Yes. The list of NMSFs is a list of the top .5% of kids who took the test last year (October of 2011).

Anonymous wrote:When will the new list come out?

They take the PSAT in October don't they?

When will the new list come out?

My kids' private school seems to have a lot of semifinalists this year. I don't think this has anything to do with the quality of education it offers, though. It just means there happen to be a group of bright kids there, at least in 12th grade.

If you consider this list at all in your high selection process, use it as indicator of which schools attract bright kids, not which schools offer a better education.

Good point. Given the low numbers at the private schools (compared to 30 to 40%) it is conceivable that a comparable 30 to 40 % of entering private school 9th graders may have a similar success rate to TJ given the impression the later entering studs are academic heavy weights. My hunch is they are a higher proportion but not quite at the mark achieved by Blair Magnet and TJ.

It would be interesting to see what percentage of students admitted to local private schools for 9th grade (the same year as admission to Blair and TJ) were awarded NMSF honors. That would be closer to an apples-to-apples comparison.

TJ just recruits on tests though. Privates have various criteria.

Crap. There are no tests for entry to D.C. area private schools (independent, religious etc)?

Have you even heard of WPSII, ISEE or the SSAT and once enrolled the yearly ERB tests?

If a third of any high school in the D.C. area has 30 to 40 percent of its studentry make the NMF bar for 12 straight years that feat is impressive by any standard (including your low standard). If any private school could even achieve 1/4 or the TJ standard they would have this plastered all over their websites and would be dancing during the half-time events of their football games.

Yeah, exactly. It's impressive, but the school basically takes the highest test takers from the area in the first place.

Not really impressive since you need to take a very similar test to get in.

Wow!!! 1/3 of a graduating class (year in and year out). Tres, tres, tres impressive, sans doute.

Anonymous wrote:How big is the class? Closer to 50 percent than 30 percent it appears.

Per the online school profile class of 2012 has 449 student. I counted 149 nmsf. Half of 449 would be 224.5. 30 percent would be 135. It is about 1/3 or 33 percent.

Pp did you go to TJ? Doubt it with those math skills.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
http://washingtonexaminer.com/local/2011/09/areas-national-merit-semifinalists

You list semi-finalists. What about Finalists and National Merit winners. My public school has several Finalists; are there none in DC privates?

You may be confused about the process. Finalists are not selected from the semifinalist pool until February, so no school had any finalists yet. From the National Merit website:

When and how are Semifinalists notified if they have advanced to Finalist standing?

Finalists are notified in early February by mail at their home addresses.

Anonymous wrote:
http://washingtonexaminer.com/local/2011/09/areas-national-merit-semifinalists

You list semi-finalists. What about Finalists and National Merit winners. My public school has several Finalists; are there none in DC privates?

Anonymous wrote:It is not fair to judge National Merit Semi-Finalists at DC schools versus MD. Maryland is always in the top two in the country in competitiveness. If any of the Maryland schools were lucky enough to be in DC they would have many more semi-finalists. That is why Gonzaga has more than GP and Landon

You maybe should investigate further how NMSFs are selected. The cutoff score for DC is always set to equal the highest state score for each year. So you actually have it backwards -- if any of the Maryland schools were in DC, they'd have fewer semifinalists.