TJ Falls to 14th in the Nation Per US News

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:“Having access to a strong high school program is paramount for students as they face an ever-changing world,” Liana Loewus, the managing editor of education at U.S. News & World Report, said in a press release. “Making data on our high schools available helps parents ensure their child is in the educational environment that best sets them up to thrive.”

The slide in the rankings for Thomas Jefferson High School comes after it changed its admissions process.

In 2020, Fairfax County’s school board voted to overhaul the admissions process to eliminate some testing requirements and implement an essay lottery system in a bid to increase the number of black and Hispanic students attending the school.

But the changes resulted in a substantially lower level of Asian students being admitted to the school.

The same level of Asian students being admitted to the school, not a lower level.

Racial exclusion of Asian applications from expanded seat quota, caused the Asian student percent to go from 73% in 2020 to 54% in 2021, in just one admission cycle.

1) The application process is race-blind.

2) On average, there are NINE fewer Asian students in the admitted class after the change. Out of hundreds of kids.

Your hysterics are getting old.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:


1) The application process is race-blind.

2) On average, there are NINE fewer Asian students in the admitted class after the change. Out of hundreds of kids.

Your hysterics are getting old.

Looks like the equity brigade got the toolkit with talking points distributed.

[Anonymous]

Wow. 14 is a pretty big drop? Guess we will see it even lower each of the upcoming years. Oh well.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:For a long time the number one school in the nation, US News now has TJ at #14. Not sure how much is a change in methodology, how much is the admissions policy (surprised to see WTOP call that one out below, because they usually parrot the FCPS party line on everything), and how much is other schools getting better.

Following controversial changes to its admissions policy in 2021 to boost diversity, Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology in Virginia remains the top ranked school in the D.C. region and 14th in the nation, slipping from the top 10. It’s also the 5th ranked STEM school in the nation.

https://wtop.com/education/2024/04/regions-best-high-schools/

The FCPS Board was clear that they wanted the opportunity to attend TJ to extend to more of the county's students. They were not concerned about a slip in rankings and never said they were. It's the crazies on this board that said things like "The admissions changes led to a much stronger student body (by weeding out test preppers, etc.)." They were clearly wrong. Again, they are in denial about that but the FCPS Board was OK with it because the school should serve the full county and every middle school. I'm OK with that but let's not pretend it results in the best and brightest. A trade off that I for one and OK with but I freely admit that Asian students are denied seats they would otherwise have in a true merit-based system in order to further a different, and apparently legal, purpose.

Equity warriors throwing in the towel so soon? Essay Admissions was supposed to uncover the Einsteins from the bottom schools, who apparently are much more advanced in STEM than the prepped Asians with years of enrichment. Now that the silly Essay admissions is doing nothing more than simply letting in 150 Algebra 1 kids each year straight into remedial, it's time to explain away the decline?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Wow. 14 is a pretty big drop? Guess we will see it even lower each of the upcoming years. Oh well.

If you want to go to Basis, you can. It's not that far from TJ, distance wise, about 20 minutes apart.

It's much better than TJ!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:For a long time the number one school in the nation, US News now has TJ at #14. Not sure how much is a change in methodology, how much is the admissions policy (surprised to see WTOP call that one out below, because they usually parrot the FCPS party line on everything), and how much is other schools getting better.

Following controversial changes to its admissions policy in 2021 to boost diversity, Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology in Virginia remains the top ranked school in the D.C. region and 14th in the nation, slipping from the top 10. It’s also the 5th ranked STEM school in the nation.

https://wtop.com/education/2024/04/regions-best-high-schools/

The FCPS Board was clear that they wanted the opportunity to attend TJ to extend to more of the county's students. They were not concerned about a slip in rankings and never said they were. It's the crazies on this board that said things like "The admissions changes led to a much stronger student body (by weeding out test preppers, etc.)." They were clearly wrong. Again, they are in denial about that but the FCPS Board was OK with it because the school should serve the full county and every middle school. I'm OK with that but let's not pretend it results in the best and brightest. A trade off that I for one and OK with but I freely admit that Asian students are denied seats they would otherwise have in a true merit-based system in order to further a different, and apparently legal, purpose.

Equity warriors throwing in the towel so soon? Essay Admissions was supposed to uncover the Einsteins from the bottom schools, who apparently are much more advanced in STEM than the prepped Asians with years of enrichment. Now that the silly Essay admissions is doing nothing more than simply letting in 150 Algebra 1 kids each year straight into remedial, it's time to explain away the decline?

