Anonymous wrote:I mean, I guess it depends on what colleges you are shooting for. You can forget about the tippy top with 9th grade algebra. But it sounds like that wasn't his/her path anyway (As and Bs). You're not going to get there with any Bs. Sorry.

Not true UMD is a top engineering school. They have a path through community college (gasp) to their engineering program and they require all students to take "real calculus" when they enter their program. They don't care if you have a 5 in your APs, you know business and engineering majors take a different calculus class, they want their engineers taking real calculus.

Also their computer science program would rather see computer science and computer programming and statistics over calculus, so Algebra in 9th is not an issue.

OP, you see the fear mongering going on. Everybody is convinced there is only 1 path to success, it is not true. There are many paths to success. Look at people pitting their kids resumes against each other, don't get caught in the riptide.

Anonymous wrote:There are public school parents on this thread because of this post popping up on recent topics.

Them's fightin' words.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Don't private schools provide resources so kids don't fall behind? I mean, isn't that why people pay 30-40k/year?? Even in public schools, Alg 1 is a 7th grade math for many kids.

Well, obviously, you can't afford the tuition, so you just don't get to know why. Too bad for you.

I don't understand your logic. It was the public school person questioning, with complete arrogance, the reason behind private school, that prompted the second response. So the pubic school post was there first, see? Your conclusion, not surprisingly makes no sense.

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.

Ivy League schools are mostly liberal arts type educations - for the most part they don't have engineering colleges for undergrads.

Wait, what? Every single Ivy League school offers undergraduate engineering programs.

Anonymous wrote:

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.

That's a truly obnoxious statement. Showing your true color.

The FACT that there is no social mobility in this country is obnoxious, not my statement. I guess they really don't teach critical reading skills in public school.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Common core is a joke.

And, no, not every kid who gets an 800 on the Math portion of the SAT is equally strong in math. These standardized tests do not test the top limits... just what College Board has decided is good enough.

I guess you just aren't very smart. Whether or not you like common core, it is incorrect to say public schools are teaching math by memorization.. Kids are required to explain in words how they solved a problem starting in early elementary, and are taught strategies for doing so just as they are in private.

Just to clarify, in case you are not following along, both my kids are currently in private.

So once you public school/TJ parents see this thread on "Recent Topics" and realize it has NOTHING to do with you, just please go on your merry way. I am not the OP, but your comments do not help that parent at all.... You just post them to makes yourselves feel better about your own decisions. Let's all just respect the choices we all have made.

Anonymous wrote:

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.

True. But private kids can't compete with magnet kids. Not even close.

True dat. DH judges a MS academic competition that pulls kids from MOCo, gunning for Blain, and Longfellow, RR and Carson, gunning for TJ, and some top DC area private schools, and has remarked how the TJ and Blair candidate kids are blowing the Sidwell et al. crew out of the water. Certainly it shows up in final team placements. His theory from judging is that the public school kids may not be smarter, but they work much, much harder. They certainly appear to take it more seriously, and I know that the kids from DC's school (including DC) often put 20+ hours a week into this one extracurricular, outside of a heavy AAP academic load.

On the TJ side, at least, it is also interesting how much higher the admit rate is from a RR/ Carson/Longfellow vs private schools, which have a very tough time getting kids into TJ.

Cool story!

Anonymous wrote:

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.

True. But private kids can't compete with magnet kids. Not even close.

Why is a private school thread being trolled by public school parents (and/or students). What's the fascination? I can't imagine private school parents are trolling the public school forums.

I'm sorry. I didn't realize that your private school tuition entitled you to a forum with a "safe space" on DCUM where you didn't have to interact with public school parents. But I would assume they are here for the same reason I am-- because "Algebra I in 9th" popped up on Recent Topics, and there is a great deal of interest and debate among parents who care about STEM education (even *gasp* the unwashed public school masses) as to when children should begin learning abstract math.

As a parent is a rising 7th grade AAP student heading into Algebra next year and rising TJ freshman, I'm interested in what other parents think. But next time, I'll be sure to ask permission before "trolling" *your* board (PS, you don't sound entitled at all-- really).

Anonymous wrote:

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.

True. But private kids can't compete with magnet kids. Not even close.

Why is a private school thread being trolled by public school parents (and/or students). What's the fascination? I can't imagine private school parents are trolling the public school forums.

Private school parents post stuff on the public school forums all the time.

One of the easiest ones to identify is the one on the fcps forum from some school called bullis(?)

There are also a couple of regulars on the AAP forum who regularly post about how private school are so much stronger than any of the area gifted programs, including some who have never had kids in public school let alone any of the public gifted programs, be it AAP or the MD highly gifted centers.

So yes, if a topic in the public school forums have a lot of traffic from private school parents. If Jeff got some revenue every time some private school parent posts "...that is why I sent my kid to private school..." he would not need to have those annoying ads on dcum.

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.

True. But private kids can't compete with magnet kids. Not even close.

Why is a private school thread being trolled by public school parents (and/or students). What's the fascination? I can't imagine private school parents are trolling the public school forums.

Anonymous wrote:Common core is a joke.

And, no, not every kid who gets an 800 on the Math portion of the SAT is equally strong in math. These standardized tests do not test the top limits... just what College Board has decided is good enough.

I guess you just aren't very smart. Whether or not you like common core, it is incorrect to say public schools are teaching math by memorization.. Kids are required to explain in words how they solved a problem starting in early elementary, and are taught strategies for doing so just as they are in private.

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.

True. But private kids can't compete with magnet kids. Not even close.

True dat. DH judges a MS academic competition that pulls kids from MOCo, gunning for Blain, and Longfellow, RR and Carson, gunning for TJ, and some top DC area private schools, and has remarked how the TJ and Blair candidate kids are blowing the Sidwell et al. crew out of the water. Certainly it shows up in final team placements. His theory from judging is that the public school kids may not be smarter, but they work much, much harder. They certainly appear to take it more seriously, and I know that the kids from DC's school (including DC) often put 20+ hours a week into this one extracurricular, outside of a heavy AAP academic load.

On the TJ side, at least, it is also interesting how much higher the admit rate is from a RR/ Carson/Longfellow vs private schools, which have a very tough time getting kids into TJ.

There are public school parents on this thread because of this post popping up on recent topics.

Them's fightin' words.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Don't private schools provide resources so kids don't fall behind? I mean, isn't that why people pay 30-40k/year?? Even in public schools, Alg 1 is a 7th grade math for many kids.

Well, obviously, you can't afford the tuition, so you just don't get to know why. Too bad for you.

Anonymous wrote:

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.

That's a truly obnoxious statement. Showing your true color.

Public school mom all the way, and there is a sort of truth here. We all know SES is the single greatest predictor of academic success. So do I think that parents who have enough disposable income to pay for an elite DC private will have kids who excel academically and go to great colleges? Sure. But I don't think it's because they went private. They would probably end up in the same college out of any FCPS or MCPS HS. I think it's because mom and dad have money. And I have certainly seen that affluent public school kids keep pace with their private school counterparts through college admissions, grad school and into the workforce. The difference comes in for the kids who are not from affluent families. Upward educational, and therefore economic mobility are very, very hard. Look at TJ for a minute. FCPS is just under the 30% FARMs. 1.8% of the class of 2020 admits are FARMS though-- despite aggressive outreach, free TJ prep and testing fees, etc (also only 16 of the 480 kids in the class of 2020 are black or Hispanic).

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.

True. But private kids can't compete with magnet kids. Not even close.