Niche rank TJ 8th in the country

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I don't get it TJ beats Stevenson by a mile on every single measure - graduation rates, SAT/ACT scores; English and Math proficiency.

But not sports, diversity, or food. Gotta love Niche for an LOL.

man, the food must be pretty bad at TJ to flip the ranking that much

Depends on how you feel about bad pizza three times a week. DS loves it. Needless to say, I am less than impressed by all the pizza.

Where TJ actually faltered is sports. Which is a little surprising. The hold their own with other FCPS schools in their conference in everything but football, which they wisely gave up on before some kid ended up paralyzed from the pummeling they were getting (due to fining up 30-40 pounds on average, per kid. Plus, having no talent). They win the conference, and even states in some sports, and place their fair share of kids on all conference. And a significant number of TJ kids play a sport. Many play 2 or 3. So, I'm not sure what Niche's issue is. Maybe that they don't have an everyone goes to football and basketball games culture? Then again, it's really hard to care that Niche what Niche thinks about TJ sports (#ThereForTheSports).

i guess whether you take Niche seriously depends on whether you think sports and food should play a role in HS rankings.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I don't get it TJ beats Stevenson by a mile on every single measure - graduation rates, SAT/ACT scores; English and Math proficiency.

But not sports, diversity, or food. Gotta love Niche for an LOL.

I think they're going for an all around school experience. Sport is an important business in our society where people can become fabulous rich if they're talented, with the same measure you can become successful if you're academically gifted. So, when a school provide an opportunity for anyone to become successful within their framework, it is recognized as such.

TJ provides all the same sports opportunities -- the TJ kids just aren't that good at it. But they play all the same sports.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I don't get it TJ beats Stevenson by a mile on every single measure - graduation rates, SAT/ACT scores; English and Math proficiency.

But not sports, diversity, or food. Gotta love Niche for an LOL.

I think they're going for an all around school experience. Sport is an important business in our society where people can become fabulous rich if they're talented, with the same measure you can become successful if you're academically gifted. So, when a school provide an opportunity for anyone to become successful within their framework, it is recognized as such.

And that's fair enough. I went to a dirt poor, GS 2 HS, and football was how some kids got out and made a life. TJ is a niche school (pardon the pun) where almost no kid plans to succeed based solely on sports.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I don't get it TJ beats Stevenson by a mile on every single measure - graduation rates, SAT/ACT scores; English and Math proficiency.

But not sports, diversity, or food. Gotta love Niche for an LOL.

I think they're going for an all around school experience. Sport is an important business in our society where people can become fabulous rich if they're talented, with the same measure you can become successful if you're academically gifted. So, when a school provide an opportunity for anyone to become successful within their framework, it is recognized as such.

More importantly for most kids, participating in sports helps to improve fitness and overall health. Lots of kids at TJ get regular exercise by being members of some of the many teams that are available there. Kids who balance academics with health and fitness will see a lot of benefits as they grow up.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I don't get it TJ beats Stevenson by a mile on every single measure - graduation rates, SAT/ACT scores; English and Math proficiency.

But not sports, diversity, or food. Gotta love Niche for an LOL.

I think they're going for an all around school experience. Sport is an important business in our society where people can become fabulous rich if they're talented, with the same measure you can become successful if you're academically gifted. So, when a school provide an opportunity for anyone to become successful within their framework, it is recognized as such.

More importantly for most kids, participating in sports helps to improve fitness and overall health. Lots of kids at TJ get regular exercise by being members of some of the many teams that are available there. Kids who balance academics with health and fitness will see a lot of benefits as they grow up.

Don't discount the role of sports with college admissions. My cousin (high school in NJ), who's really smart and decent at football, got a full ride to college on a football scholarship. It wasn't one of the elite programs, but it was good enough, and a college with good academics as well. He was there solely to bring up the GPA of the team.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous[b wrote:]So TJ was dinged for diversity (B)[/b] (no shock there) and sports (C+)(again, not a shock). Also, the food got an A-.

