TJ Falls to 14th in the Nation Per US News

[Anonymous]

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Anonymous wrote:For a long time the number one school in the nation, US News now has TJ at #14. Not sure how much is a change in methodology, how much is the admissions policy (surprised to see WTOP call that one out below, because they usually parrot the FCPS party line on everything), and how much is other schools getting better.

Following controversial changes to its admissions policy in 2021 to boost diversity, Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology in Virginia remains the top ranked school in the D.C. region and 14th in the nation, slipping from the top 10. It’s also the 5th ranked STEM school in the nation.

https://wtop.com/education/2024/04/regions-best-high-schools/

Diversity in the school (Blacks, Hispanics, Low income) had 10% weightage too and class of 2022 lacked that which could have costed the ranking

Can you explain how this works with a race-blind process that is required by law in the US?

The US New rating forumula (which is what PP was talking about) is not governed by US law.

Yes, the lack of diversity at TJ is costing them their ranking.

So, why TJ’s ranking is getting worse not better?

the county has a large share of black and Hispanic students that are not being fairly represented at TJ

It is sufficiently represented based on the stem interest being expressed by black and hispanic students. Out of 2600+ applicants, just 260+ or 10% are black and hispanic (whereas for most competitive travel basketball tryouts in NOVA, 75+% of applicants are black). If the stem interest is lacking, where does one find additional recipients to grant the offers to?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:For a long time the number one school in the nation, US News now has TJ at #14. Not sure how much is a change in methodology, how much is the admissions policy (surprised to see WTOP call that one out below, because they usually parrot the FCPS party line on everything), and how much is other schools getting better.

Following controversial changes to its admissions policy in 2021 to boost diversity, Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology in Virginia remains the top ranked school in the D.C. region and 14th in the nation, slipping from the top 10. It’s also the 5th ranked STEM school in the nation.

https://wtop.com/education/2024/04/regions-best-high-schools/

Diversity in the school (Blacks, Hispanics, Low income) had 10% weightage too and class of 2022 lacked that which could have costed the ranking

Can you explain how this works with a race-blind process that is required by law in the US?

The US New rating forumula (which is what PP was talking about) is not governed by US law.

Yes, the lack of diversity at TJ is costing them their ranking.

So, why TJ’s ranking is getting worse not better?

the county has a large share of black and Hispanic students that are not being fairly represented at TJ

So, why adding more Black and Hispanic students worsens the ranking? It should make the ranking better if your logic is right.

For ranking TJ at #14, they used seniors data from year 2021-22 when there was less diversity than it is now. Going forward rankings should be better since the new policy admitted more blacks and Hispanics than before.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:For a long time the number one school in the nation, US News now has TJ at #14. Not sure how much is a change in methodology, how much is the admissions policy (surprised to see WTOP call that one out below, because they usually parrot the FCPS party line on everything), and how much is other schools getting better.

Following controversial changes to its admissions policy in 2021 to boost diversity, Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology in Virginia remains the top ranked school in the D.C. region and 14th in the nation, slipping from the top 10. It’s also the 5th ranked STEM school in the nation.

https://wtop.com/education/2024/04/regions-best-high-schools/

Diversity in the school (Blacks, Hispanics, Low income) had 10% weightage too and class of 2022 lacked that which could have costed the ranking

Nice try, but not correct. US News Diversity component includes Asians, who are firmly minority by the way with 6%, much less than Hispanic: 18.5% Black: 12.2%

Read - https://www.usnews.com/education/best-high-schools/articles/how-us-news-calculated-the-rankings

Underserved Student Performance (10%)

This is a measure assessing learning outcomes only among Black, Hispanic and low-income students. This evaluates how well this underserved subgroup scored on state assessments compared with the average for nonunderserved students among schools in the same state. Schools performing above the 50th percentile nationally in this comparison received the highest score, while other schools’ scores decreased the greater the distance between their underserved students and their state’s median for nonunderserved students.

What you are saying is with more Black and Hispanic admissions, TJ should be better that in the old system. However, better the drop in academic performance outweighed the gain in diversity. Hence, TJ’s overall ranking dropped in two consecutive years.

This is the first year that includes class of 25 data (from their freshman year).

For rankings they have used 12th grade enrollment during the 2021-2022 - https://www.usnews.com/education/best-high-schools/articles/how-us-news-calculated-the-rankings

The SOL data includes freshman.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:For a long time the number one school in the nation, US News now has TJ at #14. Not sure how much is a change in methodology, how much is the admissions policy (surprised to see WTOP call that one out below, because they usually parrot the FCPS party line on everything), and how much is other schools getting better.

