TJ Admin Test & Walls

[Anonymous]

TJ and Walls are very different schools. But the testimonies from these kids is pretty revealing on the impact of the lack of testing. They all seem amazing regardless.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/education/2022/05/31/thomas-jefferson-high-school-freshmen-admissions/

[Anonymous]

Bigotry starts at home. These kids are amazing! The adults who are pushing that court case are the worst. They are what is wrong with our society. Tests do not always reflect knowledge or intelligence.

[Anonymous]

Is the Post going to interview the kids of the parents who are suing as well?

[Anonymous]

I'm not a TJ or Walls parent but those kids in the article are super motivated outliers (especially the last kid). TJ did not need a test to find them. I'm not sure how well they represent the cohort at large.
A test-free admissions process will probably find 80-90% of kids who end up being appropriate for the school. The last 10-20% will struggle and many will leave. Both Walls and TJ have had higher
attrition after 9th grade this year than in previous years.

However, this is probably a minimal downside when what you get in return is a more diverse class (although I actually don't think the current Walls 9th grade is any more diverse?)
And of course it also stinks for the achieving kids who didn't get a spot.

Also of note is that since San Francisco dropped the test at their magnet school they have seen grades drop. This came out this week:
https://www.sfchronicle.com/sf/article/Lowell-High-admissions-17196603.php

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Is the Post going to interview the kids of the parents who are suing as well?

No this article focuses on the great kids. Not the bigots with an axe to grind.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I'm not a TJ or Walls parent but those kids in the article are super motivated outliers (especially the last kid). TJ did not need a test to find them. I'm not sure how well they represent the cohort at large.
A test-free admissions process will probably find 80-90% of kids who end up being appropriate for the school. The last 10-20% will struggle and many will leave. Both Walls and TJ have had higher
attrition after 9th grade this year than in previous years.

However, this is probably a minimal downside when what you get in return is a more diverse class (although I actually don't think the current Walls 9th grade is any more diverse?)
And of course it also stinks for the achieving kids who didn't get a spot.

Also of note is that since San Francisco dropped the test at their magnet school they have seen grades drop. This came out this week:
https://www.sfchronicle.com/sf/article/Lowell-High-admissions-17196603.php

Grades dropped during a pandemic? Yes it must be because they dropped the test.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'm not a TJ or Walls parent but those kids in the article are super motivated outliers (especially the last kid). TJ did not need a test to find them. I'm not sure how well they represent the cohort at large.
A test-free admissions process will probably find 80-90% of kids who end up being appropriate for the school. The last 10-20% will struggle and many will leave. Both Walls and TJ have had higher
attrition after 9th grade this year than in previous years.

However, this is probably a minimal downside when what you get in return is a more diverse class (although I actually don't think the current Walls 9th grade is any more diverse?)
And of course it also stinks for the achieving kids who didn't get a spot.

Also of note is that since San Francisco dropped the test at their magnet school they have seen grades drop. This came out this week:
https://www.sfchronicle.com/sf/article/Lowell-High-admissions-17196603.php

Grades dropped during a pandemic? Yes it must be because they dropped the test.

They almost universally rose due to Covid-related grade inflation.
I don't have the back story on what happened at Lowell but neither do you. The drop was signifiant.

[Anonymous]

I'm sure the kids are great. But if the data were there to effectively make the argument that this hasn't been affecting overall performance, the school would be only too happy to provide it and the Post to run it.

[Anonymous]

For every "great kid" who gets into TJ, another "great kid" is declined. That's the nature of super selective schools no matter the admissions process. No need to vilify parents on either side. The parents bringing the lawsuit aren't bigots, they are (mostly) Asian parents whose kids were disproportionately negatively impacted by the change in the admissions process. They think the test based admission was fairer while other parents and administrators think admissions methods designed to boost black and hispanic enrollment are fairer. There isn't a right answer, and it's reasonable for the parents who think the change is unfair to go to court. It's really their only avenue to reverse the change. They may or may not win, we'll see, but try to give each side the benefit of belief that they making a fair and honest argument.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Is the Post going to interview the kids of the parents who are suing as well?

No this article focuses on the great kids. Not the bigots with an axe to grind.

Sometimes, as here, bigotry is in the eye of the beholder.

The plaintiffs convinced a federal judge that TJ engaged in a rushed and ill-thought-out effort to dump the admissions test because it wanted a more "racially balanced" school, i.e., one that was less Asian. They pointed to the fact that some Fairfax school officials had voiced racist stereotypes about Asians and immigrant parents during the decision making process.

In their view, you are the bigot with the axe to grind.

It will be interesting to see what we get from the FOIA request to Walls regarding its similar dumping of the admissions test.

[Anonymous]

But is walls any less white without the test? I don't think so. It's a different situation than TJ.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Is the Post going to interview the kids of the parents who are suing as well?

No this article focuses on the great kids. Not the bigots with an axe to grind.

Sometimes, as here, bigotry is in the eye of the beholder.

The plaintiffs convinced a federal judge that TJ engaged in a rushed and ill-thought-out effort to dump the admissions test because it wanted a more "racially balanced" school, i.e., one that was less Asian. They pointed to the fact that some Fairfax school officials had voiced racist stereotypes about Asians and immigrant parents during the decision making process.

In their view, you are the bigot with the axe to grind.

It will be interesting to see what we get from the FOIA request to Walls regarding its similar dumping of the admissions test.

FOIA

[Anonymous]

I didn't know there was a $100 application fee. That just seems weird and elitist for a public school. These kids are amazing.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:For every "great kid" who gets into TJ, another "great kid" is declined. That's the nature of super selective schools no matter the admissions process. No need to vilify parents on either side. The parents bringing the lawsuit aren't bigots, they are (mostly) Asian parents whose kids were disproportionately negatively impacted by the change in the admissions process. They think the test based admission was fairer while other parents and administrators think admissions methods designed to boost black and hispanic enrollment are fairer. There isn't a right answer, and it's reasonable for the parents who think the change is unfair to go to court. It's really their only avenue to reverse the change. They may or may not win, we'll see, but try to give each side the benefit of belief that they making a fair and honest argument.

+100 your perspective is very different when it is your own child directly affected vs a societal change.

[Anonymous]

come on, your kid doesn't get into Harvard doesn't mean a van down by the river. None of our DCPS kids are gonna go to TJ and yet somehow they aren't gonna go to Don Juan's school of enchiladas and tax prep.