Facilities and resources got an A and not an A plus, so some data comes from before the rennovation was finished.

Academics, teachers, administration, clubs and activities and college readiness all A+.

I can live with that. If a ranking system includes sports teams and diversity in the ranking, TJ is going to drop a few slots. Oh well.

too few white kids perhaps?

TJ overrespresents Asians, and underrepresents whites, and especially AA and Hispanic, by a lot. Underrepresents FARMS, by a lot. And despite almost equal application numbers, still admits 60% male. I hope the new (woman, yeah!) principal makes inroads on all of these categories. But none of this is a surprise to the TJ community, or anyone in FCPS paying attention.

I don't have a problem with this

The type of people I want at TJ are the type of people that are going to get Doctorates in Hard Sciences. If you look at this it is Asian and then male

[Anonymous]

It's the methodology. Niche is not an academic excellence ranking. It has a lot of subjective variables like satisfaction (cafeteria food for example).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous[b wrote:]So TJ was dinged for diversity (B)[/b] (no shock there) and sports (C+)(again, not a shock). Also, the food got an A-.

Facilities and resources got an A and not an A plus, so some data comes from before the rennovation was finished.

Academics, teachers, administration, clubs and activities and college readiness all A+.

I can live with that. If a ranking system includes sports teams and diversity in the ranking, TJ is going to drop a few slots. Oh well.

too few white kids perhaps?

TJ overrespresents Asians, and underrepresents whites, and especially AA and Hispanic, by a lot. Underrepresents FARMS, by a lot. And despite almost equal application numbers, still admits 60% male. I hope the new (woman, yeah!) principal makes inroads on all of these categories. But none of this is a surprise to the TJ community, or anyone in FCPS paying attention.

I don't have a problem with this

The type of people I want at TJ are the type of people that are going to get Doctorates in Hard Sciences. If you look at this it is Asian and then male

I would guess that the percentage of TJ grads that earn a doctorate in a hard science is tiny.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous[b wrote:]So TJ was dinged for diversity (B)[/b] (no shock there) and sports (C+)(again, not a shock). Also, the food got an A-.

Facilities and resources got an A and not an A plus, so some data comes from before the rennovation was finished.

Academics, teachers, administration, clubs and activities and college readiness all A+.

I can live with that. If a ranking system includes sports teams and diversity in the ranking, TJ is going to drop a few slots. Oh well.

too few white kids perhaps?

TJ overrespresents Asians, and underrepresents whites, and especially AA and Hispanic, by a lot. Underrepresents FARMS, by a lot. And despite almost equal application numbers, still admits 60% male. I hope the new (woman, yeah!) principal makes inroads on all of these categories. But none of this is a surprise to the TJ community, or anyone in FCPS paying attention.

I don't have a problem with this

The type of people I want at TJ are the type of people that are going to get Doctorates in Hard Sciences. If you look at this it is Asian and then male

I would guess that the percentage of TJ grads that earn a doctorate in a hard science is tiny.

compared to, say, Adelai Stevenson, the highest ranked school, with a math proficiency of 45%?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous[b wrote:]So TJ was dinged for diversity (B)[/b] (no shock there) and sports (C+)(again, not a shock). Also, the food got an A-.

Facilities and resources got an A and not an A plus, so some data comes from before the rennovation was finished.

Academics, teachers, administration, clubs and activities and college readiness all A+.

I can live with that. If a ranking system includes sports teams and diversity in the ranking, TJ is going to drop a few slots. Oh well.

too few white kids perhaps?

TJ overrespresents Asians, and underrepresents whites, and especially AA and Hispanic, by a lot. Underrepresents FARMS, by a lot. And despite almost equal application numbers, still admits 60% male. I hope the new (woman, yeah!) principal makes inroads on all of these categories. But none of this is a surprise to the TJ community, or anyone in FCPS paying attention.

