How does one prep place account for 25% of TJ Admissions?

[Anonymous]

Subjective assessments and letter should not be apart of admissions:
1. what if teachers/interviewers are racist? and
2. Who is going to write a bad letter of recommendation. These are worthless.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Or..... and hear me out.... what if there were no exam? What if we used....

- more robust teacher recommendations that were designed to identify top performers in each class/school, not only on metrics of academic performance, but also improving the recommendations to include areas like grit, determination, response to adversity, concern for others, academic citizenship, integrity, etc?

- SIS questions that give a stronger overall profile of each student and allow an admissions committee to create a balanced class - Do you even want to go to TJ? How would you impact an academic community? What do you want to be when you grow up? What sort of things do you enjoy outside of STEM?

- GPA and SOL scores to establish a baseline of competency in the relevant courses, with no favoritism towards kids who are in Geometry or higher in 8th grade?

- an interview process designed to help determine which kids are genuine in their interest and aptitude for a comprehensive advanced education with a focus on STEM?

A class of students selected in this way would have a MUCH, MUCH higher ceiling than the current classes that walk around TJ right now.

Asking teachers about personal qualities is discriminatory against disabled kids with autism spectrum, etc. There are certainly many math geniuses with questionable social skills. This is the kind of kid that a program like this is designed for.

[Anonymous]

Kids are absolutely coming home and writing down questions on the test. They are sharing these questions with younger siblings, cousins, and family friends. So if you live in a tight knit community with many educated friends and family members you have a massive advantage. The same thing happens with tests in schools. The same thing happens in fraternities and sororities. They have test banks.

If you are not part of that circle you are at a huge disadvantage because of lazy professors and test administrators who don't change up tests. It isn't a level playing field.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Or..... and hear me out.... what if there were no exam? What if we used....

- more robust teacher recommendations that were designed to identify top performers in each class/school, not only on metrics of academic performance, but also improving the recommendations to include areas like grit, determination, response to adversity, concern for others, academic citizenship, integrity, etc?

- SIS questions that give a stronger overall profile of each student and allow an admissions committee to create a balanced class - Do you even want to go to TJ? How would you impact an academic community? What do you want to be when you grow up? What sort of things do you enjoy outside of STEM?

- GPA and SOL scores to establish a baseline of competency in the relevant courses, with no favoritism towards kids who are in Geometry or higher in 8th grade?

- an interview process designed to help determine which kids are genuine in their interest and aptitude for a comprehensive advanced education with a focus on STEM?

A class of students selected in this way would have a MUCH, MUCH higher ceiling than the current classes that walk around TJ right now.

Ugh. That would make things incredibly subjective. It would still lead to gaming of the system, since kids would simply learn how to write the SIS questions and perform at the interviews in a way that helps them look good to the selection committees.

[Anonymous]

If you want it to be fair use a standardized tests that is more readily available, have every kid take it, have a cut off where you view anyone above the threshold as qualified and use a lottery of every kid who meets the standard to determine spots

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Or..... and hear me out.... what if there were no exam? What if we used....

- more robust teacher recommendations that were designed to identify top performers in each class/school, not only on metrics of academic performance, but also improving the recommendations to include areas like grit, determination, response to adversity, concern for others, academic citizenship, integrity, etc?

- SIS questions that give a stronger overall profile of each student and allow an admissions committee to create a balanced class - Do you even want to go to TJ? How would you impact an academic community? What do you want to be when you grow up? What sort of things do you enjoy outside of STEM?

- GPA and SOL scores to establish a baseline of competency in the relevant courses, with no favoritism towards kids who are in Geometry or higher in 8th grade?

- an interview process designed to help determine which kids are genuine in their interest and aptitude for a comprehensive advanced education with a focus on STEM?

A class of students selected in this way would have a MUCH, MUCH higher ceiling than the current classes that walk around TJ right now.

Asking teachers about personal qualities is discriminatory against disabled kids with autism spectrum, etc. There are certainly many math geniuses with questionable social skills. This is the kind of kid that a program like this is designed for.

Teachers know about these circumstances and would ideally be able to articulate the student's success through this adversity. Through this lens, it could easily be a positive in an application.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:If you want it to be fair use a standardized tests that is more readily available, have every kid take it, have a cut off where you view anyone above the threshold as qualified and use a lottery of every kid who meets the standard to determine spots

THIS

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Or..... and hear me out.... what if there were no exam? What if we used....

- more robust teacher recommendations that were designed to identify top performers in each class/school, not only on metrics of academic performance, but also improving the recommendations to include areas like grit, determination, response to adversity, concern for others, academic citizenship, integrity, etc?

- SIS questions that give a stronger overall profile of each student and allow an admissions committee to create a balanced class - Do you even want to go to TJ? How would you impact an academic community? What do you want to be when you grow up? What sort of things do you enjoy outside of STEM?

- GPA and SOL scores to establish a baseline of competency in the relevant courses, with no favoritism towards kids who are in Geometry or higher in 8th grade?

- an interview process designed to help determine which kids are genuine in their interest and aptitude for a comprehensive advanced education with a focus on STEM?

A class of students selected in this way would have a MUCH, MUCH higher ceiling than the current classes that walk around TJ right now.

Ugh. That would make things incredibly subjective. It would still lead to gaming of the system, since kids would simply learn how to write the SIS questions and perform at the interviews in a way that helps them look good to the selection committees.

A well-trained selection committee can ferret these things out pretty easily. People who volunteer to conduct interviews for elite universities are trained to do this all the time.

