Class 2025 TJHSST Results

[Anonymous]

DCUM is not represenative of the sentimate of the majority of NoVA citizens. I say NoVa because it likely reflects southern VA but NoVa is so dense our vote counts more. Take comfort in that.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I was talking about this with my class of 2020 kid today. White kid, and thus a minority for his 4 years. Also, 2e and had a 504. He was sick sophomore year and needed surgery and came within an inch of having to drop back to his base school.

Here’s his take: the new admissions process is evil. It’s the SB and Dr. B (whom he really dislikes) taking kids who don’t have the background or skills to succeed and throwing to the wolves in order to make themselves look good. There will be a very high drop back rate, and every kid who drops back is a kid who then believes they can’t hack it in STEM. Thus, it does more harm than good to URMs.

He also says that if TJ wanted real reform, they would start in the Title I ESs, make sure opportunities like science Olympiad are evenly distributed, set up Math Counts, Science Olympiad, FIRST, Odyssey of the Mind, advanced math and similar in Titke 1 schools and create a pipeline.

And, they would have budgeted for enhanced tutoring, for late buses everyday, for buses to pick kids up in neighborhoods again instead of depots, be creating a robust mentoring program for FARMs students, and require all students to enter with at least geometry— even if that meant offering free, in person geometry classes at TJ for summer school.

His point: this is a cosmetic change only, and the most vulnerable kids will pay the highest price. He thinks FCPS is doing it this way so that they can point to the high fail rates in a couple years, say it doesn’t work, and go back to the status quo.

Having watched the SB this year, I disagreed with him on this last point. I think the SB loves quick, cosmetic fixes and didn’t want to put the effort into meaningful reform. And by the time the sh*t hits the fan, they will be past the election.

+1 on all of it. It was intentional on the part of the SB to make themselves look good, consequences be damned.

The consequences of the admission changes will likely be TJ's strongest incoming class since it opened.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I used to grade AP exams. It was amazing how many kids wrote about their proms, their plans for summer vacation, how they were only taking the exam because their parents made them, and some rather unsavory topics. We had to read everything the kids wrote, just in case they actually started answering the question. Lots of kids taking the exams were not there because they wanted to be. There is no way that their parents knew why their kid flunked the exam.

I sometimes wonder how many of the kids who appear to be shoo ins for TJ write similar essays. Their parents won’t know that the kids wrote “I don’t want to go to TJ” and the kids know that the parents will blame the process and not the kid. Easiest way out.

I know, none of the kids of the parents posting here would ever do that because the kids are totally devoted to STEM in 8th grade. It is 100% their passion.

Or maybe some of them did because they don’t really want to attend TJ and want to have a regular high school experience but knew that their parents could not accept that.

Just a thought.

well my kid know of kids who purportedly tried to flunk the old exam so they could go to their base school. They didn't want TJ, their parents did. I am sure it's a minority but it's still sad.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I used to grade AP exams. It was amazing how many kids wrote about their proms, their plans for summer vacation, how they were only taking the exam because their parents made them, and some rather unsavory topics. We had to read everything the kids wrote, just in case they actually started answering the question. Lots of kids taking the exams were not there because they wanted to be. There is no way that their parents knew why their kid flunked the exam.

I sometimes wonder how many of the kids who appear to be shoo ins for TJ write similar essays. Their parents won’t know that the kids wrote “I don’t want to go to TJ” and the kids know that the parents will blame the process and not the kid. Easiest way out.

I know, none of the kids of the parents posting here would ever do that because the kids are totally devoted to STEM in 8th grade. It is 100% their passion.

Or maybe some of them did because they don’t really want to attend TJ and want to have a regular high school experience but knew that their parents could not accept that.

Just a thought.

well my kid know of kids who purportedly tried to flunk the old exam so they could go to their base school. They didn't want TJ, their parents did. I am sure it's a minority but it's still sad.

Vast majority of these kids are white.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I opened this thread to see a cross-section of opinions about TJ results, and instead see a discussion about voting patterns in Northern vs Southern VA!? Look, both parties are hypocritical, neither stands for what it says it does, and both hate on smart kids in their own unique way - can we all just agree about that and move on?

Dumb a$$ MAGA trash polluting education threads.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I used to grade AP exams. It was amazing how many kids wrote about their proms, their plans for summer vacation, how they were only taking the exam because their parents made them, and some rather unsavory topics. We had to read everything the kids wrote, just in case they actually started answering the question. Lots of kids taking the exams were not there because they wanted to be. There is no way that their parents knew why their kid flunked the exam.

I sometimes wonder how many of the kids who appear to be shoo ins for TJ write similar essays. Their parents won’t know that the kids wrote “I don’t want to go to TJ” and the kids know that the parents will blame the process and not the kid. Easiest way out.

I know, none of the kids of the parents posting here would ever do that because the kids are totally devoted to STEM in 8th grade. It is 100% their passion.

Or maybe some of them did because they don’t really want to attend TJ and want to have a regular high school experience but knew that their parents could not accept that.

Just a thought.

well my kid know of kids who purportedly tried to flunk the old exam so they could go to their base school. They didn't want TJ, their parents did. I am sure it's a minority but it's still sad.

There are kids who did this, but the smarter ones took care of business on the exam and then bombed the SIS. Doing that would eliminate any evidence for the parents to find out that they sabotaged themselves. Literally no way for the parents to find out, so the kid can just throw up their hands and say “oh well, I guess they didn’t pick me”

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I used to grade AP exams. It was amazing how many kids wrote about their proms, their plans for summer vacation, how they were only taking the exam because their parents made them, and some rather unsavory topics. We had to read everything the kids wrote, just in case they actually started answering the question. Lots of kids taking the exams were not there because they wanted to be. There is no way that their parents knew why their kid flunked the exam.

I sometimes wonder how many of the kids who appear to be shoo ins for TJ write similar essays. Their parents won’t know that the kids wrote “I don’t want to go to TJ” and the kids know that the parents will blame the process and not the kid. Easiest way out.

I know, none of the kids of the parents posting here would ever do that because the kids are totally devoted to STEM in 8th grade. It is 100% their passion.

Or maybe some of them did because they don’t really want to attend TJ and want to have a regular high school experience but knew that their parents could not accept that.

Just a thought.

well my kid know of kids who purportedly tried to flunk the old exam so they could go to their base school. They didn't want TJ, their parents did. I am sure it's a minority but it's still sad.

Vast majority of these kids are white.

Actually some were South Asian…