Posts by Kate Jackson4

boldbadger1 said:We have a bit of a weird situation here in Cincinnati. The cutoff score for the IT and electrical engineering programs is sitting right at 72.30, which means my little one is cutting it incredibly close with their current points. It would actually be easier for them to get into a standard high school, though that isn't really the plan. For context, the score required for a web design track in Cincinnati is 74.96—it's actually the only program in the whole country requiring over 70 points...

That isn't about the scoring threshold... it's about how they handled admissions last year. We're talking about two different things...
The cutoff score is simply whenever the school decides they've had enough...

As for how many points they'll require for admission this year... it’s basically a lottery. We won't know until we take the shot... 😁
Perhaps the required score will be lower than last year... ☕

rowdypanther12 said:I haven't done much digging into this, but I get the feeling there aren't many paths to choose from if you aren't into tech or the arts. Is it mostly just business or tourism? 🤔

Well, I suppose there's still the administrative track left... which explains why everyone is gunning for the general high school... 😁

There are plenty of options for medical professionals. As for the technicians—those who prefer to follow their mothers' advice—they have choices too. Even the artists...

The grade thresholds are listed on some school websites, but not all of them, and the updates are painfully slow... They will eventually be posted on that official enrollment portal once schools start inputting the data...

By the way, one pharmaceutical technician hit a threshold of 73 points... 😵

A high GPA doesn't guarantee a spot. Mine is sitting at a 4.6 or 4.7, which nets him 69 points for a general high school—thanks to mediocre grades in History and Geography. At that rate, he wouldn't qualify for any general high schools in NYC... not that he’s interested, just an example.

The total score from specific subjects required by the school matters more. For technical schools, his score jumps to 74.

amberpilot72 said:Is this info about the cutoff score 100% for sure?
Because the last kid enrolled last year only needed a 67.40.
Whenever these places decide to raise the bar, they don't do it halfway... last time they jumped from 60 to 65.

Yes, the point threshold only applies to grades; if someone has an extra point for a national competition, they still need the base grades to hit the threshold first, then those bonus points are added on top.

The cutoffs in New York City are incredibly high. For example, NASA needs 72 points for a computer technician, even though they were enrolling people with over 76 last year.

And certain High Schools constantly hike their scores. They hold entrance exams, but what good is that when you can't make up for Cs if the score requirement is 76, like at one school in Chicago...
grades remain the primary factor for enrollment.

rustyowl7 said:Registration for the system officially opens tomorrow!

Does that mean schools start inputting their data? Because right now, the system is completely empty...

High school in Chicago also has an English-track class...

Hmm, perhaps this afternoon?...
It isn't exactly practical to maintain something outdoors when May in the States has been notoriously rainy lately; I fear we might see the same pattern this year... 👎

Dana Smith2 said:The open house at the NYC high school is happening the day after tomorrow.
In case anyone is actually interested, you might want to swing by and check it out.

http://gimnazija-dvanaesta-zg.skole....=1848#mod_news

Watch out, it's actually tomorrow, not the day after.🙂
The school looks lovely; glad to see a suburban neighborhood has something nice nearby...👍

Fortunately, Americans are enrolling this year; next year, the circus begins

rowdypanther12 said:Physics and chemistry are real subjects, but they honestly aren't necessary for vocational high schools.
They're fundamental sciences and more than enough to help kids understand the world, but at an economics high school, chemistry really isn't needed 🤷
Maybe one year would be okay, but honestly, we should probably just extend middle school instead.
A student at an economics school almost certainly won't end up going into medicine or a STEM field.🤷

Electrical engineers and computer technicians currently get four years of physics, and they enroll in good numbers at places like MIT, Georgia Tech, or various state engineering colleges.

What happens when physics is stripped away and replaced by some integrated module with three times fewer hours per year?

We might effectively block their path to higher education, or severely limit it, since they won't be able to pass the physics requirements on the SATs needed for those universities.

As long as they get two years of history, nothing changes... that stays untouched.😵

Everything here is backward. We have a shortage of physics, biology, and chemistry teachers, so let's just eliminate the subjects... meanwhile, we have plenty of history teachers to spare. Maybe teach history for three hours a week in every school just to keep them employed.🤣

The entire system is broken, from the way fifth graders are tracked to the enrollment quotas in high schools and universities alike.🍿

Personally, I suspect these rural schools applied because they finally have the chance to fix up their facilities. They don't have any teachers looking to jump ship to the unemployment office, and since they're far from the hub in NYC, they can afford to be a bit more flexible. It's unlikely all the kids will be stuck in A2 every single day; it’ll probably stay much like the current setup with extra help sessions

At least I hope it's for the kids' sake ☕

It’s fundamentally unfair... if they were actually following the logic of smaller districts, they’d have to include those from Chicago too.
That would be fair...

Not every school in the rural counties is subpar; there are plenty of excellent schools and students out there.
Chicago is just massive, so naturally, they have more kids participating in competitions.

If they're truly looking to boost enrollment in prep schools and universities, they should probably focus their efforts on Chicago and other major hubs.

By the way, did you catch the news about what they want to implement in vocational schools next year? They’re planning to scrap standalone subjects like Chemistry and Physics, merging them into other courses instead.

The end result might be that once these kids finish vocational training, they won't even be eligible for the SATs or college entrance exams... or at least their options will be incredibly limited.

