Woodrow Wilson: ACADEMICALLY UNACCEPTABLE? (Dallas, Plano: to buy, high schools, live in)

[biafra4life]

Originally Posted by TurtleCreek80

Of course Lakewood's property values would skyrocket if Woodrow started cranking out SAT scores and National Merit Finalists like Highland Park HS does- duh!!! Yes, truly great schools are great assets for neighborhoods.

But that's not the context in which you brought up property values. The post of yours I am responding to SPECIFICALLY said (paraphrase) "property values are going to plummet since Woodrow went from Academicslly Acceptable to Accademically unacceptable." To which I said, the AU rating is neither going to help or harm Lakewood's r/e market. Because it isn't. The stats are all there- the school is not fundamentally different than it was LY when it was acceptable.

Perhaps you're right, and the fall in ratings won't do much to Lakewood. I was only pointing out that I felt Lakewood WOULD be better served by having a good school...and it doesnt even have to be on a HP standard, just decent. While I dont live in Lakewood, I did live in Dallas for several years and have fond memories of the city...and unlike other suburbites I do recognize that a strong Dallas is crucial to the success of North Texas as a region. Lakewood represents one of the better parts of Dallas with the most potential in my mind.

[biafra4life]

Originally Posted by Lakewooder

See, you are getting the whole thing wrong. Yes we got an AU for the ranking - YES we also have high performing school in AP and now IB. There is a dichotomy. We have lower performing kids AND we have high performing kids.

Lakewood is not losing affluent 'white' families. In fact we are gaining them. Already Lakewood Elementary is being criticized by some here as 'too white'! 73% of those kids last year went on to Long. Some actually skip Long (maybe for Travis or private) and return at Woodrow, plus Woodrow gets private school students from Zion and St. Thomas. Last year Woodrow had 120 in 9th grade pre-IB. They will now be sophomores. The incoming 9th grade pre-IB number is 160 and approximately 40% are coming from private schools.

You seem to think that if the school is AU all the scores are poor. This is what is wrong with the current rating system. It is some poor scores which make the entire school AU.

So you say, how can Woodrow be AU AND ranked one of the top schools in the nation by Newsweek (last year) and Washington Post (this year) and receive the ACT College Readiness Award (top 5% of schools)? It's that dichotomy.

I understand and agree with all that you've said. I took the IB in high school and can personally attest to the fact that the students have to be prepared for a rigorous course of study that most schools ranked AU wont be prepared for. Furthermore, I fully agree that the rating system we have now is unsatisfactory on so many levels.

That being said, how do you explain DFW Mike's stats about the dropping white enrollment? If there's a piece of the puzzle that I'm missing here then please let me know.

[Lakewooder]

I really stopped thinking about the ratios many, many years ago. After all I went to school with so many different people. I'm not going to say I am completely color-blind but I tend to think of people as a person or friend first and sometimes I forget the race. In any case there are so many multi-ethnic people these days that it would be too taxing to try figure it out and I don't ask.. But every time someone wants to do a story on the school, the first thing they ask is what are the racial numbers! I haven't really looked at the figures, I'm not sure why Mike cares so much unless he thinks it will get a rise out of me. Of course I do think it is important that white people be present as it adds to the diversity. However, if they are white and afraid of minorities or racist then I would just as soon they go to another school. I think the 'white' numbers are fairly stable (with some loss I imagine), it's just that the other numbers have gone up. I didn't look at his figures or where he got them but sometimes they are 2-3 years old.

Besides, this is the real world - whites in Texas are in the minority in public schools. Schools with mostly white populations are the exception, not the norm.

A story was done on IB last fall and the reporter wanted to know what the numbers were (probably coming at it from the angle of IB is to 'whiten' the school -- which is what I have also gotten on here). I believe she found that of the 120 coming in about half were white. Here's the story:

International Baccalaureate program helping raise expectations at Woodrow Wilson High | Dallas-Fort Worth Education News - News for Dallas, Texas - The Dallas Morning News

[Dr. Jake Oil]

Originally Posted by biafra4life

I understand and agree with all that you've said. I took the IB in high school and can personally attest to the fact that the students have to be prepared for a rigorous course of study that most schools ranked AU wont be prepared for. Furthermore, I fully agree that the rating system we have now is unsatisfactory on so many levels.

That being said, how do you explain DFW Mike's stats about the dropping white enrollment? If there's a piece of the puzzle that I'm missing here then please let me know.

The black enrollment is dropping too according to the schooldigger.com link he posted. The hispanic population is the only one increasing.

I'd say this has less to do with people choosing not to go to Woodrow or move to Lakewood as it does the changing demographics of Texas and Dallas as a whole.

[DtX4415]

Originally Posted by Lakewooder

I think the 'white' numbers are fairly stable (with some loss I imagine), it's just that the other numbers have gone up.