And besides, as long as there is no publicized criteria for what the committees are looking for, and as long as the class that you end up with is sufficiently diverse in terms of perspectives and interests, it will be extremely hard to prepare a student for any of these things.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Or..... and hear me out.... what if there were no exam? What if we used....

- more robust teacher recommendations that were designed to identify top performers in each class/school, not only on metrics of academic performance, but also improving the recommendations to include areas like grit, determination, response to adversity, concern for others, academic citizenship, integrity, etc?

- SIS questions that give a stronger overall profile of each student and allow an admissions committee to create a balanced class - Do you even want to go to TJ? How would you impact an academic community? What do you want to be when you grow up? What sort of things do you enjoy outside of STEM?

- GPA and SOL scores to establish a baseline of competency in the relevant courses, with no favoritism towards kids who are in Geometry or higher in 8th grade?

- an interview process designed to help determine which kids are genuine in their interest and aptitude for a comprehensive advanced education with a focus on STEM?

A class of students selected in this way would have a MUCH, MUCH higher ceiling than the current classes that walk around TJ right now.

Ugh. That would make things incredibly subjective. It would still lead to gaming of the system, since kids would simply learn how to write the SIS questions and perform at the interviews in a way that helps them look good to the selection committees.

A well-trained selection committee can ferret these things out pretty easily. People who volunteer to conduct interviews for elite universities are trained to do this all the time.

And besides, as long as there is no publicized criteria for what the committees are looking for, and as long as the class that you end up with is sufficiently diverse in terms of perspectives and interests, it will be extremely hard to prepare a student for any of these things.

And by the way - most of the opportunities available in life are subjective. Elite American universities, job interviews, etc.

[Anonymous]

From another thread but more relevant to this one:

Dig even a little further into Curie's Facebook page and you'll find photos of a similar list from 2019 - the class of 2023. This list has 95 students admitted to TJ, and would have been the second year of the Quant-Q.

https://www.facebook.com/curielearningllc/photos/a...6414351848218/1216596798496640

And here is the list from 2018 - which would have been the first year of the Quant-Q. Only 51 successful TJ applicants!

https://www.facebook.com/curielearningllc/photos/a...5923525897303/975988479224141/

From 51 to 95 to 133 in the first three years of the Quant-Q. The most charitable explanation is that the organization has gained a reputation and has grown because of good word of mouth. A darker explanation is that they're handing kids an exam that is supposed to be secure - which is what TJ kids are telling us that they're doing.

You decide.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:From another thread but more relevant to this one:

Dig even a little further into Curie's Facebook page and you'll find photos of a similar list from 2019 - the class of 2023. This list has 95 students admitted to TJ, and would have been the second year of the Quant-Q.

https://www.facebook.com/curielearningllc/photos/a...6414351848218/1216596798496640

And here is the list from 2018 - which would have been the first year of the Quant-Q. Only 51 successful TJ applicants!

https://www.facebook.com/curielearningllc/photos/a...5923525897303/975988479224141/

From 51 to 95 to 133 in the first three years of the Quant-Q. The most charitable explanation is that the organization has gained a reputation and has grown because of good word of mouth. A darker explanation is that they're handing kids an exam that is supposed to be secure - which is what TJ kids are telling us that they're doing.

You decide.

I can't view facebook. Can someone screenshot the posts?

[Anonymous]

Curie also creates many questions from the template of one question. They probably have more questions in their question banks than the administrators of the TJ tests. They also slice and dice any "type" of question they hear that was in the admission test and then they just create many similar types of questions. Some of their questions will also be trick question to stump or confuse the students in practice. It is not an easy course to do because they actually work you very hard.

I think the school board should actually ask Curie to share these questions that they have created with all the public school students.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:From another thread but more relevant to this one:

Dig even a little further into Curie's Facebook page and you'll find photos of a similar list from 2019 - the class of 2023. This list has 95 students admitted to TJ, and would have been the second year of the Quant-Q.

https://www.facebook.com/curielearningllc/photos/a...6414351848218/1216596798496640

And here is the list from 2018 - which would have been the first year of the Quant-Q. Only 51 successful TJ applicants!

https://www.facebook.com/curielearningllc/photos/a...5923525897303/975988479224141/

From 51 to 95 to 133 in the first three years of the Quant-Q. The most charitable explanation is that the organization has gained a reputation and has grown because of good word of mouth. A darker explanation is that they're handing kids an exam that is supposed to be secure - which is what TJ kids are telling us that they're doing.

You decide.

I can't view facebook. Can someone screenshot the posts?

I think it is word of mouth and they are getting the best kids. Not surprising because they are not two-faced White Trumpers.

Are the Curie people employed by the school system? How are they getting the tests? I call it fake news by disgruntled privileged racist people.

Since they cannot compete with Asians and cannot shoot them in the back like they do other minorities, they are more likely to cast aspersions on their achievements.

When that does not work they lament that the "kids are overworked and not having a good childhood." Meanwhile their children are running around with semi-automatic guns and shooting minorities.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If you want it to be fair use a standardized tests that is more readily available, have every kid take it, have a cut off where you view anyone above the threshold as qualified and use a lottery of every kid who meets the standard to determine spots

THIS

Why not give the magnet education to every one who makes the cutoff? This will be the most honest thing to do.

You cannot say that you will give the spot to top 100 performers in the test because it will be overwhelmingly Asian-Americans.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Subjective assessments and letter should not be apart of admissions:
1. what if teachers/interviewers are racist? and
2. Who is going to write a bad letter of recommendation. These are worthless.

The current TJ selection process is almost entirely subjective evaluations of SIS, recommendations, essays. Many of the top scorers on the math exam are not selected.