2008 National Merit Scholarship Semifinalists (Dallas, Fort Worth: credit, homes, transfer)

[FarNorthDallas]

Source; today's Dallas Morning News

Number of kids/school/district

49 Texas Academy of Math and Science (residential public school that costs $$)
38 Plano West (Plano ISD)
36 Plano Senior (Plano ISD)

24 St. Marks of Texas (private)
24 Paschal High (Fort Worth ISD)
24 Plano East (Plano ISD)
23 Hockaday (private)

19 Flower Mound High School (Lewisville ISD)
18 Highland Park (Highland Park ISD)
13 Cistercian (private)
10 Greenhill (private)

9 Pearce (Richardson ISD)
9 Carroll (Southlake ISD)
9 Newman Smith (Carrollton-Farmers Branch)
9 Garland (Garland ISD)

8 Marcus (Lewisville ISD in Flower Mound)
8 Hebron (Carrollton-Farmers Branch)
8 Grapevine (Grapevine-Colleyville ISD)
8 Homeschoolers

7 Lamar (Arlington ISD)
6 Trinity (HEB ISD)

5 Trinity Christian Academy (private)
5 R.L. Turner (Carrollton-Farmers Branch ISD)
5 Trinity Valley (private, FW)
5 The Colony (Lewisville ISD)
5 Episcopal School of Dallas (private)

5 Jesuit (private)
5 Keller (Keller ISD)
5 Fort Worth Country Day (private)
5 Lake Highlands High School (Richardson ISD)

4 Allen High School (Allen ISD)
4 Grace Prepatory (private)
4 Ursuline (private)
4 Nolan Catholic (private, FW)

3 Heritage (Grapevine-Colleyville ISD)
3 Hillcrest (Dallas ISD)
3 Nimitz (Irving ISD)
3 Central (Keller ISD)
3 Rockwall (Rockwall ISD)
3 Berkner (Richardson ISD)

2 Lewisville (Lewisville ISD)
2 Patego Christian Academy (private)
2 Azle (Azle ISD)
2 Haltom (Birdville ISD)
2 Creekview (Carrollton-Farmers Branch ISD)
2 Covenant School (private)

2 Centennial (Frisco ISD)
2 Richland Collegiate (charter)
2 Bell (HEB ISD)
2 Prestonwood Christian (private)
2 Academy of Irving (Irving ISD)

2 MacArthur (Irving ISD)
2 Boyd (McKinney ISD)
2 Science and Engineering magnet (Dallas ISD)
2 Horn (Mesquite ISD)

2 Birdville (Birdville ISD)
2 Richland (Birdville ISD)
2 Midlothian (Midlothian ISD)
2 Saginaw (Eagle Mountain-Saginaw ISD)

1 Canyon Creek Christian (private)
1 Sanger (Sanger ISD)
1 Mesquite (Mesquite ISD)
1 North Mesquite (Mesquite ISD)
1 Frisco (Frisco ISD)

1 McKinney (McKinney ISD)
1 McKinney North (McKinney ISD)
1 Gateway Prep (private)
1 Rowlett (Garland ISD)
1 Sachse (Garland ISD)

1 Burleson (Burleson ISD)
1 Woodrow Wilson (Dallas ISD)
1 Denton High School (Denton ISD)
1 Talented and Gifted magnet (Dallas ISD)
1 Lakeview (Garland ISD)

1 Wylie (Wylie ISD)
1 South Garland (Garland ISD)
1 Lake Country Christian (private,FW)
1 All Saints Episcopal (private, FW)
1 Christian Life Prep (private, FW)
1 Arlington High School (Arlington)

1 Martin (Arlington ISD)
1 North Hills (charter)
1 Duncanville High School (Duncanville ISD)
1 Ennis High School (Ennis ISD)
1 Oakridge (private)

1 Prince of Peace Christian (private)
1 Cambridge School of Dallas (private)
1 Bishop Lynch (private)
1 First Baptist Academy (private)
1 Irving (Irving ISD)

[loves2read]

yes--thanks for such a nice list--I was really surprised to see that Martin in AISD just posted one winner --that is supposed to be the best hs in AISD and Lamar outscored it this year.
Eventhough HEB's Trinity and Bell had what might look like so few--they did graduate more than 40 seniors this past year who earned IB certification--giving them basically their first two years of college credit and saving their parents anywhere from 10-40K each--depending on where they went to college for those two years...
IB kids don't have to take the SAT tests which the National Merits are based on (although many of them do)...
Just thought I would throw the benefits of IB program in...

