TJ: Kids having second thoughts?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:This area has plenty of kids who can do the math and also write well, so TJ does not need to take kids who can only "do the math." Why take a kid who is great at math but doesn't write well when you can accept kids who are great at math and also have great writing skills?
Some of the kids who have needed math help are kids who have had tutoring for years to help with them do well in school.
And TJ kids are not in "remedial math", some 9th graders are getting extra help with Algebra II, a course that is normally taken by 11th graders.

Sorry, TJ is a school for science and tech...not literature.

Forget your argument about a course normally taken by 11th graders. Many kids at TJ don't need remedial math, and those who do should get booted.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This area has plenty of kids who can do the math and also write well, so TJ does not need to take kids who can only "do the math." Why take a kid who is great at math but doesn't write well when you can accept kids who are great at math and also have great writing skills?
Some of the kids who have needed math help are kids who have had tutoring for years to help with them do well in school.
And TJ kids are not in "remedial math", some 9th graders are getting extra help with Algebra II, a course that is normally taken by 11th graders.

Sorry, TJ is a school for science and tech...not literature.

Forget your argument about a course normally taken by 11th graders. Many kids at TJ don't need remedial math, and those who do should get booted.

No argument, just fact. No one at TJ is in remedial math. Roughly 15% of the last two freshman classes have been required to spend part of their activity period time getting help with Algebra II. The math teachers only started last year formally requiring freshman to get help early in the year.
TJ doesn't keep track (as far as I know), but lots of kids there have been getting outside help after school and on weekends for years before HS, so this doesn't seem all that different.

A requirement of staying at TJ is to keep a GPA over 3.0.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This area has plenty of kids who can do the math and also write well, so TJ does not need to take kids who can only "do the math." Why take a kid who is great at math but doesn't write well when you can accept kids who are great at math and also have great writing skills?
Some of the kids who have needed math help are kids who have had tutoring for years to help with them do well in school.
And TJ kids are not in "remedial math", some 9th graders are getting extra help with Algebra II, a course that is normally taken by 11th graders.

Sorry, TJ is a school for science and tech...not literature.

Forget your argument about a course normally taken by 11th graders. Many kids at TJ don't need remedial math, and those who do should get booted.

No argument, just fact. No one at TJ is in remedial math. Roughly 15% of the last two freshman classes have been required to spend part of their activity period time getting help with Algebra II. The math teachers only started last year formally requiring freshman to get help early in the year.
TJ doesn't keep track (as far as I know), but lots of kids there have been getting outside help after school and on weekends for years before HS, so this doesn't seem all that different.

A requirement of staying at TJ is to keep a GPA over 3.0.

`

Sorry, the seven TJ teachers and director of admissions who wrote the FCPS School Board last year beg to differ:

In a letter to the Fairfax County School Board and TJ Admissions Director Tanisha Holland, seven teachers recommended the admissions test be made more rigorous and that teacher recommendations be given more weight in the selection process, given that "one-third of our freshman class is at risk and has been recommended for remediation in math and/or science."

"Simply put, these students are not succeeding, and many are not succeeding in spite of the tremendous support and remediation being offered to them by their teachers," they wrote. "We are concerned that serious damage is being done to these students, their self-esteem, and their sense of academic efficacy due to their placement at our school."


the full article is here: http://washingtonexaminer.com/article/623696

[Anonymous]

PP here. My mistake. Only the 7 teachers wrote the letter, which they also sent to the director of admissions.

[Anonymous]

Maybe remediation is for anyone hovering at B+/A-?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Maybe remediation is for anyone hovering at B+/A-?

Sadly, no.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Maybe remediation is for anyone hovering at B+/A-?

Sadly, no.

Actually, more like hovering at the B area. And they are using the word "remediation" to refer to requiring students to attend extra help sessions during activity periods, not a separate lower level class which is what the average person would think of as "remedial math." These are ninth grade Algebra II students.

I was at two parent meetings where this topic was discussed in great detail last spring.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Maybe remediation is for anyone hovering at B+/A-?

Sadly, no.