Following controversial changes to its admissions policy in 2021 to boost diversity, Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology in Virginia remains the top ranked school in the D.C. region and 14th in the nation, slipping from the top 10. It’s also the 5th ranked STEM school in the nation.

https://wtop.com/education/2024/04/regions-best-high-schools/

Diversity in the school (Blacks, Hispanics, Low income) had 10% weightage too and class of 2022 lacked that which could have costed the ranking

Can you explain how this works with a race-blind process that is required by law in the US?

The US New rating forumula (which is what PP was talking about) is not governed by US law.

Yes, the lack of diversity at TJ is costing them their ranking.

So, why TJ’s ranking is getting worse not better?

the county has a large share of black and Hispanic students that are not being fairly represented at TJ

https://www.fcps.edu/news/offers-extended-thomas-jefferson-high-school-science-and-technology-class-2028

Blacks, Hispanics, Low income - about 27%

Class of 2028 offers extended to the following:
Asian – 57.27%
Black – 3.45%
Hispanic – 7.45%
Economically Disadvantaged – 16.36%
Two or More Races – 6.18%
White – 25.45%
Multilingual Learners – 6.18%

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:For a long time the number one school in the nation, US News now has TJ at #14. Not sure how much is a change in methodology, how much is the admissions policy (surprised to see WTOP call that one out below, because they usually parrot the FCPS party line on everything), and how much is other schools getting better.

Following controversial changes to its admissions policy in 2021 to boost diversity, Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology in Virginia remains the top ranked school in the D.C. region and 14th in the nation, slipping from the top 10. It’s also the 5th ranked STEM school in the nation.

https://wtop.com/education/2024/04/regions-best-high-schools/

Diversity in the school (Blacks, Hispanics, Low income) had 10% weightage too and class of 2022 lacked that which could have costed the ranking

Can you explain how this works with a race-blind process that is required by law in the US?

The US New rating forumula (which is what PP was talking about) is not governed by US law.

Yes, the lack of diversity at TJ is costing them their ranking.

So, why TJ’s ranking is getting worse not better?

the county has a large share of black and Hispanic students that are not being fairly represented at TJ

https://www.fcps.edu/news/offers-extended-thomas-jefferson-high-school-science-and-technology-class-2028

Blacks, Hispanics, Low income - about 27%

Class of 2028 offers extended to the following:
Asian – 57.27%
Black – 3.45%
Hispanic – 7.45%
Economically Disadvantaged – 16.36%
Two or More Races – 6.18%
White – 25.45%
Multilingual Learners – 6.18%

Sorry, low income of 16.36% includes whites, asians, and also few blacks and hispanics. Not all 10.9% of blacks and hispanics are low income. Thanks for your generosity, but give us some credit for the prosperity we achieved, we are all not poor.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:For a long time the number one school in the nation, US News now has TJ at #14. Not sure how much is a change in methodology, how much is the admissions policy (surprised to see WTOP call that one out below, because they usually parrot the FCPS party line on everything), and how much is other schools getting better.

Following controversial changes to its admissions policy in 2021 to boost diversity, Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology in Virginia remains the top ranked school in the D.C. region and 14th in the nation, slipping from the top 10. It’s also the 5th ranked STEM school in the nation.

https://wtop.com/education/2024/04/regions-best-high-schools/

Diversity in the school (Blacks, Hispanics, Low income) had 10% weightage too and class of 2022 lacked that which could have costed the ranking

Can you explain how this works with a race-blind process that is required by law in the US?

The US New rating forumula (which is what PP was talking about) is not governed by US law.

Yes, the lack of diversity at TJ is costing them their ranking.

So, why TJ’s ranking is getting worse not better?

the county has a large share of black and Hispanic students that are not being fairly represented at TJ

So, why adding more Black and Hispanic students worsens the ranking? It should make the ranking better if your logic is right.

For ranking TJ at #14, they used seniors data from year 2021-22 when there was less diversity than it is now. Going forward rankings should be better since the new policy admitted more blacks and Hispanics than before.

So, if diversity mattered, why TJ ranked #5 last year and #1 the years before LOL

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:For a long time the number one school in the nation, US News now has TJ at #14. Not sure how much is a change in methodology, how much is the admissions policy (surprised to see WTOP call that one out below, because they usually parrot the FCPS party line on everything), and how much is other schools getting better.

Following controversial changes to its admissions policy in 2021 to boost diversity, Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology in Virginia remains the top ranked school in the D.C. region and 14th in the nation, slipping from the top 10. It’s also the 5th ranked STEM school in the nation.

https://wtop.com/education/2024/04/regions-best-high-schools/

Diversity in the school (Blacks, Hispanics, Low income) had 10% weightage too and class of 2022 lacked that which could have costed the ranking

Can you explain how this works with a race-blind process that is required by law in the US?

