Anonymous wrote:Cold Spring kids are smarter than up county kids.

Stop trying to pretend that every kid is the same and every school is the same. Its far from reality.

lol!!!! you are hilarious.

OP here: this thread is about Diamond Elementary primarily, and MS/HS somewhat. Please refer to the title of the thead. Blair vs Poolseville SMAC debates are welcome to open their own topic. Thank you.

Ok, I couldn’t find analogous data for Blair, but here’s what I could find for Poolesville last year:

Global Ecology: 533 applications for 90 spots
Humanities: 423 applications for 60 spots
Computer Science: 477 applications for 60 spots

I’m not sure if they admit more than the spots they have available to account for less than 100% yield, but those numbers suggest about a 12-16% acceptance rate, not accounting for yield considerations. No one can argue that isn’t competitive.

Blair’s entering class is simply smaller (117 students last year), which doesn’t make Blair a better program; it simply makes it smaller, which likely translates into a lower acceptance rate.

What actual data does anyone have that QO is worse than Wootton, other than that QO has more minority kids who unfortunately tend to score lower on tests? What evidence is there that QO serves kids less well than Wootton?

Also, what the hell is with the comment above that Poolesville magnet programs are not as competitive as downcounty magnet programs? Poolesville is 116 in US News, only three spots below Churchill and the 2nd highest ranked high school in Maryland. But I guess downcounty elitists can’t accept that it might be an excellent school; you all have to disparage it.

Any thoughts in the group re: which areas in NW are most likely to be districted for the newly expanded Seneca Valley HS? Thank you.

Anonymous wrote:

Also, do you know whether the placement rate from Diamond to a local CES center been affected by the "peer group" measures? What about Lakelands to Clemente? Northwest to Poolesville?

Nope -only Wootton MS feeders Frost and Cabin John were blocked from the DCC middle school magnets.

NW cluster doesm't have the same number of high scoring students. This is anecdotal only but I have heard that it is easier to get into Poolesville or Richard Montgomery magnet programs. We know several people who live in Darnestown with older kids and all their kids have gone to one of the magnets. Smart kids but not genius level or anything. Wootton families don't apply in high numbers since Wootton already has top students/classes so why bother with a long bus ride. I don't know why more people from QO don't apply. Have heard that Clemente isn't that rigorous so maybe some people don't think the magnets are worth pursuing again in high school. Just a guess.

Thank you for the information - OP. We previously rented downcounty, and gratefully relied on the magnet system. However, since the changes in admissions that seem largely applicable to downcounty, we are thinking of moving upcounty, keeping in mind educational opportunity for younger children in the family. We would be able to stay in the same zip code. We cannot assume younger kids can make it into the magnets, of course, so there have to be options in both directions.

I have encountered horror stories about children held back in W feeder schools, including a child now in HS Magnet program being forced to repeat a grade in elementary mathematics in service of Curriculum 2.0. I had also witnessed pretty decent kids with A/B averages and multiple AP's unable to gain admission to UMD and attending UMBC out of a W school. I daresay those parents' investment into their housing did not pay off academically for their children. W school is definitely not for every kid, and many kids are actively damaged by being in those pyramids. Others, of course, thrive. I estimate 1 in 5.

I also have friends upcounty who were able to accelerate their kids 3 years above Common Core in math with full support of their "lower-ranked" school systems. Their kids were bused to the HS in 8th grade, provided by their district. This pathway also exists for W students, but it is harder to make it work.

So there are rankings, and then there are opportunities. These do not always correlate.

Anonymous wrote:Wootton is considered by almost every parent to be better than QO, but realistically your child doesn't need to be in the best school to succeed. They will have the same course offerings at both schools and it isn't like going to Wootton will just make your SAT score higher than if your DC went to QO. It is more what type of environment do you want for your kid - An academic powerhouse or a more well-rounded school?

Again, data please?! Break the SAT scores down by race; otherwise you have no argument.

Northwest doesn't even compare to Wootton or QO. I live in Darnestown and DD goes to QO. Barely anyone from Darnestown goes to Northwest, they just use it to bring up the average home price in the school district, make more white kids, etc. I wish we just zoned for QO so I did't have to go through so much trouble getting her in.

Wootton is considered by almost every parent to be better than QO, but realistically your child doesn't need to be in the best school to succeed. They will have the same course offerings at both schools and it isn't like going to Wootton will just make your SAT score higher than if your DC went to QO. It is more what type of environment do you want for your kid - An academic powerhouse or a more well-rounded school?

Anonymous wrote:Cold Spring kids are smarter than up county kids.

Stop trying to pretend that every kid is the same and every school is the same. Its far from reality.

So just to be clear: you’re saying Cold Spring kids are smarter than Fox Chapel kids (both regional CES’s)? I’m trying to figure out the extent to which you are an awful person.

Cold Spring kids are smarter than up county kids.

Stop trying to pretend that every kid is the same and every school is the same. Its far from reality.

Anonymous wrote:

And yet RCES has a local CES. What’s your explanation for that?

You're kidding right? There are local CES all over the county. Much easier to get into RC CES than Cold Spring CES.

All over the county? There are only 4. Also, stop acting like the kids at Cold Spring are any smarter than the upcounty kids. Just stop. You sound petty and mean.

And yet RCES has a local CES. What’s your explanation for that?

You're kidding right? There are local CES all over the county. Much easier to get into RC CES than Cold Spring CES.

Anonymous wrote:

The magnet application process didn’t change for upcounty because it wasn’t in the pilot program. Also, PP is elitist and racist by saying there are fewer smart kids in upcounty schools.

No, MCPS was the one who determined that there were not enough super smart kids in NW/QO clusters to make up a cohort in their home school.

And yet RCES has a local CES. What’s your explanation for that?

The magnet application process didn’t change for upcounty because it wasn’t in the pilot program. Also, PP is elitist and racist by saying there are fewer smart kids in upcounty schools.

No, MCPS was the one who determined that there were not enough super smart kids in NW/QO clusters to make up a cohort in their home school.