NP. The latest US News ratings are not based on data for students admitted under the new admissions process, and the number of schools considered by US News appears to expand frequently to include small charters, including schools operated by BASIS.

So a drop in TJ's ratings this year doesn't really say anything about the impact of the admissions changes. Either you're dense, or you're just trying to mislead people deliberately. Neither is an admirable quality.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:For a long time the number one school in the nation, US News now has TJ at #14. Not sure how much is a change in methodology, how much is the admissions policy (surprised to see WTOP call that one out below, because they usually parrot the FCPS party line on everything), and how much is other schools getting better.

Following controversial changes to its admissions policy in 2021 to boost diversity, Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology in Virginia remains the top ranked school in the D.C. region and 14th in the nation, slipping from the top 10. It’s also the 5th ranked STEM school in the nation.

https://wtop.com/education/2024/04/regions-best-high-schools/

The FCPS Board was clear that they wanted the opportunity to attend TJ to extend to more of the county's students. They were not concerned about a slip in rankings and never said they were. It's the crazies on this board that said things like "The admissions changes led to a much stronger student body (by weeding out test preppers, etc.)." They were clearly wrong. Again, they are in denial about that but the FCPS Board was OK with it because the school should serve the full county and every middle school. I'm OK with that but let's not pretend it results in the best and brightest. A trade off that I for one and OK with but I freely admit that Asian students are denied seats they would otherwise have in a true merit-based system in order to further a different, and apparently legal, purpose.

Equity warriors throwing in the towel so soon? Essay Admissions was supposed to uncover the Einsteins from the bottom schools, who apparently are much more advanced in STEM than the prepped Asians with years of enrichment. Now that the silly Essay admissions is doing nothing more than simply letting in 150 Algebra 1 kids each year straight into remedial, it's time to explain away the decline?

NP. The latest US News ratings are not based on data for students admitted under the new admissions process, and the number of schools considered by US News appears to expand frequently to include small charters, including schools operated by BASIS.

So a drop in TJ's ratings this year doesn't really say anything about the impact of the admissions changes. Either you're dense, or you're just trying to mislead people deliberately. Neither is an admirable quality.

You could have just said, equity worriers are not yet done messing up with quality and qualified students, instead of all this word salad.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:For a long time the number one school in the nation, US News now has TJ at #14. Not sure how much is a change in methodology, how much is the admissions policy (surprised to see WTOP call that one out below, because they usually parrot the FCPS party line on everything), and how much is other schools getting better.

Following controversial changes to its admissions policy in 2021 to boost diversity, Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology in Virginia remains the top ranked school in the D.C. region and 14th in the nation, slipping from the top 10. It’s also the 5th ranked STEM school in the nation.

https://wtop.com/education/2024/04/regions-best-high-schools/

The FCPS Board was clear that they wanted the opportunity to attend TJ to extend to more of the county's students. They were not concerned about a slip in rankings and never said they were. It's the crazies on this board that said things like "The admissions changes led to a much stronger student body (by weeding out test preppers, etc.)." They were clearly wrong. Again, they are in denial about that but the FCPS Board was OK with it because the school should serve the full county and every middle school. I'm OK with that but let's not pretend it results in the best and brightest. A trade off that I for one and OK with but I freely admit that Asian students are denied seats they would otherwise have in a true merit-based system in order to further a different, and apparently legal, purpose.

Equity warriors throwing in the towel so soon? Essay Admissions was supposed to uncover the Einsteins from the bottom schools, who apparently are much more advanced in STEM than the prepped Asians with years of enrichment. Now that the silly Essay admissions is doing nothing more than simply letting in 150 Algebra 1 kids each year straight into remedial, it's time to explain away the decline?

Discouraging that is ultimately good for those kids and for the country as a whole.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Admissions probably didn’t help. Worth noting though that there’s been a lot of teacher turnover which I think is a bigger deal than the admissions process since it affects the quality of the education itself.

Teachers are being forced to teach rigorous TJ curriculum to a class that lacks prerequisite middle school math and science knowledge. If they voice their concerns with the lack of merit based admission criteria, they are branded as anti-equity. Frustrated with not being able to fulfill their duties, many opt to resign.

Not only the STEM subjects. Bonitatibus has ruined the foreign languages department since she started at TJ. Admin keeps meddling in the teacher’s duties and doesn’t do anything to make the school better. Now we’re seeing the rankings drop because of this.

What has been ruined? Are there not enough teachers or not good or how they teach?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Thank you DEI and all the folks who were shouting from rooftops when their DC did not get admitted. Now we lost a good school thanks to the stupid governor and other nonsensical reasons.

