New TJ principal appears to be delivering on promises he made at first parent meeting earlier this year to streamline current math curriculum and add few AP courses
from this fall onwards, RS1 is going away, not required for freshman. Algebra 2 will be a rigorous two semester TJ version course, instead of current fast paced one semester course. AP precalc BC TJ version will be two semester (replaces M4 & M5) to prep most of the class for Calc BC by junior, to be optionally ready for multi variable in senior. |
Good to know. Encourage other parents to
Share positive and incremental progress thats going on at TJ |
The kids need stats to do their research. How will they get that without a required stats class? |
It sounds like more streamlined with base high school, which is good. FCPS should open RS1 for base HS. |
Statistics intro units have been added to math 3 semester 1 syllabus. They are learning it, just not as a dedicated course. |
What's the benefit - that it makes it easier to return to the base high school?
My child was planning to self-study and skip a2 (HS counselor was allowing). We didn't know he could take geometry over the summer. This past year was really a waste. He's completed most of a2 already. Should he just use it as review for most of the year? We had agreed that if he got in he would just do a2 at TJ because it was only 1 semester. Now it's not. There don't seem to be any real options for doing it over the summer, maybe VV. I think precalc over the summer is a terrible option vs taking a class where he already knows the material. |
This is basically what my kid took at the base school. Except that she also took AP stats her senior year. |
Getting rid of RS1 is a great loss. Nobody in math department thinks it is a good idea. But principal did not ask for input. It might be just for the ratings - getting everyone into AP Precalc increases the number of AP courses taken per student. Ratings. Why would TJ student need AP Precalc. No STEM program in any college would count it for credit. Similar changes in Science. Wonderful unique Geosystems gone to be replaced by standard AP Environmental Science. Like in any base school. These are not good changes. |
The Geosystems class is going away? At the orientation, it sounded like a great class and AP Environmental Science is not known to be. Oh well. |
My freshmen kid said RS1 is necessary but doesn’t need to be one semester long. |
Acronym help - what is RS1? |
Research statistics 1. The math all TJ kids normally start out with. |
Those don’t sound like good changes and it also sounds like they’re removing some of the unique coursework and making it more like a base school. |
I know some counselors aren't fond of RS1, so it’s likely been a controversial class for a while. My freshman also feels it doesn’t need to last a full semester. TJ students typically have a rigorous course load but end up with a lower GPA because some classes (are AP level or above) don’t offer the typical AP credit. I am glad that the principal is addressing that. |
You're misinformed. These changes were thoughtfully implemented by the new principal with input from TJ math teachers, upperclassmen, and alumni parents. You may be getting mixed up with the previous principal, who lacked understanding of TJ's coursework and showed little interest in enhancing academic rigor. In contrast, fortunately, the new principal is a TJ alumnus with extensive STEM teaching and leadership experience. RS1, as a standalone semester course, lacked a clear purpose. It was a watered down intro to statistics that consumed valuable freshman time, often to their frustration. Now, the basic aspects of RS1 has been integrated into a revamped, two-semester version of the new Math 3. Previously, students who wanted to pursue RS2 (TJ’s AP Statistics) often found RS1 redundant, noting that its topics were covered in the first few weeks of RS2 anyway. Moreover, neither RS1 nor RS2 provided adequate preparation for RS3, TJ’s advanced statistics course. This feedback was largely ignored by the previous principal, mostly due to lack of math or stem background. The new principal, however, asked the math department to redesign the statistics sequence. Their suggestion was to convert RS1 into a rigorous, in-depth semester course, with RS2 continuing as the follow-on with ap stats. Together, these now form the revised TJ AP Statistics track. |