Anonymous wrote:That is a major generalization. I am in W cluster, and never prep my kids. Never sent them to any prep classes either. Why am I penalized, I don't know.

You're not penalized.

That is a major generalization. I am in W cluster, and never prep my kids. Never sent them to any prep classes either. Why am I penalized, I don't know.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think the central office did a really good job. For application based magnets, there is no cohort criteria like middle school.

What is “cohort criteria “?

It's a way to offset the well-documented advantages that some schools have over others. Just look at a post on the boundary study and you'll see that many parents believe some schools are much better than others and confer advantages to their students. The cohort criteria simply recognize that this is true.

It's a way to get more students from other schools into magnets because collectively, they don't score as high. Western side of the county was over represented, and MCPS didn't like that. It's no longer about serving the needs of the highest performers in the *county*, but rather, within each school. This means that a student who performs at a much higher level in School A will not get in if they have a peer cohort at the home school even though that student performs at a higher level than another student at school B who did get in, but doesn't have a peer cohort at School B. This means that the peer cohort at the magnet is not the highest performers in the county, but rather only within their home school, which means the ability levels are going to be wider.

Because the western side of the county is hoarding opportunity by using outside enrichment to game the system, the cohort criteria was introduced to nullify that advantage and identify actual outliers as opposed to the most prepped.

I would add that the cohort criteria helps the county idenitfy the real highest performers as opposed to the most pepped.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think the central office did a really good job. For application based magnets, there is no cohort criteria like middle school.

What is “cohort criteria “?

It's a way to offset the well-documented advantages that some schools have over others. Just look at a post on the boundary study and you'll see that many parents believe some schools are much better than others and confer advantages to their students. The cohort criteria simply recognize that this is true.

It's a way to get more students from other schools into magnets because collectively, they don't score as high. Western side of the county was over represented, and MCPS didn't like that. It's no longer about serving the needs of the highest performers in the *county*, but rather, within each school. This means that a student who performs at a much higher level in School A will not get in if they have a peer cohort at the home school even though that student performs at a higher level than another student at school B who did get in, but doesn't have a peer cohort at School B. This means that the peer cohort at the magnet is not the highest performers in the county, but rather only within their home school, which means the ability levels are going to be wider.

Because the western side of the county is hoarding opportunity by using outside enrichment to game the system, the cohort criteria was introduced to nullify that advantage and identify actual outliers as opposed to the most prepped.

Youngest is sophomore in HS magnet. She will be in school with kids who were chosen based on academic performance at MS and hopefully those kids make it to HS for the next two years too. Her current cohort is amazing.

Who knows what will happen after that? Trump will get voted as President again and that is a bigger source of unhappiness than terrible admins and BOE amok at MCPS.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:DS applied last year and DD this year. Last year he had to fill out different applications for the different programs. This year there was only one application. There was still a place to list awards and extracurriculars. That did not change between last year and this year. What struck me as odd was how some kids DD knew applied to 10+ programs. That’s kind of nuts. Is the application process too easy? Now there are loads of waitlists to delve into. One kid got into 7 programs. There will now be 6 (or up to 7 if he decides to just go to home school) spots that will jump down to waitlist. Seems like a lot of work for MCPS but oh well!

Can you please elaborate on the differences between last year's admissions process and this year's? I had one DC go through this last year, and I remember there was a single online application for countywide (SMAC (either Blair or Poolesville)/RMIB/Poolesville Ecology) programs, and separate applications for Blair CAP and Wheaton each. Have they simplified it further? Thanks!

DP. When my first kid applied a few years ago (we live in the upcounty), there were separate applications for RM and Poolesville. And for each program, you had to write a separate essay (so 4, for RM plus 3 Poolesville programs). And they were paper applications, so you had to print everything and separately mail the separate applications. And you had to basically already know which programs you were eligible for. So a lot of parental support was involved in the application process for First Kid.