The US New rating forumula (which is what PP was talking about) is not governed by US law.

Yes, the lack of diversity at TJ is costing them their ranking.

So, why TJ’s ranking is getting worse not better?

the county has a large share of black and Hispanic students that are not being fairly represented at TJ

It is sufficiently represented based on the stem interest being expressed by black and hispanic students. Out of 2600+ applicants, just 260+ or 10% are black and hispanic (whereas for most competitive travel basketball tryouts in NOVA, 75+% of applicants are black). If the stem interest is lacking, where does one find additional recipients to grant the offers to?

Competitive basketball tryouts in NOVA are not anywhere close to 75% Black. You don't know what you're talking about.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:For a long time the number one school in the nation, US News now has TJ at #14. Not sure how much is a change in methodology, how much is the admissions policy (surprised to see WTOP call that one out below, because they usually parrot the FCPS party line on everything), and how much is other schools getting better.

Following controversial changes to its admissions policy in 2021 to boost diversity, Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology in Virginia remains the top ranked school in the D.C. region and 14th in the nation, slipping from the top 10. It’s also the 5th ranked STEM school in the nation.

https://wtop.com/education/2024/04/regions-best-high-schools/

Diversity in the school (Blacks, Hispanics, Low income) had 10% weightage too and class of 2022 lacked that which could have costed the ranking

Can you explain how this works with a race-blind process that is required by law in the US?

The US New rating forumula (which is what PP was talking about) is not governed by US law.

Yes, the lack of diversity at TJ is costing them their ranking.

So, why TJ’s ranking is getting worse not better?

the county has a large share of black and Hispanic students that are not being fairly represented at TJ

So, why adding more Black and Hispanic students worsens the ranking? It should make the ranking better if your logic is right.

For ranking TJ at #14, they used seniors data from year 2021-22 when there was less diversity than it is now. Going forward rankings should be better since the new policy admitted more blacks and Hispanics than before.

So, if diversity mattered, why TJ ranked #5 last year and #1 the years before LOL

They made changes to the algorithm to include Equity Rating - https://www.greatschools.org/gk/articles/why-did-my-schools-rating-go-down/

Equity Rating
The Equity Rating is designed to measure how well a school serves disadvantaged student groups. The rating includes two kinds of data:

1. How underserved students are doing academically, compared to state averages for all students, based on student progress (growth), state test scores and college readiness in the case of high schools and
2. Gaps between how a school’s underserved student groups do academically and its student body as a whole.

This shows how well the school is educating disadvantaged students compared to non-disadvantaged students at this school, and how that compares with other schools in the state. You can read more about our Equity Rating here.

Bottom line: If your school’s Equity Rating went down, this probably affected your school’s Summary Rating.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:For a long time the number one school in the nation, US News now has TJ at #14. Not sure how much is a change in methodology, how much is the admissions policy (surprised to see WTOP call that one out below, because they usually parrot the FCPS party line on everything), and how much is other schools getting better.

Following controversial changes to its admissions policy in 2021 to boost diversity, Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology in Virginia remains the top ranked school in the D.C. region and 14th in the nation, slipping from the top 10. It’s also the 5th ranked STEM school in the nation.

https://wtop.com/education/2024/04/regions-best-high-schools/

Diversity in the school (Blacks, Hispanics, Low income) had 10% weightage too and class of 2022 lacked that which could have costed the ranking

Can you explain how this works with a race-blind process that is required by law in the US?

The US New rating forumula (which is what PP was talking about) is not governed by US law.

Yes, the lack of diversity at TJ is costing them their ranking.

So, why TJ’s ranking is getting worse not better?

the county has a large share of black and Hispanic students that are not being fairly represented at TJ

So, why adding more Black and Hispanic students worsens the ranking? It should make the ranking better if your logic is right.

For ranking TJ at #14, they used seniors data from year 2021-22 when there was less diversity than it is now. Going forward rankings should be better since the new policy admitted more blacks and Hispanics than before.

So, if diversity mattered, why TJ ranked #5 last year and #1 the years before LOL

They made changes to the algorithm to include Equity Rating - https://www.greatschools.org/gk/articles/why-did-my-schools-rating-go-down/

Equity Rating
The Equity Rating is designed to measure how well a school serves disadvantaged student groups. The rating includes two kinds of data:

1. How underserved students are doing academically, compared to state averages for all students, based on student progress (growth), state test scores and college readiness in the case of high schools and
2. Gaps between how a school’s underserved student groups do academically and its student body as a whole.