I don't have a problem with this

The type of people I want at TJ are the type of people that are going to get Doctorates in Hard Sciences. If you look at this it is Asian and then male

I would guess that the percentage of TJ grads that earn a doctorate in a hard science is tiny.

You would guess wrong. Especially if MDs, gineering and CS are counted in that number.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous[b wrote:]So TJ was dinged for diversity (B)[/b] (no shock there) and sports (C+)(again, not a shock). Also, the food got an A-.

Facilities and resources got an A and not an A plus, so some data comes from before the rennovation was finished.

Academics, teachers, administration, clubs and activities and college readiness all A+.

I can live with that. If a ranking system includes sports teams and diversity in the ranking, TJ is going to drop a few slots. Oh well.

too few white kids perhaps?

TJ overrespresents Asians, and underrepresents whites, and especially AA and Hispanic, by a lot. Underrepresents FARMS, by a lot. And despite almost equal application numbers, still admits 60% male. I hope the new (woman, yeah!) principal makes inroads on all of these categories. But none of this is a surprise to the TJ community, or anyone in FCPS paying attention.

I don't have a problem with this

The type of people I want at TJ are the type of people that are going to get Doctorates in Hard Sciences. If you look at this it is Asian and then male

I would guess that the percentage of TJ grads that earn a doctorate in a hard science is tiny.

You would guess wrong. Especially if MDs, Engineering and CS are counted in that number.

MDs, non-PhD Engineers and CS obviously don't have doctorates.

If you want doctorates (yes, science doctorates), look to kids going to SLACs.
The TJ parents on DCUM typically view SLACs as beneath their precious DC.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous[b wrote:]So TJ was dinged for diversity (B)[/b] (no shock there) and sports (C+)(again, not a shock). Also, the food got an A-.

Facilities and resources got an A and not an A plus, so some data comes from before the rennovation was finished.

Academics, teachers, administration, clubs and activities and college readiness all A+.

I can live with that. If a ranking system includes sports teams and diversity in the ranking, TJ is going to drop a few slots. Oh well.

too few white kids perhaps?

TJ overrespresents Asians, and underrepresents whites, and especially AA and Hispanic, by a lot. Underrepresents FARMS, by a lot. And despite almost equal application numbers, still admits 60% male. I hope the new (woman, yeah!) principal makes inroads on all of these categories. But none of this is a surprise to the TJ community, or anyone in FCPS paying attention.

I don't have a problem with this

The type of people I want at TJ are the type of people that are going to get Doctorates in Hard Sciences. If you look at this it is Asian and then male

I would guess that the percentage of TJ grads that earn a doctorate in a hard science is tiny.

You would guess wrong. Especially if MDs, Engineering and CS are counted in that number.

MDs, non-PhD Engineers and CS obviously don't have doctorates.

If you want doctorates (yes, science doctorates), look to kids going to SLACs.
The TJ parents on DCUM typically view SLACs as beneath their precious DC.

MDs would fight you on this. And, yes, only getting or MS or BS is not a doctorate-- whether chemistry or CS. But looked over the TJ alumni info. A surprising number of STEM PhD and MDs.

[Anonymous]

^^ to be clear. Quite a few CS and engineering PhDs.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous[b wrote:]So TJ was dinged for diversity (B)[/b] (no shock there) and sports (C+)(again, not a shock). Also, the food got an A-.

Facilities and resources got an A and not an A plus, so some data comes from before the rennovation was finished.

Academics, teachers, administration, clubs and activities and college readiness all A+.

I can live with that. If a ranking system includes sports teams and diversity in the ranking, TJ is going to drop a few slots. Oh well.

too few white kids perhaps?

TJ overrespresents Asians, and underrepresents whites, and especially AA and Hispanic, by a lot. Underrepresents FARMS, by a lot. And despite almost equal application numbers, still admits 60% male. I hope the new (woman, yeah!) principal makes inroads on all of these categories. But none of this is a surprise to the TJ community, or anyone in FCPS paying attention.