Actually, more like hovering at the B area. And they are using the word "remediation" to refer to requiring students to attend extra help sessions during activity periods, not a separate lower level class which is what the average person would think of as "remedial math." These are ninth grade Algebra II students.

I was at two parent meetings where this topic was discussed in great detail last spring.

Symantics. The fact remains these kids are unable to do the math at the level of TJ kids from previous years. At a math and science magnet that is a problem, no matter how you dress it up. And they're not the only 9th graders taking Algebra II in the county. Any kid who took Honors Geometry in 8th grade moves on to Honors Algebra II in 9th grade in most FCPS high schools - unless he or she decides to repeat Geometry. TJ's Algebra II may be accelerated, but the kids who should be there can handle it without extra help. Seems they managed to do that in previous years.

[Anonymous]

TJ's Algebra II may be accelerated, but the kids who should be there can handle it without extra help.

Yes, they should be able to handle it without extra help, but many of these students have been getting tutoring and outside help after school and on weekends for years.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Maybe remediation is for anyone hovering at B+/A-?

Sadly, no.

Actually, more like hovering at the B area. And they are using the word "remediation" to refer to requiring students to attend extra help sessions during activity periods, not a separate lower level class which is what the average person would think of as "remedial math." These are ninth grade Algebra II students.

I was at two parent meetings where this topic was discussed in great detail last spring.

Symantics. The fact remains these kids are unable to do the math at the level of TJ kids from previous years. At a math and science magnet that is a problem, no matter how you dress it up. And they're not the only 9th graders taking Algebra II in the county. Any kid who took Honors Geometry in 8th grade moves on to Honors Algebra II in 9th grade in most FCPS high schools - unless he or she decides to repeat Geometry. TJ's Algebra II may be accelerated, but the kids who should be there can handle it without extra help. Seems they managed to do that in previous years.

Actually, freshmen having trouble adjusting to high school was not new last year.

The reason the teachers decided to keep track of and proactively offer help to students very early in their freshman year was that they'd been seeing problems for a number of years before this. Teachers had been noticing freshmen needing help and decided in the summer of 2011 to begin offering help within the first month or so of school to students who appeared to need it, instead of waiting till later in the year when it might be harder to catch up.

This information comes from the letter the teachers wrote, many details of which were not included in the newspaper article.

There has been a "watch list" at TJ for a long time: the idea is to help students whose grades might be getting too close to the point where they'd be asked to leave. It is nothing new.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Maybe remediation is for anyone hovering at B+/A-?

Sadly, no.

Actually, more like hovering at the B area. And they are using the word "remediation" to refer to requiring students to attend extra help sessions during activity periods, not a separate lower level class which is what the average person would think of as "remedial math." These are ninth grade Algebra II students.

I was at two parent meetings where this topic was discussed in great detail last spring.

Symantics. The fact remains these kids are unable to do the math at the level of TJ kids from previous years. At a math and science magnet that is a problem, no matter how you dress it up. And they're not the only 9th graders taking Algebra II in the county. Any kid who took Honors Geometry in 8th grade moves on to Honors Algebra II in 9th grade in most FCPS high schools - unless he or she decides to repeat Geometry. TJ's Algebra II may be accelerated, but the kids who should be there can handle it without extra help. Seems they managed to do that in previous years.

Actually, freshmen having trouble adjusting to high school was not new last year.

The reason the teachers decided to keep track of and proactively offer help to students very early in their freshman year was that they'd been seeing problems for a number of years before this. Teachers had been noticing freshmen needing help and decided in the summer of 2011 to begin offering help within the first month or so of school to students who appeared to need it, instead of waiting till later in the year when it might be harder to catch up.

This information comes from the letter the teachers wrote, many details of which were not included in the newspaper article.

There has been a "watch list" at TJ for a long time: the idea is to help students whose grades might be getting too close to the point where they'd be asked to leave. It is nothing new.

Are you TJ's press person or just drinking the kool-aid? 15% of last year's freshman class struggling in math was new, which was why veteran teachers felt compelled to complain to the school board.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

TJ's Algebra II may be accelerated, but the kids who should be there can handle it without extra help.

Yes, they should be able to handle it without extra help, but many of these students have been getting tutoring and outside help after school and on weekends for years.

