the top 3% are. If they already knew who the top 3% are, they wouldn't have to assess anybody, would they?
Anonymous
03/09/2018 16:05
Subject: How is the new pilot offering equivalent to TPMS/Eastern
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:open up two more magnet programs then. not in east county.
Yes. Open as many magnets as it takes for my kid to get in one, and make sure that it's convenient to my home.
^^^to clarify -- I am not being sincere.
200+ schools 160,000+ students and what teeny weeny portion is actual magnet seats in MS and in HS?
run the numbers for the NYC schools, bet its 5x as many seats for outstanding students than MCPS. That's a real shame. Underserved.
12,000 5th graders in 2016-17, 375 (125 + 100 + 75 + 75) MS application magnet seats per grade, so just over 3%. What do you consider to be the appropriate percentage?
I am sure the test cost MCPS a lot of money. If they want to select top 3%, why did they recommend 4000, or 50% students of the down county students, to take the test? MCPS leadership seems incompetent to identify talent and wasted a lot of money in the process of selecting students for the magnets.
Anonymous
03/09/2018 15:59
Subject: Re:How is the new pilot offering equivalent to TPMS/Eastern
Anonymous wrote:
Umm, No. MCPS has been planning this since Fall, when representatives alluded to it during the Magnet MS presentations. They did not communicate well about their plans, however, and everyone Freaked-the-heck-out. So now, MCPS is planning to spread their original plan to more schools.
Yeah, I'm not sure why everybody thinks that this is happening in response to pressure from parents who are upset that their children didn't get into the magnets. If you'd paid attention to the CES process in the field test areas last year, you'd know that what's happening now is very, very similar (I have a child in the 4th grade at one of the field test CES schools):
1) They expanded testing and identified more kids who would do well in the CES centers.
2) There were not enough spaces for all of them, so many children who had similar test scores (and would have probably done equally well) were not offered places at the centers.
3) The "peer group at the home school" was mentioned as a reason, although some children from those same home schools were selected to go to the CES (e.g., my child was selected, and another child with the same score on the magnet test was not selected and told there was a peer group as a reason -- I don't know what distinctions there were between the two children on other measures such as MAP tests, grades, etc., but both are the same race).
4) Some parents who were told there was a "peer group" were upset that their qualified children weren't offered spaces, but it didn't turn into a massive thread on DCUM. I knew that although my child was selected, it didn't mean she was more qualified than others who weren't selected; it meant she was qualified and lucky, since there were not enough spaces for everybody who was qualified and for some reason she was chosen.
5) In the meantime, MCPS was working on opening additional local centers and increasing enrichment offerings at home schools in an attempt to bring some benefit to larger groups of students, although information about these options was slow to reach parents.
This sounds exactly like what is happening this year; there's just more outrage because it's hitting a larger number of students and there are even fewer magnet MS spots compared to CES spots.
I am hopeful that MCPS is moving in the right direction to identify larger numbers of highly capable students and to provide additional opportunities beyond the limited magnet spaces that currently exist. I look forward to seeing what options my child has once she hits middle school.
Anonymous
03/09/2018 15:45
Subject: How is the new pilot offering equivalent to TPMS/Eastern
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:open up two more magnet programs then. not in east county.
Yes. Open as many magnets as it takes for my kid to get in one, and make sure that it's convenient to my home.
^^^to clarify -- I am not being sincere.
200+ schools 160,000+ students and what teeny weeny portion is actual magnet seats in MS and in HS?
run the numbers for the NYC schools, bet its 5x as many seats for outstanding students than MCPS. That's a real shame. Underserved.
12,000 5th graders in 2016-17, 375 (125 + 100 + 75 + 75) MS application magnet seats per grade, so just over 3%. What do you consider to be the appropriate percentage?
Anonymous
03/09/2018 15:43
Subject: How is the new pilot offering equivalent to TPMS/Eastern
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:open up two more magnet programs then. not in east county.
Yes. Open as many magnets as it takes for my kid to get in one, and make sure that it's convenient to my home.
^^^to clarify -- I am not being sincere.
great, thx for the sarcasm. Most of the top public schools in the nation are not oversized bloated county systems with the silly issues MCPS creates itself.
They are city-wide districts or more manageable sized counties.
Maybe MCPS needs to go on a road show and see how LB Poly, Westlake HS (austin), or NYC run things. NO WHERE near the BS or chaos as here.
- Westlake HS grad (austin, TX)
Anonymous
03/09/2018 15:40
Subject: How is the new pilot offering equivalent to TPMS/Eastern
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:open up two more magnet programs then. not in east county.
Yes. Open as many magnets as it takes for my kid to get in one, and make sure that it's convenient to my home.
^^^to clarify -- I am not being sincere.
200+ schools 160,000+ students and what teeny weeny portion is actual magnet seats in MS and in HS?
run the numbers for the NYC schools, bet its 5x as many seats for outstanding students than MCPS. That's a real shame. Underserved.
Anonymous
03/09/2018 15:38
Subject: How is the new pilot offering equivalent to TPMS/Eastern
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:You know what's interesting? Everyone knows that this process has been unfair all along, and that it advantaged kids who already had all of the advantages (involved parents, access to the HGCs, reliable transportation, essay editing support, cultural literacy around the process).
So, MCPS looked at that and tried to create a more fair process by testing many more kids and doing away with the components that were actually shibboleths for being middle class.
OUTRAGE ensued, and MCPS actually changed something. That's the power of white supremacy. Black and Latinx kids, and poor and working class kids, get passed over for years and nothing changes but weeks after the system actually gives them some tiny advantages of their own, the goalposts shift.
Right - the white supremacist montgomery county keeps electing a BoE that focusses on closing the achievement gap and implements policies that outrage the white supremacists.
It's the Montgomery County Board of Education, not the Montgomery County Board of Instantly Being Able To Wipe Out All Of The Effects, Everywhere, Of Centuries Of Systemic Discrimination.
Just have the URM or ESOL kid take the WISV and get a full ride at Sidwell.