There have been several BLACK BANNEKER students in the past who received perfect scores on their SATs. The range in SAT scores at Banneker varies widely because of the diverse SES family backgrounds. No need to consider enrollment at Banneker since I'm sure they'll continue to do just fine without the infusion of white blood.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It is amazing to me how many people say that Bancroft is just behind Oyster and is up and coming. I'd much rather have my kid at Reed based on these scores--Bancroft went down two categories (to Focus) and is now only 45% proficient/advanced overall. Reed is 60% proficient/advanced overall, and it's a rising school with less diversity and more low-income students. Powell is also rising, with 56% proficient/advanced overall. None of these schools comes anywhere near Oyster, which is 84% proficient and a reward school.

The demographics of Bancroft are the closest to Oyster's (racial and socioeconomic diversity, though Bancroft still has much higher % of low income kids).

The middle class familes at Bancroft (especially those who stay past K) know test scores aren't the be-all, end-all, otherwise we wouldn't still be there. At the same time, the scores this year are very disappointing, especially the huge drop in reading. I wonder if it's partly because about half our 3rd-5th teaching staff seems to turn over each year. I look forward to hearing our principal's take on what went wrong.

There is so much misinformation being passed off as facts on this thread. Bancroft's demographics are close to Oyster's in what way? Bancroft is 71% FARMS and Oyster is 25%. Bancroft has a population of 58% English Language Learners, and Oyster's population is 15%. The only thing they have in common is a large Hispanic population (which can be any race), and a small black population. Bancroft is 73% Hispanic vs. 61% at Oyster; and Bancroft is 8% black vs. 7% at Oyster. Oyster has over twice as many non-Hispanic whites as Bancroft (26% vs. 12%). Oyster and Bancroft's demographics are really not similar at all (to say nothing of their test scores).

++ Agree - they are very different populations.

I think Shepherd would be a great school. While the housing stock is gorgeous in that neighborhood, I could never afford it, even if I weren't a committed condo dweller. It's also too far from the Metro for my taste.

I interviewed for my Ivy alma mater for many years. I was always impressed with the applicants from Banneker. I certainly would consider it when my little blonde hellion comes of age. Six or seven years ago, we did see white students at Banneker. The one thing that gives me pause is that I know kids at Wilson can get 5's on AP tests. Most of the top kids at Banneker are in the IB program. While most of those kids get the IB diploma, I don't know if the kids are getting 7's, which is what top colleges will be looking for. I would need to know that the kind of teaching that makes top scores possible is in place in order to feel secure about sending my kid there. I've looked for this data, but I can't find it.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I am not a parent and either of these schools but:

YAY for Ross, that is AMAZING!
Yay for Eaton!
Impressed with Basis and think it has a direct relation of th Latin's significant drop in scores
Stoddert is earning the S in the now ERJKLMMS!! Very impressed with Stoddert, larger OOB, minority and FARM than many schools WOTP and still scores keep rising.
Keep it up YY (shake the haters off)!
Why don't Shepherd, Mckinley High, and Banneker get love on DCUM? Can't help to think it's a race thing. Especially since Shepherd is only 33% FARM (79% black), aren't those the "safe" ones you want your kid to go to school with?

Totally agree. I hate to see Latin scores drop because I believe it is a good school overall, but BASIS took the top students (and potential tops) from Latins' pool. ....

This explanation (which I agree with) for why Latin scores dropped is a perfect example of how these test results that we obsess over are nothing but measures of the school's demographics. They are in no way an intrinsic measure of the school's ability to effectively teach students.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Ok let's take Wilson out if the picture here. Why do white families apply and attend SWW but not Banneker?

Maybe one reason is that it's an application school with SAT scores lower than the national average?

Compare the black SAT to nationwide black SAT then show me some stats. Trust me your white angel will do just as well on SATs at Banneker than Walls. If there were more than 25 white students at Bannker you'd be able to do way better comparison but instead people keep throwing out black student SATs and comparing them nationwide when it's a fact that black SATs are lower. If rather have the explanations from others that you don't want to be the only white. Ok I get it. That hasn't stopped white families from being the only white at all Latin schools.

No that's the point. I don't trust you at all on this particular claim. I think "not enough learning" is happening from 9-3, Monday through Friday at Banneker -- otherwise they'd post up better results on the national stage after four years of educational inputs.

-- NP, white mom, considering IB wilson for my son.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Ok let's take Wilson out if the picture here. Why do white families apply and attend SWW but not Banneker?

Maybe one reason is that it's an application school with SAT scores lower than the national average?

Compare the black SAT to nationwide black SAT then show me some stats. Trust me your white angel will do just as well on SATs at Banneker than Walls. If there were more than 25 white students at Bannker you'd be able to do way better comparison but instead people keep throwing out black student SATs and comparing them nationwide when it's a fact that black SATs are lower. If rather have the explanations from others that you don't want to be the only white. Ok I get it. That hasn't stopped white families from being the only white at all Latin schools.

I'm at a loss to understand why anyone cares whether or not there are white kids at Banneker. Clearly the school is doing well without them and I would hope that no one thinks it needs white kids to validate its success.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I am not a parent and either of these schools but:

YAY for Ross, that is AMAZING!
Yay for Eaton!
Impressed with Basis and think it has a direct relation of th Latin's significant drop in scores
Stoddert is earning the S in the now ERJKLMMS!! Very impressed with Stoddert, larger OOB, minority and FARM than many schools WOTP and still scores keep rising.
Keep it up YY (shake the haters off)!
Why don't Shepherd, Mckinley High, and Banneker get love on DCUM? Can't help to think it's a race thing. Especially since Shepherd is only 33% FARM (79% black), aren't those the "safe" ones you want your kid to go to school with?