Who is suffering .. the kids

Oh shoot. TJ has lost out to ... Basis.

Umm. No thank you. I'll stick with TJ, a regular full-size public magnet school over a private charter school known for its joylessness.

+1
Basis sounds super advanced - more so than typical TJ track. But it also sounds like even more of a grind and not a full HS experience like TJ.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:For a long time the number one school in the nation, US News now has TJ at #14. Not sure how much is a change in methodology, how much is the admissions policy (surprised to see WTOP call that one out below, because they usually parrot the FCPS party line on everything), and how much is other schools getting better.

Following controversial changes to its admissions policy in 2021 to boost diversity, Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology in Virginia remains the top ranked school in the D.C. region and 14th in the nation, slipping from the top 10. It’s also the 5th ranked STEM school in the nation.

https://wtop.com/education/2024/04/regions-best-high-schools/

The FCPS Board was clear that they wanted the opportunity to attend TJ to extend to more of the county's students. They were not concerned about a slip in rankings and never said they were. It's the crazies on this board that said things like "The admissions changes led to a much stronger student body (by weeding out test preppers, etc.)." They were clearly wrong. Again, they are in denial about that but the FCPS Board was OK with it because the school should serve the full county and every middle school. I'm OK with that but let's not pretend it results in the best and brightest. A trade off that I for one and OK with but I freely admit that Asian students are denied seats they would otherwise have in a true merit-based system in order to further a different, and apparently legal, purpose.

Equity warriors throwing in the towel so soon? Essay Admissions was supposed to uncover the Einsteins from the bottom schools, who apparently are much more advanced in STEM than the prepped Asians with years of enrichment. Now that the silly Essay admissions is doing nothing more than simply letting in 150 Algebra 1 kids each year straight into remedial, it's time to explain away the decline?

NP. The latest US News ratings are not based on data for students admitted under the new admissions process, and the number of schools considered by US News appears to expand frequently to include small charters, including schools operated by BASIS.

So a drop in TJ's ratings this year doesn't really say anything about the impact of the admissions changes. Either you're dense, or you're just trying to mislead people deliberately. Neither is an admirable quality.

Who cares about this rating? You're fully aware that the decline was imminent and doesn't need a lowered rating to confirm its path.

When school board takes a magnet school that has historically attracted advanced and hardworking STEM middle schoolers from five counties, and replaces 150 students in each of the 4 classes - that's 600 advanced students in total - with struggling Algebra 1 students from under-performing schools deprived of quality education, it's inevitable that the overall learning level and competence of the school's student body would drastically decline.

[Anonymous]

Well if TJ continues to drop it's ranking it won't be the destination for the best students in this area. Maybe the high achievers will migrate to McLean and Oakton

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:


1) The application process is race-blind.

2) On average, there are NINE fewer Asian students in the admitted class after the change. Out of hundreds of kids.

Your hysterics are getting old.

Looks like the equity brigade got the toolkit with talking points distributed.

This. It is not a blind process. Granting guarantees admits from each school is race blind. Admitting specific applicants is not necessarily race blind. Names…

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Admissions probably didn’t help. Worth noting though that there’s been a lot of teacher turnover which I think is a bigger deal than the admissions process since it affects the quality of the education itself.

So why the exodus?
We’re they retirement age?
Or did they decide that they’d rather go teach at a school that was keeping pursuit of academic excellence as its primary mission over equality of outcome?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Admissions probably didn’t help. Worth noting though that there’s been a lot of teacher turnover which I think is a bigger deal than the admissions process since it affects the quality of the education itself.

Teachers are being forced to teach rigorous TJ curriculum to a class that lacks prerequisite middle school math and science knowledge. If they voice their concerns with the lack of merit based admission criteria, they are branded as anti-equity. Frustrated with not being able to fulfill their duties, many opt to resign.

RSM and AOPS are not a prerequisite for any school curriculum. Teachers can realize this and teach the students they have, not the students they want to have.

Sure.
But once upon a time (prior to the targeted change to admission criteria) the students that had and the students they *wanted* to have were the same.

In other words—it wasn’t a required pre-requisite…but the students who had met those standards with those courses already under their belts WERE the admitted students because (…and I know this will shock you!)…they were the students who performed the best on the entrance test and demonstrated mastery of the material such that the teacher could start the school year with full confidence that the students in his/her class could keep up.

This isn’t hard to understand. You just don’t want to because you are so hell-bent on pretending that all smart students are smart at the same level. They aren’t.
Just like lots of high school varsity basketball players are pretty good—but that doesn’t mean they get to play in the NBA just because their neighborhood or race is underrepresented.