TJ admissions now verifying free and reduced price meal status for successful 2026 applicants

[Anonymous]

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Anonymous wrote:The new admission process converted a merit-based school into a social project with barely any merit. The damage to TJ’s reputation is done. It will keep up in the rankings for the next couple of years, based on its past glory, after that it won’t. Hope that those, who orchestrated this, will ultimately pay for destroying the very valuable resource of this community. I am not Asian but white.

When did buying the test answers become merit?

If that were the actual concern, TJ math and science teachers could easily create test questions and make new ones each year, while making old ones public, so that any kid NOT at a prep center could prepare on their own. Right now TJ is getting kids from prep center, trained to write perfect essays about imaginary achievements and hardships in their lives, plus cheats, and disadvantaged kids with no particular aptitude. Good luck!

Don’t forget writing coaches! I know one parent/kid who spent months perfecting different flavors of essays. Same with math problem solving essay as it’s says that critical thinking/writing is more important that getting the right answer. This year, it’s science essay (and virtual), it’s all about writing.

I don't blame them preparing for it. They did the right thing.

Can you argue the same for math/science prep for earlier admission process? The problem with essays, TJ is now all about essays and what you write in them that appeals to the readers and you don't have to be truthful. Even if you perfect gpa, its will only make a difference of 37.5 points, while essays carry a whopping 600 points in the TJ point system and nothing else is considered for admission. So, getting into TJ isn't so much about science anymore.

Not defending the process because it is flawed, but being able to write (as well as do math and science) would set folks apart. I work with engineers (I’m a lawyer not an engineer) and many are strong engineers but very weak writers. Being able to communicate better would aid them in their careers. I know the admittance process is hated. I’m just adding that actually being able to communicate one’s thoughts in writing should not be under rated.

Certainly, being a stronger writer would be a useful asset for an engineer. Its importance is dwarfed by being a solid scientist who understands the math. Who would you prefer to have designing a new car: the good writer who is mediocre at STEM, or the STEM whiz who is a mediocre writer? If TJ were a general gifted academy or a humanities school, the emphasis on writing would not be inappropriate. For a STEM school, it's absurd to prioritize writing over math and science ability.

As I said, I’m not defending the process. I think it would be fair to make writing a component of the evaluation (albeit weighted lower then math and science). We all need to be able to communicate. Top students should have that basic skill. There are so many in FCPS that surely we could find top STEM kids that can also write.

Yes, I do agree that writing should be a part of the overall evaluation. But, just take a moment and think what TJ admission process is doing? The only two things are taken into consideration as core grades and essays i.e., no electives, stem activities, teacher input are considered. Then the max difference the entire gpa makes is 37.5 points i.e. (4.0 - 3.75) * 75, where as essays account for a total of 600 points. So, in the case of TJ, essays are about 15 times more important than middle school gpa. If essays make up 10-15% of total points, it would make sense. Also, you consider center schools like carson, where AAP alone consists of 500 kids, you can easily find 150+ kids with very similar perfect of near perfect gpa and barring any other input, their admissions entirely depend on the essays. There is no wonder admissions appear so random i.e., many of the smartest kids couldn't get admission, where as average kids got in - because on paper/grades, they look very similar. sorry for the rant!

It depends what the range of scores is on the 600 point essay scale. If the vast majority of essays are scored in the 500-550 range for example, then in that sense having a higher-scoring essay would only be worth about 50 points more than a lower-scoring one. I'm not saying that's the range, but AFAIK we don't know what the range of most essay scores is (say 10th vs. 90th percentile of essay scores), so we can't really say how heavily weighted it is relative to GPA in most cases.

I think there were lots of high scores on the essay, because the GPA average is close to 4.0.

[Anonymous]

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Anonymous wrote:a total echo chamber and makes bad decisions such as rushing through an overhaul of TJ admissions with no real idea of what they were doing or why.

I think they knew what they were doing. It is not a coincidence that almost identical changes happened in Loudoun and TJ. It is being run by national groups.

Putting an end to people being able to game admission by buying their kids the test answers seemed like a step in the right direction to me.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote: Is there anyone on this forum whose own child lost a spot? I’m guessing it’s not. No one did. And don’t troll and lie.

I previously lied that my child was given a spot after updating his status to free meals, to point out the absurdity because people were taking that suggestion seriously. So now I will lie and say that the spot we got after changing his FARMS answer to yes has now been rescinded and child is back on the waitlist.

[Anonymous]

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Sounds too good to be true. Nobody get national awards on both quizbowl and Sioly in this year’s 8th grader.

To be considered, the student would have to do all this in 7th grade.

