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This is partly incorrect. There isnt a ‘cutoff’ per se’. If something like one exists- its a pretty wide range. The younger the age at which you’re applying the more this is true.
In any case, there are many exceptions and intangibles. The schools are looking to build a class more so than admit a single kid. They need so many of X and so many Y’s and a few less Z’s etc. There IS intellectual diversity at these schools especially in the lower grades even though all the kids are quite capable.
Hope knowing this may helps some.
Wish everyone the best!
Your comments are not exactly accurate, or we may be saying it differently. Some schools indeed have a cut-off. Its not a preset number per-se, but one based on that year's applicant pool below which they may not look at applicants. For example, if a school got 150 applicants for 20 spots, they may not look at kids below the 50th percentile and reduce the pool under consideration to 75 kids. That is how schools with a ton of applicants (Hockaday gets a 1000/yr) cull down the number to a manageable level so they can make evaluations in 1-2 months. So, yes- there is no definitive cut-off score, but CATS is absolutely used to cull the applicant pool.
You can quote all the anecdotal evidence you want. It still does nothing to dispute the fact that highly gifted kids dont need a private school education. If private schooling is a huge difference maker for a certain kid’s academic performance then they probably aren’t all that gifted.
We don't send our kids to Greenhill bc they need help.
We send them so they can keep loving learning, not be tossed on the Plano ISD automaton conveyor belt, and have a peer group committed to achievement.
I don't think that academic performance is the metric most people would use to determine whether a private school education is "worth it." Truly gifted kids can perform in any environment, but some are more flexible than others. By their very nature, private schools are not handcuffed in the way that public schools are and thus, can allow for more individualized instruction and academic enrichment. They can also teach kids work ethic and foster a love of learning in ways that public schools often fail to do. I was in GT my whole life in public school and was bored to tears, didn't ever have to lift a finger, and got straight As. My grades would likely have been the same if I had attended Hockaday or Greenhill (or at least that's my fantasy, lol), but I guarantee you I wouldn't have been bored, I likely would have maintained my curiosity and passion for learning, and I would have been forced to learn how to work. We chose our school because they teach how to think rather than what to think - to me, this is a huge advantage for gifted kids. Critical thinking and mental flexibility tend to be more important in the real world than sheer intellectual talent. If you have the advantage of being born with exceptional ability, I don't understand why you wouldn't want to nurture that in the most advantageous way possible. Being a product of one of the best public school districts in Texas, I can tell you they did an abominable job of nurturing my motivation, curiosity, love of learning, and work ethic. My "academic performance" may not have suffered, but all of those other factors surely did.
Yup.
I went from an elite private (which I loved) to 2 of the most highly touted public systems in the country (Cali and here), and all I learned was to hate school.
Just got the admisssions decision “test” email. I must say, I nearly had a stroke when I saw the subject line: “Admission Decision”. Geez, I may be ill before 4:00 on Friday.
Just got the admisssions decision “test” email. I must say, I nearly had a stroke when I saw the subject line: “Admission Decision”. Geez, I may be ill before 4:00 on Friday.
Best of luck. The process is simply awful for parents. That said a friend of ours was on the admissions team at Hockaday off and on for quite a number of years. The declines bothered her to tears every single year.
Thanks, EDS! I couldn’t do it, for sure. And while realistically I am anticipating the “no”....based on number of applicants...having seen such an amazing educational opportunity....I’m still hoping for the “yes”.
I don't think that academic performance is the metric most people would use to determine whether a private school education is "worth it." Truly gifted kids can perform in any environment, but some are more flexible than others. By their very nature, private schools are not handcuffed in the way that public schools are and thus, can allow for more individualized instruction and academic enrichment. They can also teach kids work ethic and foster a love of learning in ways that public schools often fail to do. I was in GT my whole life in public school and was bored to tears, didn't ever have to lift a finger, and got straight As. My grades would likely have been the same if I had attended Hockaday or Greenhill (or at least that's my fantasy, lol), but I guarantee you I wouldn't have been bored, I likely would have maintained my curiosity and passion for learning, and I would have been forced to learn how to work. We chose our school because they teach how to think rather than what to think - to me, this is a huge advantage for gifted kids. Critical thinking and mental flexibility tend to be more important in the real world than sheer intellectual talent. If you have the advantage of being born with exceptional ability, I don't understand why you wouldn't want to nurture that in the most advantageous way possible. Being a product of one of the best public school districts in Texas, I can tell you they did an abominable job of nurturing my motivation, curiosity, love of learning, and work ethic. My "academic performance" may not have suffered, but all of those other factors surely did.
Many missed my point, but I’m choosing to respond to you because i think you and Stan4 came closest understanding it- but you went in more detail.
I did not say private schools are incapable of successfully educating gifted kids. I also did not mean public school is necessarily better at educating them. (Is anyone really?)
