Data for middle schools for TJ

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Previous years.
https://www.fcag.org/tjstatistics.shtml

I haven’t seen the class of 2026 data yet.

Thank you! Just what I was looking for.

You will notice the traditional feeders were reduced 33-50% in the name of equity compare 2024 vs 2025

The top STEM students are no longer going to TJ

Yes, the affluent families from those schools were less able to game admissions.

+1

And this gives access to TJ for other hard-working kids in the community. Not just the kids who happen to come from affluent families who know how to exploit the system.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Previous years.
https://www.fcag.org/tjstatistics.shtml

I haven’t seen the class of 2026 data yet.

Thank you! Just what I was looking for.

So for the Class of 2025 it appears one can either calculate the admissions rates (based on the exact numbers disclosed to FCAG) or infer the admissions rates (based on a range where the minimum is based on the 1.5% set-aside per middle school and the maximum is based on 10, the highest number FCPS treats as "TS" when responding to FOIA requests) as follows:

Herndon 33.3% - 37.0%
Stone 30.0% - 50.0%
Whitman 29.2% - 41.7%
Liberty 24.2% - 30.3%
Robinson 23.1% - 25.6%
Cooper 20.4%
Hughes 19.5% - 24.4%
Sandburg 19.4%
Rocky Run 18.9%
Longfellow 18.8%
Franklin 17.9% - 25.6%
Hayfield 17.9% - 25.6%
Poe 17.9% - 35.7%
Carson 17.1%
Glasgow 17.1%
Jackson 15.7%
Key 15.0% - 25.0%
South County 14.8% - 18.5%
Irving 14.3% - 17.9%
Thoreau 14.1% - 15.6%
Holmes 12.5% - 25.0%
Twain 10.5% - 13.2%
Lake Braddock 10.0%
Frost 9.3% - 10.3%
Lanier 9.2% - 11.5%
Kilmer 7.1% - 8.9%

Take-aways:

1. Highest admit rates were from non-AAP center schools with relatively few applicants.

2. The apparent goal to stick it to the traditional FCPS middle-school feeders (Rocky Run, Longfellow, and Carson) was somewhat successful (they still sent the most kids, but roughly half as many as in the past).

3. The lowest admit rates were from from AAP center schools (Twain, Lake Braddock, Frost, Lanier, and Kilmer) that traditionally had not sent the most kids to TJ, but saw their admission rates drop further under the new approach. These families had no way to have anticipated, of course, that they were diminishing their kids' chances of getting into TJ by sending them to AAP centers.

This is democratic led equity in action. If you have a problem with this you need to pay attention when voting for school board.

I just analyzed the data. I didn’t say I had a problem with it.

Objectively, it does seem somewhat weird that the School Board came up with a system that gave applicants at multiple non-AAP schools a 1-in-3 or greater chance of getting into TJ last year, while reducing the odds of kids at some of the AAP schools that hadn’t even been the largest feeders to TJ (like Frost and Kilmer) to below 1-in-10. If they are anti-AAP, then bother with a magnet high school?

Will be interesting to see if the stats are similar for the Class of 2026. Right now it seems the main things we know are that the number of applications declined slightly and that the percentage of Asian kids went up slightly compared to Class of 2025.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Previous years.
https://www.fcag.org/tjstatistics.shtml

I haven’t seen the class of 2026 data yet.

Thank you! Just what I was looking for.

You will notice the traditional feeders were reduced 33-50% in the name of equity compare 2024 vs 2025

The top STEM students are no longer going to TJ

Yes, the affluent families from those schools were less able to game admissions.

+1

And this gives access to TJ for other hard-working kids in the community. Not just the kids who happen to come from affluent families who know how to exploit the system.

The best way to have exploited the new system was to be an above-average student at a middle school where the level of interest in TJ remained relatively low.

[Anonymous]

What the data shows is that the bright, hardworking kids from the very middle class AAP centers are getting screwed. There's still a lot of interest in attending TJ at the middle class AAP centers, so there's a lot of competition for the spots, but the data shows that they're only getting in the minimum 1.5% and not any kids from the general pool.

