What changes in the TJ admissions procedure do you predict this year ?

[Anonymous]

There are children with IEPs that do not have access to AAP/honors classes at many middle schools. Those classes just are not offered that both meet their high intelligence and the IEP goals. It can’t continue. The 2E inclusion movement has been profoundly slow to catch on in FCPS. A child with an IEP should not be disadvantaged under the revamped process.

This was discussed at the last SB meeting by a current TJ student asking the board to consider neurodiversity.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Getting rid of the test is a mistake. The test weeded out 2/3 of the applicants deemed ill-suited for TJ and thus not qualifying for the semi-final round.

Wrong!

1) Harvard (and every other top university) is test-optional

2) Curiegate - The quant Q is DONE. Sad because it’s a great test, so the cheating preppers ruined it for the rest of us

[Anonymous]

I thought the Harvard change to test optional was only for one year based on COVID? Is it permanent?

I have read many threads to this curiegate - is there an actual investigation going on? I could not find any news articles or other references. Can someone point me to information that is not just DCUM posts?

Do others think that FCPS should also eliminate the COGAT and/or WISC private paid for testing for AAP? Same issues, correct? Parents who prep, game, etc.


I liked the PP suggestion about looking at grades, courses, teacher recommendations, essays - holisitic review - but don't you think they would at least include Iowa test and SOL history?

[Anonymous]

All the arguments against testing for TJ would apply equally (if not more so, since kids are younger) to AAP or any other grade school GT program.

[Anonymous]

In fact, if FCPS truly cares about broadening the pipeline, you would think they would look at the earlier stages rather than TJ.

[Anonymous]

Johns Hopkins CTY, Duke TIP, Davidson Scholar, etc. all rely on minimum standardized test scores like the SAT or ACT for identifying gifted youth and admitting them into their programs. The fact that TJ relies on test scores for a first cut seems to make sense. Are we really expecting TJ admissions officials to read the essays of 3,000 kids? Way too subjective. The only idea worse than that is a lottery open to basically any kid with a 3.0 GPA or better. Way too low a bar to admission. Might as well shut it down if you are going to water it down this much.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:In fact, if FCPS truly cares about broadening the pipeline, you would think they would look at the earlier stages rather than TJ.

They will definitely do this too. It’s not an either-or situation.

[Anonymous]

Even a 3.5 cutoff (which I hear they are proposing) is too low, especially if they don’t weight honors and above-grade level math courses higher

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I thought the Harvard change to test optional was only for one year based on COVID? Is it permanent?

I have read many threads to this curiegate - is there an actual investigation going on? I could not find any news articles or other references. Can someone point me to information that is not just DCUM posts?

Do others think that FCPS should also eliminate the COGAT and/or WISC private paid for testing for AAP? Same issues, correct? Parents who prep, game, etc.


I liked the PP suggestion about looking at grades, courses, teacher recommendations, essays - holisitic review - but don't you think they would at least include Iowa test and SOL history?

There won’t be an investigation because there is no illegal activity. There is, however, solid evidence that the QQ will no longer be able to do what it was intended to do because Curie has access that they’re not supposed to have. Prepping for the Quant-Q eliminates the value of the Quant-Q as an admissions metric.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'm sure the purpose of the geographic/middle school system is to increase racial diversity and specifically to decrease the number of Asian Americans.

Well, one prep place that only serves Indian families went from 50 students two years to 133 students for the class of 2024. There are allagations that the Curie students systemically cheated. So, its not reducing certain ethnic groups so much as getting rid of the role that cheating/prep has played in gaining access to admissions for certain ethnic groups.

You don't know that they cheated. No one does.

This place does not restrict access to non-Indians.

You're just a racist hiding under whatever excuses you are managing to concoct in your head.

Prepping for TJ test has never been verboten.

[Anonymous]

still looking for actual investigation. not just dcum.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:And the purpose of TJ is to provide more advanced STEM coursework to students with the interest and demonstrated aptitude for high level STEM work. A lottery does not further that purpose.

I am pro-TJ reform - I agree with you on all of this, including the insufficiency of a lottery, EXCEPT for the word "demonstrated". I don't see positives in requiring students to "demonstrate" their aptitude by the age of 13 because too often that is falsified by expensive and gatekept prep courses and extracurricular activities. The current TJ admissions office and process is lazy in identifying aptitude and potential, and I am hopeful that an improved admissions process will do a far better job of this down the road.

I agree that the prepping and race for activities have gotten out of control, but that doesn't mean that there is no way to demonstrate or measure aptitude. No method is perfect but that doesn't mean we should just forget about aptitude and passion entirely. Maybe a test written newly every year by TJ faculty would be better? But if there isn't any kind of test, and just a lottery, there is no way that the kids who really have the aptitude and passion will be the ones who get in.

Definitely agree about the lottery. But I don't agree about the exam. Exams overrepresent people and families who choose to use their resources on preparing for them - this is a large part of why all of the Ivies are at least test-optional at this point.

You can build a pretty accurate narrative about a student through their report cards (and the totality of them, not just the grades but the courses that they were in), teacher recommendations, essays, and so on. It just requires a little bit of extra work on the part of the admissions personnel evaluating the application.

So what are you looking for? You're looking for excellent students from whom you can cobble together a class that will create an exceptional learning environment. And that's the thing that is missing from TJ right now. It is certainly an advanced learning environment, but it's one that is toxic and hyper-competitive and leads to massive amounts of comparison, stress, and burnout among their students because too many of them are following the same path.

LOL like there isn't a whole cottage industry out there dedicated to perfect college essays.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I thought the Harvard change to test optional was only for one year based on COVID? Is it permanent?

I have read many threads to this curiegate - is there an actual investigation going on? I could not find any news articles or other references. Can someone point me to information that is not just DCUM posts?

Do others think that FCPS should also eliminate the COGAT and/or WISC private paid for testing for AAP? Same issues, correct? Parents who prep, game, etc.


I liked the PP suggestion about looking at grades, courses, teacher recommendations, essays - holisitic review - but don't you think they would at least include Iowa test and SOL history?

There won’t be an investigation because there is no illegal activity. There is, however, solid evidence that the QQ will no longer be able to do what it was intended to do because Curie has access that they’re not supposed to have. Prepping for the Quant-Q eliminates the value of the Quant-Q as an admissions metric.

You think if you repeat it enough it will become true?

[Anonymous]

Isn’t that also true for the other parts of the test then - the science and English portions? People also prep for those l, just like people prep for SAT, ACT, LSAT, GRE, SSAT for private high schools, etc. By this logic we should get rid of any and all standardized tests.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Isn’t that also true for the other parts of the test then - the science and English portions? People also prep for those l, just like people prep for SAT, ACT, LSAT, GRE, SSAT for private high schools, etc. By this logic we should get rid of any and all standardized tests.

Good grief, keep up. The QQ is supposed to be secured and private. The company keeps it locked down and forces anyone who sees it to sign an NDA.

The ACT aspires and the SAT are NOT secured.