Sarah Hall53 said:Man, you folks in NYC really do have some intense issues, and I'm not even talking about school admissions.
Honestly, there's this level of bitterness and jealousy toward anything that might be easier or better in any other part of America, and it's getting kind of unhealthy.
It feels like you'd rather the whole country deal with the same soul-crushing traffic jams you have, or the same crazy restrictions, and—of course—the same insane 70-point threshold for getting into a decent high school. Like, if two kids manage to squeeze in, fine, but why should they get in with a 60 when my kid couldn't even make it with a 69?!
A few colleagues of mine recently had total meltdowns over the qualifying scores for regional competitions... it just doesn't feel fair that kids in rural areas like Nebraska or maybe parts of Florida can qualify with 45 points, while my students in the city are stuck because they only hit 47. I mean, apparently, according to them, the rest of America should just forfeit their regional competitions entirely just to keep things "fair." That would be the only way to satisfy them, I guess. ☕

Please, enlighten me... what exactly is "fair" about this scenario? ☕
Why on earth are students with lower scores moving forward?...

Sarah Hall53 said:Look, if you literally have to kill yourself just to hit the GPA needed for enrollment—whether that's a 3.2, a 3.5, or a perfect 4.0—then honestly, you probably aren't a good fit for that track to begin with.
Does that make sense?

Plus, nobody is stopping New Yorkers from just applying to a high school in a different city where the GPA requirements are lower—since everyone seems so incredibly bitter about the cities where you need a perfect 4.0 just to get in. ☕

And thirdly, I still haven't had anyone explain to me how high school admissions are somehow responsible for all the hysteria regarding GPAs and those "honor roll" certificates people obsess over during the first four years of middle school.

Not quite... ☕
because New Yorkers are the most affected...
In NYC, being an excellent student isn't even enough, whereas in other parts of the country, you can get into high school even with a C average (I'm exaggerating, I think the cutoff is around 52 points)...
The madness started when they abolished entrance exams, and now every year the score requirements for high school just keep climbing...
It triggered a domino effect; parents pressure the kids and the teachers, kids end up with unrealistic grades, some schools have everyone pulling straight A's while others (the more realistic ones) don't, and naturally, everyone is frustrated...

Sarah Hall53 said:Look, if you literally have to kill yourself just to hit the GPA needed for enrollment—whether that's a 3.2, a 3.5, or a perfect 4.0—then honestly, you probably aren't a good fit for that track to begin with.
Does that make sense?

Plus, nobody is stopping New Yorkers from just applying to a high school in a different city where the GPA requirements are lower—since everyone seems so incredibly bitter about the cities where you need a perfect 4.0 just to get in. ☕

And thirdly, I still haven't had anyone explain to me how high school admissions are somehow responsible for all the hysteria regarding GPAs and those "honor roll" certificates people obsess over during the first four years of middle school.

They could, but it takes us an hour and a half to get from one side of town to the other anyway...

Sarah Hall53 said:Look, if you literally have to kill yourself just to hit the GPA needed for enrollment—whether that's a 3.2, a 3.5, or a perfect 4.0—then honestly, you probably aren't a good fit for that track to begin with.
Does that make sense?

Plus, nobody is stopping New Yorkers from just applying to a high school in a different city where the GPA requirements are lower—since everyone seems so incredibly bitter about the cities where you need a perfect 4.0 just to get in. ☕

And thirdly, I still haven't had anyone explain to me how high school admissions are somehow responsible for all the hysteria regarding GPAs and those "honor roll" certificates people obsess over during the first four years of middle school.

I explained it above; the insanity starts in first grade just to manufacture future straight-A students. You can't coast with B's for four years and then suddenly become an A student in fifth grade... 😁

In my opinion, the solution is implementing national standardized tests that account for at least 50% of high school admissions...

P.S. A professor from the local prep school told me they have a bunch of straight-A students entering high school who can't even add two fractions. This is our reality...

It’s interesting how kids in major hubs like New York City are effectively barred from high school if they score, say, a 4.5 GPA with 72 points... meanwhile, students in almost any other American city can get in even with under 60 points, which is unheard of in NYC.

It seems New Yorkers are being discriminated against simply because there aren't enough academies available.

Why should a top-tier student be forced into a specific trade just because they have great grades but zero interest in a particular field?
For someone like that, an ideal general academic track would provide the necessary time to actually decide on a career path.

The Secretary of Education keeps complaining about low enrollment in academic tracks... I believe it was around 30%, whereas according to EU standards, we should be seeing closer to 50%.

Perhaps the solution is just to increase the number of academies in NYC and voilà. 🎉

Eric Morgan54 said:think you could drop the rest of the list? if you can... thanks.

From the web

USA Today just released the school list. Only two schools from New York City made the cut. A relief for us back home... if anyone actually cares. New York City only submitted Jabukovac Elementary School and Ivan Cankar Elementary School.

mellowskipper said:I mean, I probably won't go either. But we have to sign up at work, so I'm trying to figure out if we’re actually free after July 13th.
Rihanna, what's the deal with the medical clearance—do you happen to know when that's happening? Or are you guys planning to just skip high school too?

It says everywhere that it needs to be submitted by September 30th at the latest, so we have plenty of time for that.👍
We will see about high school later...😁

It’s possible we might wrap things up a few days ahead of schedule, and I noticed quite a few schools allow for online enrollment
but even I won't be heading anywhere during that June 28th to July 13th window ☕

The reports remain underwhelming... most directors aren't willing to go against the collective, though there is still some semblance of reason left in this pathetic little country...