This is not entirely surprising, since the middle class AAP kids can't get the ED bonus points, but they also don't have the tutors and resources to help them write perfect essays and compete against the Carson or Longfellow kids for the general admission spots.

My anecdata is for one of these schools, which only sent 7 kids to TJ. The top math kids did not get admitted. Instead, a few kids who most likely gamed the experience factors and the strongest writers were the ones who got in.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:What the data shows is that the bright, hardworking kids from the very middle class AAP centers are getting screwed. There's still a lot of interest in attending TJ at the middle class AAP centers, so there's a lot of competition for the spots, but the data shows that they're only getting in the minimum 1.5% and not any kids from the general pool.

This is not entirely surprising, since the middle class AAP kids can't get the ED bonus points, but they also don't have the tutors and resources to help them write perfect essays and compete against the Carson or Longfellow kids for the general admission spots.

My anecdata is for one of these schools, which only sent 7 kids to TJ. The top math kids did not get admitted. Instead, a few kids who most likely gamed the experience factors and the strongest writers were the ones who got in.

Yes, that take is consistent with the prior break-down of the statistics.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:What the data shows is that the bright, hardworking kids from the very middle class AAP centers are getting screwed. There's still a lot of interest in attending TJ at the middle class AAP centers, so there's a lot of competition for the spots, but the data shows that they're only getting in the minimum 1.5% and not any kids from the general pool.

This is not entirely surprising, since the middle class AAP kids can't get the ED bonus points, but they also don't have the tutors and resources to help them write perfect essays and compete against the Carson or Longfellow kids for the general admission spots.

My anecdata is for one of these schools, which only sent 7 kids to TJ. The top math kids did not get admitted. Instead, a few kids who most likely gamed the experience factors and the strongest writers were the ones who got in.

The laws of unintended consequences on full display.

This School Board has made a mess of everything it touched. Vote them all out next year.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Previous years.
https://www.fcag.org/tjstatistics.shtml

I haven’t seen the class of 2026 data yet.

Thank you! Just what I was looking for.

You will notice the traditional feeders were reduced 33-50% in the name of equity compare 2024 vs 2025

The top STEM students are no longer going to TJ

Yes, the affluent families from those schools were less able to game admissions.

It is not affluent families gaming the system. You guys get it completely wrong. We bought older homes to live in McLean area for the schools. So the kids who are attending top feeders are really smart kids with lot of students with GPA 4. In addition, if you have noticed Longfellow MS made it to top 5 in Science Olympiad Nationals and also was in nationals in science bowl and other activities too. These are really hard working smart kids and we bought home what we thought was the right school for them. Just taking some TJ prep course won't help in all these.

Also there is nothing wrong in taking prep courses. We all are in life long learning. We learn from kids too and they learn from others as well. People who send to prep courses are not to get into TJ but to set a strong foundation for success

People who send their kids to enrichment course, like RSM or AoPS, build a strong foundation for success. They are learning skills and developing critical thinking abilities.

People who send their kids to prep classes are focused on one test and scoring high on that one test. That might help the kids for foundational skills but that is not the goal.

STEM clubs, enrichment classes and all that should be because the kids enjoy the activities and want to further their skills. That love of those activities will hopefully carry on into high school and college and adult life regardless of where they go to school.

Prep classes are to score well on one test. That could be the old Quant test for TJ or the SAT or the ACT but you don't continue prepping for a test after you have taken the test. It is not an activity that you are doing because you enjoy it. Prep classes have their place but the exams that people prep for have been declining in importance because admissions branches for programs across the board, from AAP to TJ to Universities, are aware that prep courses are inflating individuals scores and that those score differentials are more a mark of how well you are prepped and less of actual ability.

If you moved to a top school because academics are important to you, then not getting into TJ is disappointing but I am sure that your kids will have a great experience at McLean or Langley High School. Both of which offer a larger variety of courses then my kid will have a chance to take at South Lakes. The parents from Fox Mill had to petition and fight for math classes past Calculus because there were none when Fox Mill ES was switched to South Lakes. So few kids at SLHS got to that point that there were no options for the Fox Mill kids who were getting there. I doubt that has been an issue at McLean or Langley. The kids who are stronger in math and science in the lower SES MS schools have fewer opportunities then the kids at higher SES schools because the number of kids participating in the AP/IB programs is so much smaller. TJ is a world of difference for them in even the basic AP classes that are available.

