Over the past few seasons there have been a bunch of changes and it can get confusing as to how the DOE and others are referring to and labeling them so I thought I’d take a moment to share terms and a bit of history.
Random number
This is that long string of numbers and letters that determine how you’ll be ranked in a variety of places.
On the DOE website it’s called: RANDOM NUMBER.
in MySchools it’s called: HIGH SCHOOL APPLICATION RANDOM NUMBER
The high school facebook group dubbed it: RAN (random application number)
People still refer to it as LOTTERY NUMBER, even in spots on the DOE website
History: before random numbers were released and before people even know about them, a lottery system was introduced at a few district 2 schools and everyone, including the DOE used the term LOTTERY.
Screened Admissions Group:
This is what group you’re in for screened schools based on 7th grade end of year grades.
On the DOE website there isn’t an actual term. They talk about screened admissions and then what group you fall into.
in MySchools it’s called: SCREENED ADMISSIONS GROUP
The high school facebook group calls it: SAG (screened admissions group)
People still refer to it as your TIER instead of GROUP
History: Pre Covid this admissions system didn’t exist. For the most part, at screened schools without additional materials, students were ranked top down by grades, attendance, and state test scores. Every school had its own rubric on how they evaluated that info. The DOE introduced this screened group system to centralize the admissions process.