True. It's just that the numbers struggling are bigger now and I suppose the fact that enough kids weren't getting help so school administration felt they had to do something. And again, if the math is so hard that these kids need tutoring in high school, why are they there? Or conversely why is the program so accelerated? I don't think it's an accident that I've heard of more than one TJ grad nearly having a breakdown in college over - surprise - a math class.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Maybe remediation is for anyone hovering at B+/A-?

Sadly, no.

Actually, more like hovering at the B area. And they are using the word "remediation" to refer to requiring students to attend extra help sessions during activity periods, not a separate lower level class which is what the average person would think of as "remedial math." These are ninth grade Algebra II students.

I was at two parent meetings where this topic was discussed in great detail last spring.

Symantics. The fact remains these kids are unable to do the math at the level of TJ kids from previous years. At a math and science magnet that is a problem, no matter how you dress it up. And they're not the only 9th graders taking Algebra II in the county. Any kid who took Honors Geometry in 8th grade moves on to Honors Algebra II in 9th grade in most FCPS high schools - unless he or she decides to repeat Geometry. TJ's Algebra II may be accelerated, but the kids who should be there can handle it without extra help. Seems they managed to do that in previous years.

Actually, freshmen having trouble adjusting to high school was not new last year.

The reason the teachers decided to keep track of and proactively offer help to students very early in their freshman year was that they'd been seeing problems for a number of years before this. Teachers had been noticing freshmen needing help and decided in the summer of 2011 to begin offering help within the first month or so of school to students who appeared to need it, instead of waiting till later in the year when it might be harder to catch up.

This information comes from the letter the teachers wrote, many details of which were not included in the newspaper article.

There has been a "watch list" at TJ for a long time: the idea is to help students whose grades might be getting too close to the point where they'd be asked to leave. It is nothing new.

Are you TJ's press person or just drinking the kool-aid? 15% of last year's freshman class struggling in math was new, which was why veteran teachers felt compelled to complain to the school board.

It was not new that students were struggling with math. Teachers had been noticing freshmen having problems for a number of years and decided in the summer of 2011 to keep track of the numbers and offer help right away. This year (Fall 2012) the numbers needing help were about the same as last year (Fall 2011), roughly 15%. They don't know the exact number for previous years because they were not previously keeping track on a formal basis. The reason they decided to keep track was that they had observed freshmen struggling with Algebra II in the past.

I'm just a parent who wants to see the correct information going out there.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

TJ's Algebra II may be accelerated, but the kids who should be there can handle it without extra help.

Yes, they should be able to handle it without extra help, but many of these students have been getting tutoring and outside help after school and on weekends for years.

True. It's just that the numbers struggling are bigger now and I suppose the fact that enough kids weren't getting help so school administration felt they had to do something. And again, if the math is so hard that these kids need tutoring in high school, why are they there? Or conversely why is the program so accelerated? I don't think it's an accident that I've heard of more than one TJ grad nearly having a breakdown in college over - surprise - a math class.

To be clear, I'm referring to outside help in the elementary and middle school years leading up to applying to TJ. I wonder if the kids who take after school and weekend math classes for so many years get so accustomed to the outside extra help that it becomes natural to seek extra help when struggling with a math class at TJ.

I agree with you that TJ students should be able to handle the math without outside help, except very occasionally.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Maybe remediation is for anyone hovering at B+/A-?

Sadly, no.

Actually, more like hovering at the B area. And they are using the word "remediation" to refer to requiring students to attend extra help sessions during activity periods, not a separate lower level class which is what the average person would think of as "remedial math." These are ninth grade Algebra II students.

I was at two parent meetings where this topic was discussed in great detail last spring.

Symantics. The fact remains these kids are unable to do the math at the level of TJ kids from previous years. At a math and science magnet that is a problem, no matter how you dress it up. And they're not the only 9th graders taking Algebra II in the county. Any kid who took Honors Geometry in 8th grade moves on to Honors Algebra II in 9th grade in most FCPS high schools - unless he or she decides to repeat Geometry. TJ's Algebra II may be accelerated, but the kids who should be there can handle it without extra help. Seems they managed to do that in previous years.

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