The point behind what i said was most truly gifted kids dont NEED a private school education to flourish and most would be fine (academically) just about anywhere especially since most all schools, public or private aren’t designed to teach such kids anyway. Therefore, whatever non- academic justification there is for sending them to a private school that isn’t religious(e.g PCA or TCA) and isnt designed mainly for gifted kids( E.g St Johns in Houston) has to be worth the 30k a year tuition for however many years.
My OPINION is that a kid like that would find peers and do just as well (academically) at HPISD, PISD, both CISD’s and even DISD’s magnet programs as they would at Hockaday, Greenhill or St Marks. Difference is- a public school option would be significantly cheaper. Of course there are those that believe strongly in the mission or the history of the school or have other ties that are that important to them. But are those things alone worth the tuition? Not to me.
That’s not to say that there aren’t such kids in the top private schools or that those that are there do not thrive or get a great education. Just that- if mine was that kid ( and thankfully they aren’t) we’d very likely be following a different path that ends at a highly rated PUBLIC Magnet for the gifted-supplemented or a private school for gifted kids.
And i say that as a parent of kids in schools relevant to this thread- so, not without an appreciation for those schools and what they offer, or what a nightmare admissions season is.
I don't think that academic performance is the metric most people would use to determine whether a private school education is "worth it." Truly gifted kids can perform in any environment, but some are more flexible than others. By their very nature, private schools are not handcuffed in the way that public schools are and thus, can allow for more individualized instruction and academic enrichment. They can also teach kids work ethic and foster a love of learning in ways that public schools often fail to do. I was in GT my whole life in public school and was bored to tears, didn't ever have to lift a finger, and got straight As. My grades would likely have been the same if I had attended Hockaday or Greenhill (or at least that's my fantasy, lol), but I guarantee you I wouldn't have been bored, I likely would have maintained my curiosity and passion for learning, and I would have been forced to learn how to work. We chose our school because they teach how to think rather than what to think - to me, this is a huge advantage for gifted kids. Critical thinking and mental flexibility tend to be more important in the real world than sheer intellectual talent. If you have the advantage of being born with exceptional ability, I don't understand why you wouldn't want to nurture that in the most advantageous way possible. Being a product of one of the best public school districts in Texas, I can tell you they did an abominable job of nurturing my motivation, curiosity, love of learning, and work ethic. My "academic performance" may not have suffered, but all of those other factors surely did.
Oh sorry I forgot to address your last point.
We are of the same mind there- but where we differ is that i think highly intelligent people are naturally curious and think critically naturally and don’t usually need to be taught how.They’ve got that covered. I also believe the primary job of a school is nurturing intellectual curiosity and academics. Motivation, work ethic etc is stuff that a school can instill but should be the primary responsibility of parents.
Some public schools( many public schools) have lost the point of learning and have devolved into GPA rat races which is disadvantageous to most kids. I’m just not sure that would affect a gifted child all that negatively unless they live for recognition. They probably would skate through if not thrive in such an academically intense environment. If for some reason they do not, there are still many options and they are not exclusively private. Many private schools have that same rat race mentality especially in high school though it may be more nuanced. It’s not a phenomenon exclusive to public schools. Lastly, some public schools manage to instill a love of learning in spite of the politics especially at the elementary level.
When it comes to the highly gifted- there is no perfect learning situation, it comes down to an individual child’s/ parents needs and thats fine. But discounting the entire public school system as inferior compared to privates would be a mistake. ‘Best’ in Texas might equal average in Massachusetts so being the ‘best’ public or private school means little in real terms for exceptional individuals. It’s entirely possible for a ‘best’ school to do a poor job of educating a kid. Thats true for both public and private.
The point behind what i said was most truly gifted kids dont NEED a private school education to flourish and most would be fine (academically) just about anywhere especially since most all schools, public or private aren’t designed to teach such kids anyway. Therefore, whatever non- academic justification there is for sending them to a private school that isn’t religious(e.g PCA or TCA) and isnt designed mainly for gifted kids( E.g St Johns in Houston) has to be worth the 30k a year tuition for however many years.
My OPINION is that a kid like that would find peers and do just as well (academically) at HPISD, PISD, both CISD’s and even DISD’s magnet programs as they would at Hockaday, Greenhill or St Marks. Difference is- a public school option would be significantly cheaper. Of course there are those that believe strongly in the mission or the history of the school or have other ties that are that important to them. But are those things alone worth the tuition? Not to
And that is the part I am directly refuting.
Did I (and other gifted) do fine in PISD? Sure. We did AP and Natl Merit, blah blah.
Were we truly NURTURED and ENCOURAGED and paid attention to in any way? Hell to the no.
Not only that, we were brow-beaten and crapped on numerous times. Bullied by teachers for being different and tossed aside the very second we underperformed.
I think sometimes I did well in my later academics *despite* of my high school education in Plano instead of because of it.
Now I have to wonder how many other kids are not fulfilling their potential bc of this kind of thing.
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