Statistically HP scores are significant because of the small number of seniors who graduate there each year--but kudos to Lewisville ISD for all those finalists...super job...and good old Pearce is hanging tough as well...

[unexpected]

The IB program is totally unrelated to National Merit program. In fact, no one has to participate in the National Merit Program. It's based off of the PSAT, and the one that counts for National Merit is taken in 11th grade. Once you take the PSAT and results come out, if you score around 213 - 214, you're basically a National Merit semi-finalist, and you fill out an application for the National Merit Scholarships.

The IB program is a high school diploma program and has nothing to do with the PSAT.

[Guingirl]

Thank you for the info!

[sonshinelife]

these kids deserve praises...what an honor for all of them

[Spree]

The TX Academy of Math and Science had a great showing, how many kids in a graduating class there? Hockaday and St Marks did quite well for private schools - Congrats to all these bright students!

[FarNorthDallas]

Here's what the Texas Academy of Math and Science (11th and 12th graders only housed at Univ of North Texas) says about its enrollment:

"Some 378 students attend TAMS on a campus of over 33,000 students. Given their chronological and academic similarities, TAMSters tend to socialize with their agemates. The gender distribution is about 55% male, 45% female, which reflects the application distribution. Females are strongly encouraged to apply to achieve a 50 / 50 population.

Students are admitted from every region of the state, and from public and private schools of every size. TAMS students represent the full range of Texas religions, family incomes, cultures, and ethnic groups, including Caucasian, Asian, African-American, Hispanic, and Native American students."

TAMS Home, University of North Texas

[Big G]

TAMS isn't really a high school at all - it's a residential college program that allows really smart HS juniors to skip the last two years of high school and begin college courses towards an engineering degree.

These folks then either stay at UNT (rarely) or (usually) transfer as college sophomores or juniors to high-powered schools (think MIT, Caltech, Cornell, or locally Texas, A & M, Rice) once they turn 18. Few of them even bother to complete the requirements to get a high school diploma.

It's not surprising that they top this list - admission to TAMS is VERY highly dependent on getting sky-high SAT scores at age 15. For admission to TAMS, good grades mean very little (although bad grades will disqualify you) - it's all about the test scores.


While I'm here, I think the use of National Merit Scholar numbers as a measure of school quality is iffy at best. Being a National Merit Scholar Semifinalist is a reflection of a student's natural-born brainpower, and has little to do with how he's been educated in high school. If anything, it's a better measure of how he/she was educated in elementary and middle school. when his/her basic math and English skills were developed.

A school could easily have 6 semi-finalists one year and zero the next - it's all a matter of how many brainiacs were born to that area that year.

Highland Park & Plano blow this away because they have per capita more super-smart kids (probably the offspring of super-smart tech employees, or for HP, super-smart corporate executives).

[loves2read]

UNEXPECTED----I did not claim that IB and PSAT/SAT are related--I just said that students who are on the IB tract DON'T have to take the PSAT/SAT...

chill.....

[CallMeLaura]

Originally Posted by Big G

While I'm here, I think the use of National Merit Scholar numbers as a measure of school quality is iffy at best. Being a National Merit Scholar Semifinalist is a reflection of a student's natural-born brainpower, and has little to do with how he's been educated in high school.

It also has to do with the state. The requirements to become a National Merit semi-finalist vary from state to state. For example, students in OK can qualify with a lower score than students from Texas.

I want to say that the SAT was no longer considered an IQ test in 1992. Too lazy to look it up. I will agree that it's not an indicator of the quality of the school, although I do think some 'better' schools publicize the PSATs more than others. I took the PSAT by accident, not because anyone said I needed it for the National Merit Scholarship. So, some of the 'not as good' schools will miss out on semi-finalists because the students didn't know to take the right test.