TJ math vs base school math

[Anonymous]

Why is math at TJ so much harder compared to base school for the same course? For middle school students with an A in Algebra 1, they appear to be easily getting an A in the follow-up Geometry at our base school. But at TJ, even if the student works twice as hard still just get a B. This is just an observation comparing DC at TJ with their friends at base school.

[Anonymous]

Teachers teach to the top at TJ. Good luck keeping up if you aren't the top. It's grueling and makes college seem easy.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Why is math at TJ so much harder compared to base school for the same course? For middle school students with an A in Algebra 1, they appear to be easily getting an A in the follow-up Geometry at our base school. But at TJ, even if the student works twice as hard still just get a B. This is just an observation comparing DC at TJ with their friends at base school.

Are algebra, geometry, algebra2, trigonometry, pre-calc one semester courses of one year courses at base schools? They are all one semester courses at TJ.
They are also taught at a fairly challenging level. The level of rigor is different.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Teachers teach to the top at TJ. Good luck keeping up if you aren't the top. It's grueling and makes college seem easy.

It's challenging but it prepares you well for college. If you can get As at TJ then you can do well at pretty much any college except MIT and Caltech which is another step up.

[Anonymous]

Fwiw, math at TJ seems to be on the level of the math classes I took in high school: rigorous and with strict grading that requires complete answers and a bit of thinking. Not exceedingly or excessively difficult, just "regular" honors math classes like the ones I took as a high school student.

(This is true of the other TJ core classes, too. They seem quite hard after the fluff that was FCPS middle school but overall seem comparable to the honors high school classes I took, back in the day.)

[Anonymous]

That’s the point of the school. It’s for driven, exceptional math and science kids.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Why is math at TJ so much harder compared to base school for the same course? For middle school students with an A in Algebra 1, they appear to be easily getting an A in the follow-up Geometry at our base school. But at TJ, even if the student works twice as hard still just get a B. This is just an observation comparing DC at TJ with their friends at base school.

TJ stopped admitting based on ability.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Why is math at TJ so much harder compared to base school for the same course? For middle school students with an A in Algebra 1, they appear to be easily getting an A in the follow-up Geometry at our base school. But at TJ, even if the student works twice as hard still just get a B. This is just an observation comparing DC at TJ with their friends at base school.

Are algebra, geometry, algebra2, trigonometry, pre-calc one semester courses of one year courses at base schools? They are all one semester courses at TJ.
They are also taught at a fairly challenging level. The level of rigor is different.

TJ M1 and TJ M2, each semester course, are equivalent to full-year Geometry, and TJ M4 and M5 is equivalent to traditional Precalculus full year. TJ M3 semester course is the only semester course that corresponds to full-year basic Algebra 2 (without trigonometry). The few students, mostly non-FCPS, that complete Algebra 2 in middle school have the opportunity to take it as a full year course before entering TJ.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:That’s the point of the school. It’s for driven, exceptional math and science kids.

+1
DC is there now. The harder nature of the same classes is a feature not a bug.

[Anonymous]

Yep. TJ math requires using the content to solve problems you’ve never seen before. On the test. So, lots of inferential type ability. They expect you to figure out HOW to learn what you were taught to solve a new problem you’ve never seen see for the first time on a test. That’s why a lot of kids struggle in their first TJ math class (whether it’s calculus or geometry or pre calculus). Expectations are way over base school because they don’t just regurgitate the same types of problems on a test. TJ questions are more like the extra credit bonus questions from a base school. They are teaching you to problem solve. True on sciences too.

[Anonymous]

TJ does not follow the standard FCPS "no homework" policy (for now anyway).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Why is math at TJ so much harder compared to base school for the same course? For middle school students with an A in Algebra 1, they appear to be easily getting an A in the follow-up Geometry at our base school. But at TJ, even if the student works twice as hard still just get a B. This is just an observation comparing DC at TJ with their friends at base school.

That's the whole point of TJ (originally, at least): to challenge kids who can't be challenged at their base schools

[Anonymous]

You cannot have

"Base HS is not enough, and not meeting my kids needs"

and

"Why is TJ so much harder than base HS?"

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Why is math at TJ so much harder compared to base school for the same course? For middle school students with an A in Algebra 1, they appear to be easily getting an A in the follow-up Geometry at our base school. But at TJ, even if the student works twice as hard still just get a B. This is just an observation comparing DC at TJ with their friends at base school.

TJ is a Virginia Governor’s School, so its standards are higher and rigorous is higher. While TJ is operated by FCPS under an agreement with the Commonwealth, and FCPS likes to take credit for TJ, in reality it is one of several Governor’s Schools around the state. Other areas of VA also have Governor’s Schools. Not all of them are STEM focused.

For some TJ students, their college admissions chances would be better by being top X% at their base school, rather than in the bottom 50% at TJ.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:You cannot have

"Base HS is not enough, and not meeting my kids needs"

and

"Why is TJ so much harder than base HS?"

People have a gross misunderstanding of the benefits of TJ and why you would want to go there.

Going to TJ will not help your kid if they are not ready for it.

Sending unprepared kids to TJ is not doing them any favors.

That first year we saw a lot of freshmen (the conservative estimates on this board were ~40) drop out before the beginning of their sophomore year.
Since then we have seen more remediation, more intervention and a mandatory counseling session before you were returned to your base school.
It is unconscionable how we are using these poor unprepared kids for a social experiment aimed at making it look like there isn't a racial achievement gap.