<p>All achievements should be recognized-academic, artistic, athletic, service, etc. I’m also a big fan of IMPROVEMENT. Kids who show growth should also be celebrated.</p>
<p>Some schools will give NMSF scholarships, others NMF scholarships, and some will give both or only NMS scholarships. It depends on the school.</p>
<p>I don’t see anything wrong with recognizing NMF/NMSFs. If nothing else, it motivates others to do well, and if you use the opportunity to publicize scholarships, college apps, etc., then you could save your kids a lot of money.</p>
<p>[1.5 million juniors entered the NMP]
[15,000 are finalist…]</p>
<p>Consider that "more than 1.5 million juniors in over 21,000 high schools entered the 2009 National Merit Program…which served as an initial screen of program entrants… The nationwide pool of Semifinalists, which represents less than one percent of U.S. high school seniors, includes the highest scoring entrants in each state. "</p>
<p>Approximately 15,000 Semifinalists [advance] to the Finalist level and it is from this group that all National Merit Scholarship winners are selected.</p>
<p>I’ve read versions of this thread before on CC. My oldest 2 were not high scorers on the PSAT; my youngest is a good test taker and may be NMSF in a few years. I think it should be recognized. Our district has a community relations person who feeds stories to the press, and it is usually printed in the regional section of the paper, but not the larger part that goes to the whole city. We usually only have 1 or 2 SF and maybe 4-6 commended out of a class of about 350; it is not a function of wealth here.</p>
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<p>No, it really is not. As you go on to point out. </p>
<p>It is a combination of innate talent AND choosing to spend one’s time reading, thinking, and learning over many years.</p>
<p>It deserves at least as much recognition as choosing to develop one’s athletic talents. </p>
<p>Income often has little to do with it. My son was an NMF and Presidential Scholar semifinalist while qualifying for free lunch without taking any prep courses. The richest kids at his school and at our local private schools were neither.</p>
<p>I am SO SO SO heartily sick of anti-intellectual BS in our nation!!!</p>
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<p>I know a couple people that were NMSF but not NMF. I don’t think they put much work into it at all.</p>
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<p>Or it could mean that the PSAT does not measure ONLY the ability to perform well on a one-time test, but correlates well with overall academic performance.</p>
<p>I don’t accord a lot of importance to awards and recognition, but I do think that recognizing academic achievers is as important as recognizing athletes, artists, and others who contribute to society and can serve as role models and inspiration to other students.</p>
<p>“I don’t think they put much work into it at all.”
And that is probably why they did not advance to finalist status. Their grades, SAT scores, essays or letters of recommendations from the HS counselor did not merit advancement, or were not consistent with their PSAT scores.</p>
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<p>This was my impression; OR the student put a tremendous amount of time into preparing for/retaking the test. Why are either of those things worth recognizing?</p>
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<p>Their grades weren’t particularly good, because they never really put much into school. But they found the PSAT and SAT to be a breeze. (both from well-educated but not wealthy families)</p>
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<p>What about all of the students whose grades, essays and letters of rec were the same or <em>better</em> than the NMFs? Why don’t they get equally recognized?</p>
<p>^Because of grade inflation. The only thing out of that list that would merit (without further information) any recognition is the essay, and that’s subjective.</p>
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<p>Not if at the same school! Last year a girl at our competitive public was NSF, with a B+ average in nearly all College Prep courses. Didn’t even crack the top quartile in rank. Rejected at UC Irvine. But got a nice automatic tuition discount at USC based solely on a 3 hour test. Hmmmmmm</p>
<p>I think there are a lot of sour grapes on this thread. I agree academic merit without NMF status should be rewarded, but every competition has criteria and all of these “Gee, my grades are just as good as a NMF, I just don’t test well, etc.” complaints are fruitless. There are people in every career, sport, and university who are very talented and being a NMF doesn’t mean one is better than others. It does mean you had the background knowledge to score well on a test and the high school history to back it up. It may not seem fair to some, but if everyone has a chance to take the test than they had a chance to be a NMF.</p>
<p>My son would have probably scored high enough on the PSAT to become a NMF, but when he was in 11th grade it was an option for 11th grade students (mandatory for 10th grade) and he chose not to take it. Since neither one of us knew about NM I didn’t argue with him. I could fuss and whine that his school (one at teach at) should make the contest clear to all students and parents, but why, it is life, fair or not. Although after experiencing the whole NMF thing with my daughter, I make it a major point to encourage my 11th students to take the test and I go over the financial rewards they could receive if they become a NMF.</p>
<p>What do I know blue bayou? Well for one, I took the test. Let me put it this way: I know no one who has received more than a 65 on the math who earns less than an A for honors math classes.</p>
<p>My observation of the NMSF and NMF’s at our local HS as well as the ones I knew in my own HS days - every one of them that I knew was a top student. It was not just the one test.</p>
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<p>Do you think the author of the article in the original post is “sour grapes”? He (and others) have stated why he/they is not a fan of the NM program. Feel free to disagree, but don’t belittle the pov (teacher!).</p>
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<p>There are other scholarships out there. You guys talk as if the national merit thing was the only scholarship available, or even the most prestigious. A tiny fraction of the colleges in America use it for full-rides.</p>
<p>Well as I cited before [1.5 million juniors entered the NMP] [15,000 are finalist…]</p>
<p>Yes, it is prestigious: Consider that "more than 1.5 million juniors in over 21,000 high schools entered the 2009 National Merit Program…The nationwide pool of Semifinalists represents less than one percent of U.S. high school seniors… </p>
<p>And yes there are always people that criticize any program that is good…dissatisfied people, people that want to make headlines, contrarians…sour grapes…you name it!</p>
<p>Our school honors academic achievement once a year. At that point the NMS, the AP scholars, major college/uni scholarship winners…all sort of academic achievements are annouonced. Everyone is invited but generally the parents of the kids getting awards attend. Once a year the school honors athletic achievement…same deal and same results, typically the parents of the students involved. I go to both because my kids are involved in both academic and athletic endeavors at an ability level that garners them recognition. I’m equally proud of their accomplishments. For seniors, the senior scholar bios are published which covers AP scholars, NMS, etc. and the senior athletes get their press when they have signing day. It’s all good. Frankly NMS is a fine program and one of many avenues open to high achieving students to garner recognition and potential $$ for college.</p>