Anonymous wrote:Most of Blair’s NMSF kids are magnet, but usually a bunch are CAP and some regular students too. Blair is a great school!

Anonymous wrote:I suppose it’s very cool that these kids can get perfect PSAT scores, just like it’s cool that some kids can act in Shakespeare plays and others can swim a 100 butterfly and other kids can build a house in the construction technology program.

None of it is the least bit relevant to my own kids’ education or goals. But it’s cool they got a prize.

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Anonymous wrote:For the last 20 years plus the half of the Blair magnet group are NMSF. You can just about take that to the bank. The other half missed the mark by point!

My kids who went to Blair but aren't into STEM or the magnet were also NMSF. I remember seeing a post a while ago about the county accidentally releasing SAT averages by school and demographic. Blair had the highest SAT average in MCPS for our cohort, not because of the magnet since, frankly, we aren't Asian. It's just a big and diverse school with plenty of smart kids.

Good lord. Nobody other than you buy that

The PP is spot on. Sure, it doesn't sit well with people trying to sell the good and bad school myth, but in this case, the facts are clear. https://ww2.montgomeryschoolsmd.org/departments/sharedaccountability/reports/2017/1771102HS%20Princ_SAT%20Partic_Perf%20Class%20of%202017.pdf

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Anonymous wrote:For the last 20 years plus the half of the Blair magnet group are NMSF. You can just about take that to the bank. The other half missed the mark by point!

My kids who went to Blair but aren't into STEM or the magnet were also NMSF. I remember seeing a post a while ago about the county accidentally releasing SAT averages by school and demographic. Blair had the highest SAT average in MCPS for our cohort, not because of the magnet since, frankly, we aren't Asian. It's just a big and diverse school with plenty of smart kids.

Congratulations? So wish it were true.

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Anonymous wrote:For the last 20 years plus the half of the Blair magnet group are NMSF. You can just about take that to the bank. The other half missed the mark by point!

My kids who went to Blair but aren't into STEM or the magnet were also NMSF. I remember seeing a post a while ago about the county accidentally releasing SAT averages by school and demographic. Blair had the highest SAT average in MCPS for our cohort, not because of the magnet since, frankly, we aren't Asian. It's just a big and diverse school with plenty of smart kids.

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Anonymous wrote:For the last 20 years plus the half of the Blair magnet group are NMSF. You can just about take that to the bank. The other half missed the mark by point!

My kids who went to Blair but aren't into STEM or the magnet were also NMSF. I remember seeing a post a while ago about the county accidentally releasing SAT averages by school and demographic. Blair had the highest SAT average in MCPS for our cohort, not because of the magnet since, frankly, we aren't Asian. It's just a big and diverse school with plenty of smart kids.

Good lord. Nobody other than you buy that

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Anonymous wrote:For the last 20 years plus the half of the Blair magnet group are NMSF. You can just about take that to the bank. The other half missed the mark by point!

My kids who went to Blair but aren't into STEM or the magnet were also NMSF. I remember seeing a post a while ago about the county accidentally releasing SAT averages by school and demographic. Blair had the highest SAT average in MCPS for our cohort, not because of the magnet since, frankly, we aren't Asian. It's just a big and diverse school with plenty of smart kids.

Anonymous wrote:For the last 20 years plus the half of the Blair magnet group are NMSF. You can just about take that to the bank. The other half missed the mark by point!

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Anonymous wrote:There’s a very simple reason for this. It’s very rare to have perfect PSAT scores; usually these kids have been doing tutoring and taking practice tests for years. They are the same kids who did tutoring and practice tests in 8th grade to get into either Blair, RM, or Poolesville. So there are very few kids left at the “regular” high schools who are in this category.

Mostly, yes. I'm a Blair magnet (grad) mom. My kid did self study with a prep book, but some kids did full classes. But, some didn't do specific prep. Many have had so much enrichment (plus the math they do is far beyond), they are already well prepared.

I will say, mine applied to Blair under the old system (now in college), and many kids did classes specifically designed for that admissions test. A++, I think?

The cutoff is way below perfect score, which is 228, it is not that hard to be nmsf, don’t think it takes that much prep for magnet kids

Many of these kids have been prepping over the long haul. Also, it was 224 when my kid was there. So, not exactly "way below" Some parents take not chances. It's like they have a system or recipe.

Any many of these kids are super super bright, a fact you need to face and stop downplaying it because it's all just the prepping. My kid is not a NMSF, yet got a really great score by looking a the paper booklet the evening prior to the test.

Pp here. I'm not downplaying it, but we have lived this. Many of the magnet kids have been in intense enrichment programs from a very early age. Took math classes out of school before the (already advanced) curriculum in school. Special prep for magnet entrance exam (the old one). It is what it is. They are highly prepped/enriched/educated. And very bright. The two are not mutually exclusive.

Mine has been in the magnet programs all the way through. Also NMSF. Did not do any of these programs but had access to professor parents which is also enrichment. So, the intention is not to undermine anyone but to say that standardized test scores are not some unbiased indicator of pure intelligence or talent. It's not like magnet kids are plain smarter (,or W kids or any of the high scoring groups). This is just one (coachable) data point.

Just like every kid can become a world-class soccer player, right? Provide the right ‘coaching’ and the kid will play like Lionel Messi.

Not a chance. These are bright kids. Why do you feel the need to diminish them?

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Anonymous wrote:There’s a very simple reason for this. It’s very rare to have perfect PSAT scores; usually these kids have been doing tutoring and taking practice tests for years. They are the same kids who did tutoring and practice tests in 8th grade to get into either Blair, RM, or Poolesville. So there are very few kids left at the “regular” high schools who are in this category.

Mostly, yes. I'm a Blair magnet (grad) mom. My kid did self study with a prep book, but some kids did full classes. But, some didn't do specific prep. Many have had so much enrichment (plus the math they do is far beyond), they are already well prepared.

I will say, mine applied to Blair under the old system (now in college), and many kids did classes specifically designed for that admissions test. A++, I think?

The cutoff is way below perfect score, which is 228, it is not that hard to be nmsf, don’t think it takes that much prep for magnet kids

Many of these kids have been prepping over the long haul. Also, it was 224 when my kid was there. So, not exactly "way below" Some parents take not chances. It's like they have a system or recipe.

Any many of these kids are super super bright, a fact you need to face and stop downplaying it because it's all just the prepping. My kid is not a NMSF, yet got a really great score by looking a the paper booklet the evening prior to the test.

Pp here. I'm not downplaying it, but we have lived this. Many of the magnet kids have been in intense enrichment programs from a very early age. Took math classes out of school before the (already advanced) curriculum in school. Special prep for magnet entrance exam (the old one). It is what it is. They are highly prepped/enriched/educated. And very bright. The two are not mutually exclusive.

Mine has been in the magnet programs all the way through. Also NMSF. Did not do any of these programs but had access to professor parents which is also enrichment. So, the intention is not to undermine anyone but to say that standardized test scores are not some unbiased indicator of pure intelligence or talent. It's not like magnet kids are plain smarter (,or W kids or any of the high scoring groups). This is just one (coachable) data point.

Just like every kid can become a world-class soccer player, right? Provide the right ‘coaching’ and the kid will play like Lionel Messi.

Not a chance. These are bright kids. Why do you feel the need to diminish them?

It is one of those humble brag, self-deprecating profs

I agree it is not such a big deal but I am happy that my child made it. Wish more kids from different schools also do well. Maybe there are a lot more commended kids which will be awesome. Just a few points difference between commended and semifinalist.