Quick signalboost

staranise is trying to set up an easy tutorial for newbies moving from Tumblr to Dreamwidth. I admire this goal - I like DW, so I perforce think more people ought to use it. (Wonder if we can snag some people back from the FB exodus they keep prophesying?) This is what she's working on now, if you want to help out. (Though it seems like her fake fictional comm is accidentally morphing into a real one...?)

High school admissions results came back

Which means, predictably, that everybody unhappy with their results is bitching and moaning like you wouldn't believe. After reading their complaints about the "mysterious algorithm" that sorts kids into schools I've come to the conclusion that these people don't know what the word algorithm means.

All we mean when we say algorithm is "a set of steps used to solve a problem". For example, if you need to find out why your three month old is crying you might first check the diaper, then offer her the breast, then pat her back to see if she needs to spit up, then try putting her to nap. If you want to wash your hair you'll first wet your hair, then lather up some soap into your hair, then rinse it all out and repeat as necessary.

The algorithm used here is not that mysterious at all. In fact, I'd say it's comprehensible to literate people who grasp arithmetic and basic algebra, but....

I mean, these are people who routinely claim that the problem with NYC schools is that 80% of them aren't in the top 20th percentile, or that there must be a solution where every single student gets into their top-ranked school. (There are two solutions, but they don't like either one of those. The first is to cram them in until the building bursts, and the second is to give up on school choice altogether in which case your zoned school is, perforce, your first and only choice.) I'm not sure math is their strong point.

These people also all think that there must be some way for the DoE to magically create more schools all students want to attend. Well, all the in-demand schools have one thing in common: their students get good grades and good SAT scores. Students who get good grades and SAT scores would, in general, do just as well at almost any school. It may benefit them somewhat to be lumped together, but it does no good for the other students or the system as a whole. Which is why the DoE, quite sensibly, is trying to cut down on the number of schools that screen for academics. Because it's better for all the kids to be more mixed. (Not that these people want to hear that. They never say so quite so bluntly, but they mostly think that low-achieving students don't deserve good schools, or at least that their need for good schools doesn't need to be addressed until the star students are all in really really great schools.)

Finally: If your kid feels miserable and "like a failure" because she got into school 4 on her list instead of into school 1 - I get that the whole process is stressful and it comes during a really emotional time in your child's life, but buying into all this? It's not helping. Instead of ranting and raving about how the DoE has ruined your child's life, get some freaking perspective, and maybe encourage your child to stop looking for outside validation.