Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Kids zoned for TPMS (so, Takoma Park and East Silver Spring) Jane a slight advantage in that lottery. As PP said, RM also has preference at the level.

There are also all school magnets (so, no application) but I don't know much about those.

TPMS Math and Science magnet and RMIB magnet are not lotteries. You have to take tests, write application essays, get letters of recommendation etc. But it is easier if you are zoned for these schools because TPMS has a certain number of slots for local kids - 20 or 25. I can't remember the number but it is a lot. I don't know how many kids are admitted from Julius West Middle School into RMIB but again it is a lot - around 20 or more.

The only all school magnet I am aware of is Poolesville but I don't know how that application process works. I know they have different learning communities you have to apply to (Math and Science, Global Ecology and maybe something else) but I don't know if you are guaranteed admission to at least one if you live in the catchment area. this should be easy to google.

Isn't TPMS a universal screening for all 5th graders and then slots are awarded by lottery among those who are qualified?

This, at least this year. I have a 5th grader and the only active participation in any of the selection processes is one Google form where you can rank the choice magnets (we're out of boundary) = Loiederman, Argyle, and Parkland. Access to the selectivity magnets ( = Takoma MS and Eastern MS for the down-county consortium) is based on entry to the lottery, which is done by MCPS through the universal screening that pp referred to above. This means no application, no cogat tests, no teacher recommendations, etc., and there is also no publicized standard for lottery qualification (even MCPS surely does not not know what the standards will be until they have gathered the relevant data, including I think MAP scores). Once the lottery pool is selected, they will run the lotteries for the selective math/science and humanities magnets.

So if you are hoping for one of the selective magnets, your point of interest is whether your student is selected for the lottery--but you won't know that anyway unless you 'win' in the lottery and receive an invitation to the magnet. There are no exclusion notifications planned, so far as I know.

The stats circulated several weeks ago on MS magnet access are interesting. To me it *looks* like you have a reasonable chance at a choice magnet seat even if you have to wait for lottery round 2 and even if you are out of boundary, but that the odds for the selectivity magnets, no matter where you live, are vanishingly low. There are some subtleties involved in re-norming test scores for the lotteries, I believe, but even so the net outcome is that most students who want or need more intense academic experiences are going to be accessing those at their home/zoned school, rather than at a selectivity magnet.

My DC is strongly interested in one of the choice ( = not selectivity) magnets, so we are not curtailing but also not strongly encouraging that enthusiasm in light of the placement process. What will happen next year, however, is anybody's guess right now.

Anonymous wrote:I think all of the magnet programs want local representation. They don’t want a program with zero in boundary local kids- so there is probably a slight advantage to being local but it’s silly to choose a pyramid based on a slight advantage.

We did and our kids went through all 3 magnets (TPES, TPMS and Blair). Even if we didn't live in boundary they would've been contenders but tI feel this helped give them an edge and prepared them for Blair and college.

I think all of the magnet programs want local representation. They don’t want a program with zero in boundary local kids- so there is probably a slight advantage to being local but it’s silly to choose a pyramid based on a slight advantage.

Regarding PHS- 3 magnets are competitive Global, Humanities and SMCS, the fourth one is the consolation prize for everyone not in magnet is Independent Studies.

When they opened up the Global program to out of boundary kids, it used to be that they reserved 30 of the 90 of the Global seats for local students, 10 of 60 Humanities seats and 10 of SMC seats for local students. As the programs have become more competitive, they have dropped these reservations for local kids. There was a big shake up maybe 8(?) years ago. Now they only want “local” representation in each program. My kid who is a current student and local thinks only about 10 of the 120 kids who graduated with him from John Poole are in any of the criteria based programs and they score similarly on standardized tests etc. Since Poolesville’s reputation has improve quite substantially over the last two decades, being in the ISP program is not looked down upon. There are quite a few number of smart kids who opt out of applying/ accepting spots in magnet so they have more schedule choices.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Kids zoned for TPMS (so, Takoma Park and East Silver Spring) Jane a slight advantage in that lottery. As PP said, RM also has preference at the level.

There are also all school magnets (so, no application) but I don't know much about those.

TPMS Math and Science magnet and RMIB magnet are not lotteries. You have to take tests, write application essays, get letters of recommendation etc. But it is easier if you are zoned for these schools because TPMS has a certain number of slots for local kids - 20 or 25. I can't remember the number but it is a lot. I don't know how many kids are admitted from Julius West Middle School into RMIB but again it is a lot - around 20 or more.

The only all school magnet I am aware of is Poolesville but I don't know how that application process works. I know they have different learning communities you have to apply to (Math and Science, Global Ecology and maybe something else) but I don't know if you are guaranteed admission to at least one if you live in the catchment area. this should be easy to google.

Isn't TPMS a universal screening for all 5th graders and then slots are awarded by lottery among those who are qualified?

Through the end of this year largely because the makers of CogAT wouldn't allow the county to administer it remotely during the pandemic. It's unclear what they'll be doing in 2023-2024 when they're ending this experiment.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Kids zoned for TPMS (so, Takoma Park and East Silver Spring) Jane a slight advantage in that lottery. As PP said, RM also has preference at the level.

There are also all school magnets (so, no application) but I don't know much about those.

TPMS Math and Science magnet and RMIB magnet are not lotteries. You have to take tests, write application essays, get letters of recommendation etc. But it is easier if you are zoned for these schools because TPMS has a certain number of slots for local kids - 20 or 25. I can't remember the number but it is a lot. I don't know how many kids are admitted from Julius West Middle School into RMIB but again it is a lot - around 20 or more.

The only all school magnet I am aware of is Poolesville but I don't know how that application process works. I know they have different learning communities you have to apply to (Math and Science, Global Ecology and maybe something else) but I don't know if you are guaranteed admission to at least one if you live in the catchment area. this should be easy to google.

Isn't TPMS a universal screening for all 5th graders and then slots are awarded by lottery among those who are qualified?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous[b wrote:]FYI someone restarted this 6-year-old thread.[/b]

I'm always curious about how that happens. Sometimes the new person explicitly says "Hey, OP. Wondering where you ended up and how you liked it, as we're thinking about a similar move."

But sometimes (like this time) someone just jumps into the middle of the discussion like it hasn't been six years.

I hand't checked the dates but ya this was from 2016

Anonymous wrote:Takoma Park Elementary also has a primary magnet that favors in boundary students.

It no longer exists, but they offer enriched math to the more advanced learners.

Anonymous wrote:FYI someone restarted this 6-year-old thread.

I'm always curious about how that happens. Sometimes the new person explicitly says "Hey, OP. Wondering where you ended up and how you liked it, as we're thinking about a similar move."

But sometimes (like this time) someone just jumps into the middle of the discussion like it hasn't been six years.