<p>2 this year out of about 500. Usually we have 1 or 2 =)</p>
<p>I'm one of four, out of 720.</p>
<p>19/278.
About the same numbers for the past 5 years. Pretty impressive for a public school I'd say.</p>
<p>I find it so fascinating that there are some pretty small schools with huge numbers of NMSF. I wonder how many are private vs. public? For example, here in greater Seattle, there are two schools which have big numbers like that. They are Lakeside - which is an exclusive private school for the son's and daughter's of Seattle's movers and shakers and the same one where Bill Gates attended BTW - and then there is Garfield HS, which is a public school in a dramatically less affluent area of Seattle and is very racially diverse. Garfield, however, has been deliberately made a magnet school and attracts the brightest from throughout the Seattle School District.</p>
<p>Do the schools like Lakeside and Garfield,which have so many NMSF, require their students to take practice PSAT's and SAT's to boost the number of students who become Semi's? I wonder about that because I know there are plenty of bright students at my S's high school (he's in a suburban school east of Seattle) but there is not an emphasis on teaching to the PSAT or SAT. Since it looks like he will be the only one from his class of about 400 to become a NMSF, I wonder what the secret is for schools to boast so many?</p>
<p>2 out of 300 at my private school</p>
<p>but we're in md so the cutoff is wayy high
this is the first time we've had more than one EVER though. almost every year there is exactly one person and now we have two..the school is beyond thrilled</p>
<p>Yes, the Atlantic states cutoff scores are higher than other states. But it's my understanding that it is proportional based on the number of students who took it in each state. If 1.4 million students take the test and 16,000 are NMSF then it extrapolates out that approximately 1.14 percent make the cut. We have about 250 NMSF from Washington each year but some schools have way more than they should, statistically. If a school has 400 students who took the test, then it would stand to reason that the school should have 4 NMSF. But it doesn't work that way. There are some schools listed here - like post #43 - where they have nearly 7 percent of their students qualifying and other's, like my son's school, where only .25 percent made the cut. That's a huge disparity. The schools which have so many must be doing something special to be defying the statistical odds.</p>
<p>My S (Class of 2007) was in a class of 87 (All boys) at a private HS. There were 25 NMSF. <a href="http://smtexas.org/news/news/detail.asp?newsid=297839&from=archive%5B/url%5D">http://smtexas.org/news/news/detail.asp?newsid=297839&from=archive</a></p>
<p>There also were 24 commended.</p>
<p>
[quote]
To ensure that students from all parts of the nation
are included in the talent pool, the top scoring entrants
in each state are designated Semifinalists on
a state representational basis
[/quote]
</p>
<p>It seems to be based upon the population of the state, not the number of students taking the test. From the 05-06 NMSC Annual Report. Compare the numbers for MA, MI, and MN.</p>
<p>State/entrants/commended/NMSF
Alabama 11,258 308 224
Alaska 2,463 54 40
Arizona 15,196 325 276
Arkansas 6,562 70 152
California 149,265 4,665 1,867
Colorado 18,681 525 231
Connecticut 28,179 870 200
Delaware 5,609 160 46
District of Columbia 3,816 207 65
Florida 57,525 1,469 730
Georgia 38,623 1,197 409
Hawaii 5,594 130 77
Idaho 4,928 55 94
Illinois 50,813 1,715 728
Indiana 42,134 586 341
Iowa 9,476 204 199
Kansas 10,956 379 170
Kentucky 13,234 278 222
Louisiana 12,913 262 247
Maine 10,019 115 84
Maryland 44,389 1,630 319**
Massachusetts 45,428 1,731 336
Michigan 35,291 631 553
Minnesota 20,430 568 354**
Mississippi 5,992 29 148
Missouri 14,915 511 321
Montana 5,071 77 60
Nebraska 7,333 94 124
Nevada 5,863 41 95
New Hampshire 8,841 195 71
New Jersey 64,986 2,278 463
New Mexico 4,355 91 108
NewYork 119,657 2,776 1,009
North Carolina 45,569 959 384
North Dakota 2,524 37 44
Ohio 53,654 1,391 684
Oklahoma 9,096 148 218
Oregon 15,364 349 181
Pennsylvania 75,743 1,681 743
Rhode Island 8,546 115 55
South Carolina 17,828 281 192
South Dakota 3,280 23 54
Tennessee 14,794 559 268
Texas 140,155 3,151 1,236
Utah 5,000 105 157
Vermont 4,106 105 45
Virginia 46,097 1,526 390
Washington 25,133 805 335
West Virginia 4,477 40 96
Wisconsin 21,893 474 369
Wyoming 2,020 5 33
Other Selection Units __<em>1</em>9<em>,8</em>3<em>3 _</em><em>9</em>9<em>5 _</em><em>2</em>5_1
TOTAL 1,394,907 36,975 16,098</p>
<p>~400 kids in my grade, 42 NMSF and 77 Commended</p>