HS across the county do not offer the same classes because the need for different types of classes is so starkly different. I get that TJ is important to a lot of bright kids and it is disappointing to not be accepted. But they are going to have opportunities at McLean or Langley or Oakton or Chantilly that kids at other HS won't.

Lots of bright, hard working kids are going to be disappointed with college acceptances as well. People are going to apply for jobs or promotions and not get them. Not getting what you want even when you work hard is a part of life. It is part of the parents job to teach their kid how to handle that with grace. So you can tell your kid "It is because you were the wrong race" or you can tell your kid "Rejection sucks. It's ok to be disappointed. But there are great opportunities at your base school and you will be able to study with more of your friends. What club or activity do you want to do that might push you? Let's find something after school."

This.

[Anonymous]

So basically the good schools are good enough and TJ should be an alternative for the kids who’d otherwise attend schools that aren’t very good?

That won’t do anything to improve the schools that aren’t very good (in fact it will strip them of kids who might have been role models), but it will change TJ from a top STEM magnet to a charter-like school for some families otherwise faced with less appealing alternatives.

That’s kind of ironic, given how much FCPS freaks out at any mention of charters.

[Anonymous]

Curious to see the stats for this year’s economically disadvantaged. Because of the free meals questions, we will find that it will surge exponentially.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Curious to see the stats for this year’s economically disadvantaged. Because of the free meals questions, we will find that it will surge exponentially.

“Roughly 33%”

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Previous years.
https://www.fcag.org/tjstatistics.shtml

I haven’t seen the class of 2026 data yet.

Thank you! Just what I was looking for.

You will notice the traditional feeders were reduced 33-50% in the name of equity compare 2024 vs 2025

The top STEM students are no longer going to TJ

Yes, the affluent families from those schools were less able to game admissions.

+1

And this gives access to TJ for other hard-working kids in the community. Not just the kids who happen to come from affluent families who know how to exploit the system.

The best way to have exploited the new system was to be an above-average student at a middle school where the level of interest in TJ remained relatively low.

Yes, the exploiters will pivot however necessary.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:So basically the good schools are good enough and TJ should be an alternative for the kids who’d otherwise attend schools that aren’t very good?

That won’t do anything to improve the schools that aren’t very good (in fact it will strip them of kids who might have been role models), but it will change TJ from a top STEM magnet to a charter-like school for some families otherwise faced with less appealing alternatives.

That’s kind of ironic, given how much FCPS freaks out at any mention of charters.

It’s not “charter-like” at all. Or maybe you have a bizarre understanding of charter schools.

[Anonymous]

It is absolutely bizarre that the lowest admissions rates for the Class of 2025 were for kids at Frost and Kilmer, two MC/UMC schools with AAP programs.

Way to stick it to Carson, Karen Keys Gamarra! You are just brilliant!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:So basically the good schools are good enough and TJ should be an alternative for the kids who’d otherwise attend schools that aren’t very good?

That won’t do anything to improve the schools that aren’t very good (in fact it will strip them of kids who might have been role models), but it will change TJ from a top STEM magnet to a charter-like school for some families otherwise faced with less appealing alternatives.

That’s kind of ironic, given how much FCPS freaks out at any mention of charters.

It’s not “charter-like” at all. Or maybe you have a bizarre understanding of charter schools.

Apparently better than you. You might want to read up on their attributes.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:So basically the good schools are good enough and TJ should be an alternative for the kids who’d otherwise attend schools that aren’t very good?

That won’t do anything to improve the schools that aren’t very good (in fact it will strip them of kids who might have been role models), but it will change TJ from a top STEM magnet to a charter-like school for some families otherwise faced with less appealing alternatives.

That’s kind of ironic, given how much FCPS freaks out at any mention of charters.

It’s not “charter-like” at all. Or maybe you have a bizarre understanding of charter schools.

Apparently better than you. You might want to read up on their attributes.

Please describe the attributes you associate with charter schools.