Possible legal challenge against TJ lottery

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Many families structure their whole life around getting into TJ. They spend lots of time dedicated to getting into good schools and colleges. TJ to them fits right in the middle of their path.

Other families do not prioritize TJ as much. There are several other things that they concentrate on sports, arts, literature, etc. So it is no surprise that these families do not get into TJ.

What FCPS is saying is they know what is best for families. They think families should be put so much priority on TJ. They might be right, but I for one do not like the idea of a government bureaucrat deciding what families should do. Comrade Brabrand thinks otherwise.

The American culture is not teach to the test. Period.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Many families structure their whole life around getting into TJ. They spend lots of time dedicated to getting into good schools and colleges. TJ to them fits right in the middle of their path.

Other families do not prioritize TJ as much. There are several other things that they concentrate on sports, arts, literature, etc. So it is no surprise that these families do not get into TJ.

What FCPS is saying is they know what is best for families. They think families should be put so much priority on TJ. They might be right, but I for one do not like the idea of a government bureaucrat deciding what families should do. Comrade Brabrand thinks otherwise.

The American culture is not teach to the test. Period.

Tell that to the Princeton Review and Kaplan. Good old American test prep companies.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Many families structure their whole life around getting into TJ. They spend lots of time dedicated to getting into good schools and colleges. TJ to them fits right in the middle of their path.

Other families do not prioritize TJ as much. There are several other things that they concentrate on sports, arts, literature, etc. So it is no surprise that these families do not get into TJ.

What FCPS is saying is they know what is best for families. They think families should be put so much priority on TJ. They might be right, but I for one do not like the idea of a government bureaucrat deciding what families should do. Comrade Brabrand thinks otherwise.

The American culture is not teach to the test. Period.

OMG. It appears you don't have children in FCPS. All teachers care about is teaching to the SOL tests. That's ALL that matters in FCPS.

[Anonymous]

Yeah . . . my bar review class was completely dedicated to teaching to the test. You signed up for the class specific for the state you were going to take the bar for and they taught you what they thought you needed to know for the test. Probably 99% of my class (and every other school in the US) took the bar prep class offered by the company Barberi. That's the American way!

[Anonymous]

Even medicine has test prep for the licensing exams! All physicians are cheats!

Next time you go for a doctor visit, tell them they are a cheat. Not in American culture.

[Anonymous]

The "TJ prep" is a straw man. If the Prep centers are shut down, most people won't object. The school board can easily solve the "prep" problem by giving a bump in the holistic review to applicants who have no access or can't afford to prep. They can also take legal or administrative actions against the prep centers. But that's not the real issue.

The real issue is educators have failed to narrow the achievement gap for URMs for decades. Bureaucrats are using the "TJ prep" as a ruse to lie to the URMs that they have not failed them but them Asians cheated.

[Anonymous]

Zora Neale Hurston had useful words on issues like these: “If I say a whole system must be upset for me to win, I am saying that I cannot sit in the game, and that safer rules must be made to give me a chance. I repudiate that." The TJ Lottery insults blacks and hispanics more than anybody else.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Zora Neale Hurston had useful words on issues like these: “If I say a whole system must be upset for me to win, I am saying that I cannot sit in the game, and that safer rules must be made to give me a chance. I repudiate that." The TJ Lottery insults blacks and hispanics more than anybody else.

Brabrand is essentially saying, blacks and hispanics can never make the cut without the lottery. He must thinking "What Blacks and Hispanics at TJ?" Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha. "In their dreams".

[Anonymous]

Reform TJ admissions and everthing that might be wrong there.

But lottery? Right up there with the stupid $20k for a one hour zoom call.

[Anonymous]

Actually, what needs reform is the institutional racism that assumes black kids can't do math and need to be 'helped' along. It starts from teachers (usually white) assuming they can't do math or succeed academically and ends in the children and their parents believing the same thing.

It is not because of lack of interest on the student's part. Several studies document that black and Latino students sometimes have more positive attitudes toward mathematics and higher educational aspirations than do their white counterparts, especially in the early years of secondary school (Goldsmith, 2004; Strutchens & Silver, 2000). Yet students from these minority groups are less likely than white students to complete advanced high school mathematics classes (National Center for Education Statistics, 2004; Teitelbaum, 2003), classes that are crucial prerequisites for admission to competitive colleges and for career success.

Ethnic minority students' opportunities are limited because of others' perceptions of their ability to do mathematics. School and teacher practices that hold minority students back from doing advanced mathematics abound (Walker, 2003). For example, in a school at which students' grades were evaluated at the end of each quarter to determine which students should be moved into higher math courses, a black student who excelled in her general-level algebra course was not moved up. Her teacher justified this decision by saying she needed this student to remain in the general-level course because she was a good role model for other students in this predominantly black and Latino class.

“Many researchers have identified successful teachers of African American students as "warm demanders." James Vasquez used the term to identify teachers whom students of color said did not lower their standards and were willing to help them. Warm demanders expect a great deal of their students, convince them of their own brilliance, and help them to reach their potential in a disciplined and structured environment.” ― (Delpit, "Multiplication Is for White People")

What is required is a way for all students' mathematical ability and academic interest to be nurtured at a young age and for teachers, parents and institutions to believe in their academic ability, move them into advanced classes and help their intellect soar. Instead, the TJ Lottery perpetuates the insulting stereotype that black and hispanic students can't succeed academically and need to be 'lotteried' into TJ. Shame!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Actually, what needs reform is the institutional racism that assumes black kids can't do math and need to be 'helped' along. It starts from teachers (usually white) assuming they can't do math or succeed academically and ends in the children and their parents believing the same thing.

