Anonymous wrote:The sad thing -- regardless of SAT scores and advanced math -- is that at the end of the day, the vast majority of public school students will be working for the private school students. So keep plugging away, kids! Signed, middle class mom.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This article is from 2014.

TJ (a fcps public) had the highest SAT scores in the nation.

Sidwell (a DC private) was #16.

http://www.businessinsider.com/high-schools-with-highest-sat-scores-2014-1

Magnet schools are effectively publicly funded privates. Instead of paying for your child's exclusive program yourself, all of the taxpayers in your district are paying for it.

Except it's free.

Anonymous wrote:The sad thing -- regardless of SAT scores and advanced math -- is that at the end of the day, the vast majority of public school students will be working for the private school students. So keep plugging away, kids! Signed, middle class mom.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This article is from 2014.

TJ (a fcps public) had the highest SAT scores in the nation.

Sidwell (a DC private) was #16.

http://www.businessinsider.com/high-schools-with-highest-sat-scores-2014-1

Magnet schools are effectively publicly funded privates. Instead of paying for your child's exclusive program yourself, all of the taxpayers in your district are paying for it.

Anonymous wrote:This article is from 2014.

TJ (a fcps public) had the highest SAT scores in the nation.

Sidwell (a DC private) was #16.

http://www.businessinsider.com/high-schools-with-highest-sat-scores-2014-1

Anonymous wrote:This article is from 2014.

TJ (a fcps public) had the highest SAT scores in the nation.

Sidwell (a DC private) was #16.

http://www.businessinsider.com/high-schools-with-highest-sat-scores-2014-1

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'm guess all of these my kid did great in college admissions with 9th grade Algebra cheerleaders did not have kids on a STEM path? Because I am very doubtful that an Ivy (or any top 30 college) wants a 9th grade Algebra student, who never got above Pre-Calc in Engineering, math, physics, computer science, etc.

Another thing I don't get. If my kid gets a 5 on the AP BC Calculus exam his junior year and hits the high 700s on the math SAT, then takes college level multivariable/ matrix algebra his senior year (check, check, check) at a strong FCPS high school, what makes his As in math worth less than a B- in math from a top private? Seems like he mastered the material your 9th grade Algebra student did-- plus three additional years worth of material.

How do the SATs compare between the top privates and the top publics (including TJ) in this area?

And to the fcps teacher at the "top" high school whose kids are in a "top" private, are you saying you and your fellow math teachers are substandard?

Yes, many are absolutely substandard. We are also limited by a number of issues that private school teachers are not (class size, state standards, testing, administration, fellow teachers, countless IEPs, etc).

Anonymous wrote:

Of course the public school student earning an 800 score on the math SAT is just as strong as the private 800 student. My comment applies to the overall program. The typical course in the public school (at least the pyramid I'm familiar with) is focused on following a particular strategy. For instance, when learning about subtraction regrouping, they learn exactly how to do it and can execute it very well. The approach in my children's private is much deeper. They can all perform the subtraction problem using several different strategies, can choose which strategy makes the most sense for the problem, and can explain the math behind the strategy. The exceptional math student--public or private--typically pulls out those nuances on her own. In high school, we explore the "why" a bit more in honors/AP classes, but not so much in the regular classes.

I think your head is in your ass too deep already. Or should I say "much deeper."

Of course the public school student earning an 800 score on the math SAT is just as strong as the private 800 student. My comment applies to the overall program. The typical course in the public school (at least the pyramid I'm familiar with) is focused on following a particular strategy. For instance, when learning about subtraction regrouping, they learn exactly how to do it and can execute it very well. The approach in my children's private is much deeper. They can all perform the subtraction problem using several different strategies, can choose which strategy makes the most sense for the problem, and can explain the math behind the strategy. The exceptional math student--public or private--typically pulls out those nuances on her own. In high school, we explore the "why" a bit more in honors/AP classes, but not so much in the regular classes.