2000-2001 - 274 out of 1,324 (20.7%)
2001-2002 - 277 out of 1,338 (20.7%)
2002-2003 - 278 out of 1,322 (21.0%)
2003-2004 - 286 out of 1,325 (21.6%)
2004-2005 - 291 out of 1,348 (21.6%)
2005-2006 - 276 out of 1,422 (19.4%)
2006-2007 - 252 out of 1,319 (19.1%)
2007-2008 - 243 out of 1,291 (18.8%)
2008-2009 - 244 out of 1,396 (17.5%)
2009-2010 - 228 out of 1,390 (16.4%)
2010-2011 - 245 out of 1,467 (16.7%)
2011-2012 - 206 out of 1,207 (17.1%) <--- not the total enrollment see print screen below.

[DFW_Mike]

Originally Posted by Lakewooder

I really stopped thinking about the ratios many, many years ago. After all I went to school with so many different people. I'm not going to say I am completely color-blind but I tend to think of people as a person or friend first and sometimes I forget the race. In any case there are so many multi-ethnic people these days that it would be too taxing to try figure it out and I don't ask.. But every time someone wants to do a story on the school, the first thing they ask is what are the racial numbers! I haven't really looked at the figures, I'm not sure why Mike cares so much unless he thinks it will get a rise out of me. Of course I do think it is important that white people be present as it adds to the diversity. However, if they are white and afraid of minorities or racist then I would just as soon they go to another school. I think the 'white' numbers are fairly stable (with some loss I imagine), it's just that the other numbers have gone up. I didn't look at his figures or where he got them but sometimes they are 2-3 years old.

LakeWoody has a history of not paying attention to hard facts regarding education in his beloved area. It's referred to as denial in behavioral health circles.

Conveniently, he does seem to pay a lot of attention to information that supports his delusion.

The Newsweek / WP rankings were firmly debunked in a previous thread.
Straight from Washington Post website/ranking:
The formula is simple: Divide the number of Advanced Placement, International Baccalaureate or other college-level tests a school gave in 2010 by the number of graduating seniors. While not a measure of the overall quality of the school, the rating can reveal the level of a high school’s commitment to preparing average students for college.

In other words, you could place an AP exam in front of every single student in the school (including deaf and special ed) and be ranked number one in the country. It says nothing about WHETHER THEY ACTUALLY PASSED!!!!!!!!! It's a measure of the school's commitment "to prepare average students for college". Ouch.

It's ironic that tests that actually measure the ability to read and perform math (TAKS) are referred to as garbage, while a worthless ranking is celebrated.

Biafra, google "schooldigger.com woodrow wilson dallas" and scroll to the very bottom. You will see the trend of declining white attendance. Sorry I can't link to anything from this computer, or I'd do it for you. If Woody is correct, and affluent whites are flooding to the Lakewood area, they appear to be trickling away from Woodrow. How can that be?

Why is it relevant? Poster Turtlecreek has noted many times that 15% of the school population (whites) perform very well and carry the load academically. As this number declines, where will this leave Woodrow Wilson if it's already been deemed Academically Unacceptable?

[Lakewooder]

DFW_Mike: Why do you feel the need to slander my mental health? I have not made any personal attacks on you except that I made flippant comment on another thread. I am asking you to cease and desist your stalking and trolling behavior. I am asking you nicely.

[DtX4415]

someone asked for the white enrollment for these two schools.


Lakewood (171)


2000-2001 - 307 out of 737 (41.7%)
2001-2002 - 277 out of 720 (38.5%)
2002-2003 - 267 out of 726 (36.8%)
2003-2004 - 278 out of 613 (45.4%)
2004-2005 - 322 out of 698 (46.1%)
2005-2006 - 345 out of 731 (47.2%)
2006-2007 - 348 out of 516 (67.4%)
2007-2008 - 401 out of 594 (67.5%)
2008-2009 - 454 out of 635 (71.5%)
2009-2010 - 507 out of 680 (74.6%)
2010-2011 - 520 out of 704 (73.9%)
2011-2012 - 519 out of 712 (72.9%)


J.L. Long (53)

2000-2001 - 145 out of 942 (15.4%)
2001-2002 - 148 out of 854 (17.3%)
2002-2003 - 131 out of 800 (16.4%)
2003-2004 - 127 out of 833 (15.2%)
2004-2005 - 98 out of 772 (12.7%)
2005-2006 - 87 out of 743 (11.7%)
2006-2007 - 161 out of 1,055 (15.3%)
2007-2008 - 157 out of 1,009 (15.6%)
2008-2009 - 159 out of 981 (16.2%)
2009-2010 - 164 out of 1,073 (15.3%)
2010-2011 - 196 out of 1,145 (17.1%)
2011-2012 - 195 out of 1,147 (17.0%)

[mSooner]

While his attitude is downright rude, I do agree with the facts DFW_Mike mentioned.

I appreciate the good info you post about Lakewood, but I do gag a little every time I see that Woodrow Wilson IB thread updated yet again...

[ClarenceBodiker]

http://www.schooldigger.com/go/TX/sc...87/school.aspx


[EDIT: I tried to post a chart, but it wouldn't link. The chart is in the link.]


Since 1988, the demgraphic ratios have remained pretty consistent. It doesn't appear that Woodrow is gaining or losing too much of anybody. That's probably one of the most consistent, unchanging demographic charts I've seen from any school in this area. And I've looked at quite a few.