<p>Thanks for the stat's Standrew. I find numbers very fascinating and have been plugging those in to see what the statistics reveal. Here's what my Excel spreadsheet tells me: that the competition within states such as Massachusetts is much greater because there are so many more students who take the exam than in your average state. BUT, based on state population, Mass had .0053 percent of its population who became NMSF. Which is pretty much right in the middle. In fact, there were 16 states with lower percentages of their population to become NMSF. Mass was in a group of 13 states with percentages that ranged from .0053 to .0055 along with our state, Washington. (Same percentage as Mass BTW) The worst percentage was Nevada with only .0039. There was one anomaly in the rankings: District of Columbia. Somehow they had a lot more than anyone else with .0114 percent. I'd be happy to share my spreadsheet with anyone else who enjoys looking at numbers and trying to find meaning in statistics.</p>
<br>
<blockquote> <p>Do the schools like Lakeside and Garfield,which have so many NMSF, require their students to take practice PSAT's and SAT's to boost the number of students who become Semi's? I wonder about that because I know there are plenty of bright students at my S's high school (he's in a suburban school east of Seattle) but there is not an emphasis on teaching to the PSAT or SAT. Since it looks like he will be the only one from his class of about 400 to become a NMSF, I wonder what the secret is for schools to boast so many?<<</p> </blockquote>
<br>
<p>I've never heard of either school requiring (or even providing) practice tests for either PSAT or SAT. I think it comes down to two things: (1) the selectivity of the program (Garfield, where many of the kids from the APP program go) or the school (Lakeside, with its competitive admissions) and (2) the great education the students have received in these two programs for the many years preceding the PSAT.</p>
<p>rainmama I agree in large part. My S's private HS gets the kind of percentages (30%+ NMSF) in great part due to selectivity. However, as the PSAT/SAT has shifted focus from identifying aptitude to identifying quality of education, it may make up less of the reason.</p>
<p>Superior educational programs will produce high percentages. But, even if the schools do not suggest or provide practice exams, there definitely are parents who are getting their kids tutored for these test.</p>
<p>Also, many of these kids took the SAT starting in 7 or 8th grade as part of the Duke TIP program.</p>
<p>At my daughter's school, last year (Class of 07)</p>
<p>Class size: about 710
No. of semifinalists: about 100</p>
<p>I will say that my son had taken the SAT as an eighth grader and again as a ninth grader. But he hadn't ever taken the PSAT until he walked into the testing area last October. He did not study for the PSAT at all nor did he study for the SAT when he took it last June. His PSAT score was a 219 (he is NMSF in Washington) and it was "confirmed" by an SAT score of 2320.</p>
<p>Because we live on the west coast - or so it seems seeing how many students from the East Coast states take the PSAT as listed in Standrews post - it would appear that doing well on the PSAT is almost a fanatical obsession for students/parents who want to attend/have their child attend an Ivy. If being a NMSF is the difference between going to Harvard or some lesser college, I can understand the push. I think it's okay to study to the test but I must conclude that the PSAT becomes more a reflection of preparing for a specific test rather than an indication of the raw intelligence of an individual. And, if that is the case, then can't we conclude that the brightest students are not necessarily the ones who score the highest?</p>
<p>2 of 84 at our private (but not exclusive) school. They take the PSAT in 10th grade, but otherwise don't practice for the test in school. I'm blown away by some of the schools with 30% NMSFs. Wow.</p>
<p>Looking at standrews numbers for MA, NC, and VA, which have nearly the same number of test takers, VA and NC wound up with a statistically significant larger number of SFs. It would seem like MAs cutoff should have been 1 or 2 points lower, or the other states 1 or 2 points higher if the goal is the same percentage of SFs vs test takers. I agree it must be related to state population.</p>
<p>It is absolutely tied to the state population. Massachusetts numbers are insane! But then again, look at their circumstances. They have, arguably, THE most prestigious colleges in the nation located there. The pressure to excel must be incredibly high.</p>
<p>In VA, TJHSST alone had 158 NMSFs -- they have about 450 kids per class. NC also has the residential science/math HS -- what you may be seeing is high numbers of scorers at specialized programs, which can drive up the scores needed to qualify. </p>
<p>I think these programs gather a critical mass of kids who share a passion for learning and excelling, and it raises everyone's performance -- in part because the program's expectations are higher, and partly due to peer pressure. It has its pros and cons.</p>
<p>NJ--Of a class of about 750, 41 commended, 14 semi and 9 finalists. Not a very good percentage compared to some of these other schools.</p>
<p>10 SF out of class of 52, private all girls</p>