Our magnet middle school did not do anything, but our home high school set deadline for registration at Jan 16!

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I do wish they posted the cogat scores in advance of the decision...if the score is bad, id like to lay a little groundwork for my anxious child.

why is your dc anxious ?

every time when my dc went through this selection process (CES, MS magnet and now HS magnet), I always remind DC -- not getting in is normal because most of applicants won't get in. Get in is a blessing and wonderful surprise.

So we have signed up all the high school classes for 2020-2021 with our home school --- basically we don't expect we will get in -- even DC is a current MS magnet.

I’m shocked that your MS scheduled eighth graders ahead of the results. Both the school where I teach and DD’s school are waiting until the initial decisions are out because otherwise they have to undo the electronic schedules and shuffle all the non-magnet bound students who were waitlisted for a popular elective.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Parent with no HS kid wants to ask a question: this year does the HS magnet also uses similar SES cohort criteria as what MS magnet admission uses?

No, because the middle-school magnet admissions process doesn't use a student's family's socioeconomic status. How could they? MCPS doesn't have the data about that.

Central Office knows everything
For ES and MS magnets, central office uses farm rate to separate schools into high, mid and low-SES groups, and each student is compared with only students in the same SES category. In addition, FARM, ESOL and special education are also considered for each individual student. I know HS magnet is merit based up till last year but no idea what has been changed this year since this is the first year central office administers the entire HS magnet admission process.

No, they don't. They separate them into high FARMS, medium FARMS, and low-FARMS schools. I honestly don't understand DCUM's resistance to the idea that all of this is about FARMS vs non-FARMS. Socioeconomic status is complicated; FARMS vs non-FARMS is not.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I do wish they posted the cogat scores in advance of the decision...if the score is bad, id like to lay a little groundwork for my anxious child.

why is your dc anxious ?

every time when my dc went through this selection process (CES, MS magnet and now HS magnet), I always remind DC -- not getting in is normal because most of applicants won't get in. Get in is a blessing and wonderful surprise.

So we have signed up all the high school classes for 2020-2021 with our home school --- basically we don't expect we will get in -- even DC is a current MS magnet.

Smart.

She is anxious to a her biochemistry. I do not even want her to go to a test-in school but she heard the MCPS presentation on it and bought the sales pitch. Ive been trying to tamp down expectations since that presentation and was just saying it would be helpful to see the scores to have an easy entry into the rejection. Much like most kids know their SAT scores before applying to college....to have realistic expectations.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Parent with no HS kid wants to ask a question: this year does the HS magnet also uses similar SES cohort criteria as what MS magnet admission uses?

No, because the middle-school magnet admissions process doesn't use a student's family's socioeconomic status. How could they? MCPS doesn't have the data about that.

Central Office knows everything
For ES and MS magnets, central office uses farm rate to separate schools into high, mid and low-SES groups, and each student is compared with only students in the same SES category. In addition, FARM, ESOL and special education are also considered for each individual student. I know HS magnet is merit based up till last year but no idea what has been changed this year since this is the first year central office administers the entire HS magnet admission process.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Parent with no HS kid wants to ask a question: this year does the HS magnet also uses similar SES cohort criteria as what MS magnet admission uses?

No, because the middle-school magnet admissions process doesn't use a student's family's socioeconomic status. How could they? MCPS doesn't have the data about that.

For MS and ES/CES they use home school as a proxy for SES. They also use a family's FARMS status. ESOL flag is also looked at.

Anonymous wrote:I do wish they posted the cogat scores in advance of the decision...if the score is bad, id like to lay a little groundwork for my anxious child.

I think the cogat scores came out right before the acceptance letters went out last year.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I do wish they posted the cogat scores in advance of the decision...if the score is bad, id like to lay a little groundwork for my anxious child.

why is your dc anxious ?

every time when my dc went through this selection process (CES, MS magnet and now HS magnet), I always remind DC -- not getting in is normal because most of applicants won't get in. Get in is a blessing and wonderful surprise.

So we have signed up all the high school classes for 2020-2021 with our home school --- basically we don't expect we will get in -- even DC is a current MS magnet.

Smart.

Thanks... and we will be happy to trade bus-ride hours for more AP classes --- and perhaps skip Algebra II to Hon Pre-Cal !!!

Anonymous wrote:Parent with no HS kid wants to ask a question: this year does the HS magnet also uses similar SES cohort criteria as what MS magnet admission uses?

No, because the middle-school magnet admissions process doesn't use a student's family's socioeconomic status. How could they? MCPS doesn't have the data about that.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I do wish they posted the cogat scores in advance of the decision...if the score is bad, id like to lay a little groundwork for my anxious child.

why is your dc anxious ?

every time when my dc went through this selection process (CES, MS magnet and now HS magnet), I always remind DC -- not getting in is normal because most of applicants won't get in. Get in is a blessing and wonderful surprise.

So we have signed up all the high school classes for 2020-2021 with our home school --- basically we don't expect we will get in -- even DC is a current MS magnet.

Smart.

Parent with no HS kid wants to ask a question: this year does the HS magnet also uses similar SES cohort criteria as what MS magnet admission uses?

Anonymous wrote:I do wish they posted the cogat scores in advance of the decision...if the score is bad, id like to lay a little groundwork for my anxious child.

The best approach would be never to make their hopes too high in the first place. If there are 3000 kids competing over 100 spots
then this is 30 kids per spot. That is about Harvard rate?

Anonymous wrote:I do wish they posted the cogat scores in advance of the decision...if the score is bad, id like to lay a little groundwork for my anxious child.

why is your dc anxious ?

every time when my dc went through this selection process (CES, MS magnet and now HS magnet), I always remind DC -- not getting in is normal because most of applicants won't get in. Get in is a blessing and wonderful surprise.

So we have signed up all the high school classes for 2020-2021 with our home school --- basically we don't expect we will get in -- even DC is a current MS magnet.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Are they going to review all the 1000+ applications, essays and scores and select 100 students on a single day?

they are not going to read each of 1000+ applicant's scores/essays/recommendations -- the cogat test acts like a filter to reduce the number of candidates.

You think? So how do you figure they will grade essay on the scale they need to fill?
This is cute. How the Cogat could be the only filter and factor since you can have
tons of students who would score exactly the same in Cogat having the same
amount of questions wrong. How do you pick who gets in then?
Besides, Cogat is something you can prepare to and score higher if you do, otherwise
the test prep centers would go bankrupt. Test can not and is not the only factor,
essays and recommendations and other achievements do have some weight
don't you think? So suggesting that MCPS will just ignore them is really
offensive to the office.

Do you work for the county? "offensive to the office"? Give me a break.

if so, that means MCPS is so dumb to use CogAT.. no MCPS is not dumb -- you are !

PP, use your thinking hat!
I did not say ALL students can end up having the same score because they had the same
amount of questions wrong. It is about the top group who still can end up
having the same score WITHIN that TOP group, so further distinctions are needed.

AMEN.

then I did not say CogAT was the only factor either. Using CogAT to screen over 1000 applicants to reduce the number that can be further reviewed. Say if there are 1/3 of the applicants who scored composite 80% -- the selection can focus those on others such as awards, grades and map/parcc etc

Okay, then yes.

I do wish they posted the cogat scores in advance of the decision...if the score is bad, id like to lay a little groundwork for my anxious child.