Totally agree. I hate to see Latin scores drop because I believe it is a good school overall, but BASIS took the top students (and potential tops) from Latins' pool. BASIS will be the top MS/HS in the area in about 2 years.

BASIS diluted the concentration of bright students, not "took them all." Now they're spread among 3 middle schools and about 6 high schools, instead of just two middle schools

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Ok let's take Wilson out if the picture here. Why do white families apply and attend SWW but not Banneker?

Maybe one reason is that it's an application school with SAT scores lower than the national average?

Compare the black SAT to nationwide black SAT then show me some stats. Trust me your white angel will do just as well on SATs at Banneker than Walls. If there were more than 25 white students at Bannker you'd be able to do way better comparison but instead people keep throwing out black student SATs and comparing them nationwide when it's a fact that black SATs are lower. If rather have the explanations from others that you don't want to be the only white. Ok I get it. That hasn't stopped white families from being the only white at all Latin schools.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Ok let's take Wilson out if the picture here.

Why do white families apply and attend SWW but not Banneker?

Mainly tradition. Banneker has always been a school for teenagers of color.

+1 -- And SWW has always had some white kids.

This has been rehashed repeatedly on this board.

No one wants to be the only white teenager at Banneker.

Yeah, being an extreme minority must suck...

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It is amazing to me how many people say that Bancroft is just behind Oyster and is up and coming. I'd much rather have my kid at Reed based on these scores--Bancroft went down two categories (to Focus) and is now only 45% proficient/advanced overall. Reed is 60% proficient/advanced overall, and it's a rising school with less diversity and more low-income students. Powell is also rising, with 56% proficient/advanced overall. None of these schools comes anywhere near Oyster, which is 84% proficient and a reward school.

The demographics of Bancroft are the closest to Oyster's (racial and socioeconomic diversity, though Bancroft still has much higher % of low income kids).

The middle class familes at Bancroft (especially those who stay past K) know test scores aren't the be-all, end-all, otherwise we wouldn't still be there. At the same time, the scores this year are very disappointing, especially the huge drop in reading. I wonder if it's partly because about half our 3rd-5th teaching staff seems to turn over each year. I look forward to hearing our principal's take on what went wrong.

There is so much misinformation being passed off as facts on this thread. Bancroft's demographics are close to Oyster's in what way? Bancroft is 71% FARMS and Oyster is 25%. Bancroft has a population of 58% English Language Learners, and Oyster's population is 15%. The only thing they have in common is a large Hispanic population (which can be any race), and a small black population. Bancroft is 73% Hispanic vs. 61% at Oyster; and Bancroft is 8% black vs. 7% at Oyster. Oyster has over twice as many non-Hispanic whites as Bancroft (26% vs. 12%). Oyster and Bancroft's demographics are really not similar at all (to say nothing of their test scores).

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Ok let's take Wilson out if the picture here.

Why do white families apply and attend SWW but not Banneker?

Mainly tradition. Banneker has always been a school for teenagers of color.

+1 -- And SWW has always had some white kids.

This has been rehashed repeatedly on this board.

No one wants to be the only white teenager at Banneker.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:"EXCEPT the Black students at Banneker, McKinley, DC Prep, etc...(and these schools are high FARMS to boot!). Not all Black students fit the underperforming narrative. It seems as if all concerned should figure out what these schools are doing right. The false concern/hand-wringing is completely useless."


Banneker and McKinley might be selective, but DC Prep and KIPP are not. While their models might not fit what most middle class families are looking for, there sure are a ton of lower-income families attending criminally under-performing schools who could benefit from a similar model. Why DCPS isn't making more of a concerted effort to implement similar models in their failing schools is a mystery to me.

Agree. For the application only schools like Banneker, McKinley and SWW, the scores don't reveal new information because kids have to have high test scores to get in. it would only reason they would have high scores- not rocket science. What DCPS doesn't look at is what non-test in schools do to raise test scores-especially where the population is majority low income. Test scores usually tie into income level so when they don't- DCPS should look at why not and act on it. DCPS is a complete mystery to me as well

DCPS only cares about performing miracles and providing stepping stones for central office staff to enter the Charter industry. What you suggest above does not fall into their purview

Anonymous wrote:Ok let's take Wilson out if the picture here.

Why do white families apply and attend SWW but not Banneker?

Mainly tradition. Banneker has always been a school for teenagers of color.

From a different thread:

Banneker's SAT score: 1466
National SAT score: 1498

http://benjaminbanneker.k12.dc.us/about_bbahs.html

Shouldn't a selective admission school would score above the national average. Here's what the Princeton Review says about SAT scores:

"The national average for the new SAT is 1500. For the ACT, it's between 20 and 21. If you are close to these averages you will likely be accepted into a considerable number of colleges and universities (as long as you have decent grades), but may not be considered at more selective schools. Above average SAT/ACT scores will improve your chances of getting into a more selective school."

Anonymous wrote:Ok let's take Wilson out if the picture here. Why do white families apply and attend SWW but not Banneker?

Maybe one reason is that it's an application school with SAT scores lower than the national average?