It is not because of lack of interest on the student's part. Several studies document that black and Latino students sometimes have more positive attitudes toward mathematics and higher educational aspirations than do their white counterparts, especially in the early years of secondary school (Goldsmith, 2004; Strutchens & Silver, 2000). Yet students from these minority groups are less likely than white students to complete advanced high school mathematics classes (National Center for Education Statistics, 2004; Teitelbaum, 2003), classes that are crucial prerequisites for admission to competitive colleges and for career success.

Ethnic minority students' opportunities are limited because of others' perceptions of their ability to do mathematics. School and teacher practices that hold minority students back from doing advanced mathematics abound (Walker, 2003). For example, in a school at which students' grades were evaluated at the end of each quarter to determine which students should be moved into higher math courses, a black student who excelled in her general-level algebra course was not moved up. Her teacher justified this decision by saying she needed this student to remain in the general-level course because she was a good role model for other students in this predominantly black and Latino class.

“Many researchers have identified successful teachers of African American students as "warm demanders." James Vasquez used the term to identify teachers whom students of color said did not lower their standards and were willing to help them. Warm demanders expect a great deal of their students, convince them of their own brilliance, and help them to reach their potential in a disciplined and structured environment.” ― (Delpit, "Multiplication Is for White People")

What is required is a way for all students' mathematical ability and academic interest to be nurtured at a young age and for teachers, parents and institutions to believe in their academic ability, move them into advanced classes and help their intellect soar. Instead, the TJ Lottery perpetuates the insulting stereotype that black and hispanic students can't succeed academically and need to be 'lotteried' into TJ. Shame!

Good points!

But that is hard work. It takes real change. It needs massive effort and the reward is too far off. By the time this begins to show results, Brabrand and the current FCPS board would be gone so the rewards accrue to someone else.

Instead, a lottery shows an immediate effect.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Actually, what needs reform is the institutional racism that assumes black kids can't do math and need to be 'helped' along. It starts from teachers (usually white) assuming they can't do math or succeed academically and ends in the children and their parents believing the same thing.

It is not because of lack of interest on the student's part. Several studies document that black and Latino students sometimes have more positive attitudes toward mathematics and higher educational aspirations than do their white counterparts, especially in the early years of secondary school (Goldsmith, 2004; Strutchens & Silver, 2000). Yet students from these minority groups are less likely than white students to complete advanced high school mathematics classes (National Center for Education Statistics, 2004; Teitelbaum, 2003), classes that are crucial prerequisites for admission to competitive colleges and for career success.

Ethnic minority students' opportunities are limited because of others' perceptions of their ability to do mathematics. School and teacher practices that hold minority students back from doing advanced mathematics abound (Walker, 2003). For example, in a school at which students' grades were evaluated at the end of each quarter to determine which students should be moved into higher math courses, a black student who excelled in her general-level algebra course was not moved up. Her teacher justified this decision by saying she needed this student to remain in the general-level course because she was a good role model for other students in this predominantly black and Latino class.

“Many researchers have identified successful teachers of African American students as "warm demanders." James Vasquez used the term to identify teachers whom students of color said did not lower their standards and were willing to help them. Warm demanders expect a great deal of their students, convince them of their own brilliance, and help them to reach their potential in a disciplined and structured environment.” ― (Delpit, "Multiplication Is for White People")

What is required is a way for all students' mathematical ability and academic interest to be nurtured at a young age and for teachers, parents and institutions to believe in their academic ability, move them into advanced classes and help their intellect soar. Instead, the TJ Lottery perpetuates the insulting stereotype that black and hispanic students can't succeed academically and need to be 'lotteried' into TJ. Shame!

I agree .

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Actually, what needs reform is the institutional racism that assumes black kids can't do math and need to be 'helped' along. It starts from teachers (usually white) assuming they can't do math or succeed academically and ends in the children and their parents believing the same thing.

It is not because of lack of interest on the student's part. Several studies document that black and Latino students sometimes have more positive attitudes toward mathematics and higher educational aspirations than do their white counterparts, especially in the early years of secondary school (Goldsmith, 2004; Strutchens & Silver, 2000). Yet students from these minority groups are less likely than white students to complete advanced high school mathematics classes (National Center for Education Statistics, 2004; Teitelbaum, 2003), classes that are crucial prerequisites for admission to competitive colleges and for career success.

Ethnic minority students' opportunities are limited because of others' perceptions of their ability to do mathematics. School and teacher practices that hold minority students back from doing advanced mathematics abound (Walker, 2003). For example, in a school at which students' grades were evaluated at the end of each quarter to determine which students should be moved into higher math courses, a black student who excelled in her general-level algebra course was not moved up. Her teacher justified this decision by saying she needed this student to remain in the general-level course because she was a good role model for other students in this predominantly black and Latino class.

“Many researchers have identified successful teachers of African American students as "warm demanders." James Vasquez used the term to identify teachers whom students of color said did not lower their standards and were willing to help them. Warm demanders expect a great deal of their students, convince them of their own brilliance, and help them to reach their potential in a disciplined and structured environment.” ― (Delpit, "Multiplication Is for White People")

What is required is a way for all students' mathematical ability and academic interest to be nurtured at a young age and for teachers, parents and institutions to believe in their academic ability, move them into advanced classes and help their intellect soar. Instead, the TJ Lottery perpetuates the insulting stereotype that black and hispanic students can't succeed academically and need to be 'lotteried' into TJ. Shame!

The lottery doesn’t perpetuate that line of thinking at all. The problem for many minorities has nothing to do with genetic ability but everything to do with socioeconomics and some racism. Most critical thinking folks understand that.

[Anonymous]

Baltimore had 13 high schools with 0% of their students meeting baseline math proficiency.

[Anonymous]

https://quillette.com/2020/09/23/rallying-to-protect-admissions-standards-at-americas-best-public-high-school/