Not much different than the eight famous test-in magnet programs in NYC, every one of them more than half Asian in a city whose population is less than 10% Asian. Stuyvesant is nearly three quarters Asian, with Bronx Science, Hunter College HS and Bronx Tech not far behind. Mayor after NYC mayor has stood firm when civil libertarians demanded that the city put a dampener on Asian admission to the magnets. Maybe whites, AA and Hispanics should be making "inroads" by emulating Asian discipline to prep for TJ admissions. I hope that the new principal encourages a "if you can't beat em, join em" mentality. That said, Chicago has long supported a much better system for admission to its HS magnets (Michelle Obama is an alum) than NYC, Boston or FCPS, helping the city identify and nurture minority talent. If TJ wants to become more diverse, FCPS and Arlington need to overhaul the TJ admissions system. The new TJ principal won't be in a position to do that on her own.

An aside. On Sunday afternoons during the school year, we schlep our two children to Rockville, a 45-minute drive, for a heritage language program for kids run by immigrant Chinese parents (using a MoCo school building). Many of the parents cheerfully drive or Metro an hour from VA, MD or DC to get the kids to the classes. They do this year after year, Sunday after Sunday, to help ensure that the kids speak, read and write decent Cantonese. Meanwhile, most of our white, AA and Hispanic neighbors and friends spend Sunday afternoons relaxing at sporting events, cultural events, kids birthday parties etc. The Sunday program, er, overrepresents Asians, annoying people who just try to damn hard to ensure that their children achieve academically and value their families' immigrant culture. Not sporting in America.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous[b wrote:]So TJ was dinged for diversity (B)[/b] (no shock there) and sports (C+)(again, not a shock). Also, the food got an A-.

Facilities and resources got an A and not an A plus, so some data comes from before the rennovation was finished.

Academics, teachers, administration, clubs and activities and college readiness all A+.

I can live with that. If a ranking system includes sports teams and diversity in the ranking, TJ is going to drop a few slots. Oh well.

too few white kids perhaps?

TJ overrespresents Asians, and underrepresents whites, and especially AA and Hispanic, by a lot. Underrepresents FARMS, by a lot. And despite almost equal application numbers, still admits 60% male. I hope the new (woman, yeah!) principal makes inroads on all of these categories. But none of this is a surprise to the TJ community, or anyone in FCPS paying attention.

Not much different than the eight famous test-in magnet programs in NYC, every one of them more than half Asian in a city whose population is less than 10% Asian. Stuyvesant is nearly three quarters Asian, with Bronx Science, Hunter College HS and Bronx Tech not far behind. Mayor after NYC mayor has stood firm when civil libertarians demanded that the city put a dampener on Asian admission to the magnets. Maybe whites, AA and Hispanics should be making "inroads" by emulating Asian discipline to prep for TJ admissions. I hope that the new principal encourages a "if you can't beat em, join em" mentality. That said, Chicago has long supported a much better system for admission to its HS magnets (Michelle Obama is an alum) than NYC, Boston or FCPS, helping the city identify and nurture minority talent. If TJ wants to become more diverse, FCPS and Arlington need to overhaul the TJ admissions system. The new TJ principal won't be in a position to do that on her own.

An aside. On Sunday afternoons during the school year, we schlep our two children to Rockville, a 45-minute drive, for a heritage language program for kids run by immigrant Chinese parents (using a MoCo school building). Many of the parents cheerfully drive or Metro an hour from VA, MD or DC to get the kids to the classes. They do this year after year, Sunday after Sunday, to help ensure that the kids speak, read and write decent Cantonese. Meanwhile, most of our white, AA and Hispanic neighbors and friends spend Sunday afternoons relaxing at sporting events, cultural events, kids birthday parties etc. The Sunday program, er, overrepresents Asians, annoying people who just try to damn hard to ensure that their children achieve academically and value their families' immigrant culture. Not sporting in America.

Why don't you save the drive and attend the Sunday program at Annandale HS, run by the Hope Chinese School? Annandale HS is so much closer to TJ than a school in Rockville.