[Anonymous]

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Anonymous wrote:We should set requirements for school board members. The bottom line is that they are parents of K-12 students and pass the drug test every year.

Why would they have to be parents? Every tax payer pays for the schools and should have a say. You would do a little entitled. It’s public education. If you want that much say, go private.

If they are not parents, they don't really understand what kids need and what are good or bad for the kids. Book smart is not enough. They may not even have the book smart.
To avoid the school board making wrong policies that hurt our children, the school board members should be parents of K-12.

Then you will have parents of kids rejected by TJ moving to change the admissions policies so weaker students can get in.
In Loudoun, it was a parent of someone who was accepted arguing for a per school quota, saying how hurt she was when the principal called out all the middle schools of who was from that school, and her kid's school wasn't even announced.

[Anonymous]

TJ needs to revert to Jefferson High. It's such a disgusting waste of time and resources. Just think how much FCPS could reduce its litigation budget if it wasn't paying lawyers so much to defend their TJ decisions.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:TJ needs to revert to Jefferson High. It's such a disgusting waste of time and resources. Just think how much FCPS could reduce its litigation budget if it wasn't paying lawyers so much to defend their TJ decisions.

The board was chosen by the residences and the residences pay tax for the stupid decisions made by the board. It's fair.
Don't vote for Dem next time, or at least, the board should be balanced between the two parties.

[Anonymous]

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Anonymous wrote:TJ needs to revert to Jefferson High. It's such a disgusting waste of time and resources. Just think how much FCPS could reduce its litigation budget if it wasn't paying lawyers so much to defend their TJ decisions.

The board was chosen by the residences and the residences pay tax for the stupid decisions made by the board. It's fair.
Don't vote for Dem next time, or at least, the board should be balanced between the two parties.

School board elections are actually non-partisan. The candidates are not officially party candidates.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:TJ needs to revert to Jefferson High. It's such a disgusting waste of time and resources. Just think how much FCPS could reduce its litigation budget if it wasn't paying lawyers so much to defend their TJ decisions.

The board was chosen by the residences and the residences pay tax for the stupid decisions made by the board. It's fair.
Don't vote for Dem next time, or at least, the board should be balanced between the two parties.

School board elections are actually non-partisan. The candidates are not officially party candidates.

Your second sentence is true. The first sentence is highly misleading. The local political parties endorse and provide financial support to School Board candidates, so the contests are incredibly partisan even if a "D" or "R" doesn't appear on the ballot. The current School Board is 12-0 Democratic and the pressure to toe the party line on policy issues is considerable.

Also, once elected, School Board members continue to hold political fundraisers. Laura Jane Cohen has held several Democratic fundraisers since taking office. And Karl Frisch just held one with Gerry Connelly, a Democrat in Congress, and Mary Trump this past weekend.

[Anonymous]

Turns out that kid had straight A’s and not a B- ever. They did 4+ hours of community service per week and played competitive piano as well as playing in charity concerts and doing lots of charity work. Don’t be mad just because your kid didn’t get in. They picked the best candidates. Stop speculating when your child didn’t get in. Maybe if you worked with your kid instead of complaining, they would be in TJ. Instead, you complain on the internet under a screen. They picked, not you.

[Anonymous]

can someone pls post an actual email screen shot asking for verification?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Turns out that kid had straight A’s and not a B- ever. They did 4+ hours of community service per week and played competitive piano as well as playing in charity concerts and doing lots of charity work. Don’t be mad just because your kid didn’t get in. They picked the best candidates. Stop speculating when your child didn’t get in. Maybe if you worked with your kid instead of complaining, they would be in TJ. Instead, you complain on the internet under a screen. They picked, not you.

Competitive piano? As a music major that is like a dagger to my heart. That’s not what music is about. Heartbreaking.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:can someone pls post an actual email screen shot asking for verification?

No need to question about it. It’s true.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Turns out that kid had straight A’s and not a B- ever. They did 4+ hours of community service per week and played competitive piano as well as playing in charity concerts and doing lots of charity work. Don’t be mad just because your kid didn’t get in. They picked the best candidates. Stop speculating when your child didn’t get in. Maybe if you worked with your kid instead of complaining, they would be in TJ. Instead, you complain on the internet under a screen. They picked, not you.

How is any of that STEM related? If this about a student taking Algebra 1, they most likely will not perform well in a STEM environment like TJ, nor will they be able to take most of the high-level STEM courses. TJ is for STEM students and leaders not those who do charity work and piano. They did not pick the best, or even good, candidates by any measure.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:can someone pls post an actual email screen shot asking for verification?

+1

Seems fake.