This year, my other kid applied - one application, on line, with one essay, and it told you everything you were eligible for. Second Kid required no parental support for the application process.

Also, when my first kid applied, there were only 3 testing sites, and basically if you didn't have somebody who could drive you there, too bad. For my other kid, there were several additional testing sites, and there were shuttle buses too.

MCPS has done a lot of work in reducing barriers to entry to the high school magnet programs, and I applaud them for it.

Anonymous wrote:DS applied last year and DD this year. Last year he had to fill out different applications for the different programs. This year there was only one application. There was still a place to list awards and extracurriculars. That did not change between last year and this year. What struck me as odd was how some kids DD knew applied to 10+ programs. That’s kind of nuts. Is the application process too easy? Now there are loads of waitlists to delve into. One kid got into 7 programs. There will now be 6 (or up to 7 if he decides to just go to home school) spots that will jump down to waitlist. Seems like a lot of work for MCPS but oh well!

Can you please elaborate on the differences between last year's admissions process and this year's? I had one DC go through this last year, and I remember there was a single online application for countywide (SMAC (either Blair or Poolesville)/RMIB/Poolesville Ecology) programs, and separate applications for Blair CAP and Wheaton each. Have they simplified it further? Thanks!

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think the central office did a really good job. For application based magnets, there is no cohort criteria like middle school.

What is “cohort criteria “?

It's a way to offset the well-documented advantages that some schools have over others. Just look at a post on the boundary study and you'll see that many parents believe some schools are much better than others and confer advantages to their students. The cohort criteria simply recognize that this is true.

It's a way to get more students from other schools into magnets because collectively, they don't score as high. Western side of the county was over represented, and MCPS didn't like that. It's no longer about serving the needs of the highest performers in the *county*, but rather, within each school. This means that a student who performs at a much higher level in School A will not get in if they have a peer cohort at the home school even though that student performs at a higher level than another student at school B who did get in, but doesn't have a peer cohort at School B. This means that the peer cohort at the magnet is not the highest performers in the county, but rather only within their home school, which means the ability levels are going to be wider.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Ideally, a child who can successfully complete his/her complicated application process will also be prepared for a rigorous program with challenging projects and assignment.

The application was not complicated in the least. That’s why so many more applied than ever before. Ridiculously easy & rudimentary application compared to other years. If you or your child thinks this was hard, college apps will be hell.

Correct. This year's application process was a great improvement over the previous one.

Anonymous wrote:I have a MS student and was wondering what the testing process looks like for the magnets (CAP and the Blair math/science magnet). Is it just a COGAT and an essay? They only take one test? That would be great.

Yes, it’s just one Cogat test and an essay.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think the central office did a really good job. For application based magnets, there is no cohort criteria like middle school.

What is “cohort criteria “?

It's a way to offset the well-documented advantages that some schools have over others. Just look at a post on the boundary study and you'll see that many parents believe some schools are much better than others and confer advantages to their students. The cohort criteria simply recognize that this is true.

I'd wager they'll be adding that in a few years when they have data that shows how it improved equity at the magnets.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think the central office did a really good job. For application based magnets, there is no cohort criteria like middle school.

What is “cohort criteria “?

It's a way to offset the well-documented advantages that some schools have over others. Just look at a post on the boundary study and you'll see that many parents believe some schools are much better than others and confer advantages to their students. The cohort criteria simply recognize that this is true.

I have a MS student and was wondering what the testing process looks like for the magnets (CAP and the Blair math/science magnet). Is it just a COGAT and an essay? They only take one test? That would be great.

Anonymous wrote:Ideally, a child who can successfully complete his/her complicated application process will also be prepared for a rigorous program with challenging projects and assignment.

The application was not complicated in the least. That’s why so many more applied than ever before. Ridiculously easy & rudimentary application compared to other years. If you or your child thinks this was hard, college apps will be hell.

Ideally, a child who can successfully complete his/her complicated application process will also be prepared for a rigorous program with challenging projects and assignment.