This shows how well the school is educating disadvantaged students compared to non-disadvantaged students at this school, and how that compares with other schools in the state. You can read more about our Equity Rating here.

Bottom line: If your school’s Equity Rating went down, this probably affected your school’s Summary Rating.

TJ Admissions process needs to incorporate a way to enroll meritorious Black and Hispanic students, not just any student from bottom middle schools. Could a math and science evaluation test perhaps do that?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:For a long time the number one school in the nation, US News now has TJ at #14. Not sure how much is a change in methodology, how much is the admissions policy (surprised to see WTOP call that one out below, because they usually parrot the FCPS party line on everything), and how much is other schools getting better.

Following controversial changes to its admissions policy in 2021 to boost diversity, Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology in Virginia remains the top ranked school in the D.C. region and 14th in the nation, slipping from the top 10. It’s also the 5th ranked STEM school in the nation.

https://wtop.com/education/2024/04/regions-best-high-schools/

Diversity in the school (Blacks, Hispanics, Low income) had 10% weightage too and class of 2022 lacked that which could have costed the ranking

Can you explain how this works with a race-blind process that is required by law in the US?

The US New rating forumula (which is what PP was talking about) is not governed by US law.

Yes, the lack of diversity at TJ is costing them their ranking.

So, why TJ’s ranking is getting worse not better?

the county has a large share of black and Hispanic students that are not being fairly represented at TJ

It is sufficiently represented based on the stem interest being expressed by black and hispanic students. Out of 2600+ applicants, just 260+ or 10% are black and hispanic (whereas for most competitive travel basketball tryouts in NOVA, 75+% of applicants are black). If the stem interest is lacking, where does one find additional recipients to grant the offers to?

Competitive basketball tryouts in NOVA are not anywhere close to 75% Black. You don't know what you're talking about.

if you havent noticed that, it is likely that travel team wasnt widely sought after and competitive enough.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:For a long time the number one school in the nation, US News now has TJ at #14. Not sure how much is a change in methodology, how much is the admissions policy (surprised to see WTOP call that one out below, because they usually parrot the FCPS party line on everything), and how much is other schools getting better.

Following controversial changes to its admissions policy in 2021 to boost diversity, Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology in Virginia remains the top ranked school in the D.C. region and 14th in the nation, slipping from the top 10. It’s also the 5th ranked STEM school in the nation.

https://wtop.com/education/2024/04/regions-best-high-schools/

Diversity in the school (Blacks, Hispanics, Low income) had 10% weightage too and class of 2022 lacked that which could have costed the ranking

Can you explain how this works with a race-blind process that is required by law in the US?

The US New rating forumula (which is what PP was talking about) is not governed by US law.

Yes, the lack of diversity at TJ is costing them their ranking.

So, why TJ’s ranking is getting worse not better?

the county has a large share of black and Hispanic students that are not being fairly represented at TJ

So, why adding more Black and Hispanic students worsens the ranking? It should make the ranking better if your logic is right.

For ranking TJ at #14, they used seniors data from year 2021-22 when there was less diversity than it is now. Going forward rankings should be better since the new policy admitted more blacks and Hispanics than before.

Methodology data is needed here.

It would not surprise me if US News & World Report has recently altered their scoring criteria to give more weight to DEI. A different rating organization- Great Schools - did exactly that, and they have dinged McLean HS not for any academic deficiencies, but Great School’s perception of insufficient diversity at McLean.

Has USNWR re-weighted diversity to TJ’s disadvantage?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Admissions probably didn’t help. Worth noting though that there’s been a lot of teacher turnover which I think is a bigger deal than the admissions process since it affects the quality of the education itself.

Teachers are being forced to teach rigorous TJ curriculum to a class that lacks prerequisite middle school math and science knowledge. If they voice their concerns with the lack of merit based admission criteria, they are branded as anti-equity. Frustrated with not being able to fulfill their duties, many opt to resign.

RSM and AOPS are not a prerequisite for any school curriculum. Teachers can realize this and teach the students they have, not the students they want to have.

Allowing kids who can’t handle the subject matter yet and allowing them to coast on the reputation of a school developed via students who can perform in an advanced capacity is lazy and disingenuous. It serves neither the advanced students nor the student who will struggle to keep up.

[Anonymous]

Yeah th

Anonymous wrote:The principal in one of the recent emails expressed concerns with significant number of admitted "9th grade students scoring below proficient on the initial Math Inventory", and needing to put them on ALEKS remedial math starting in the third month itself. If admissions was merit based, remedial math should not be needed at the school start.

With a lower caliber student body being admitted using equity instead of merit as the criteria, TJ's ranking continues to decline from 1st in the nation to now 14th nationally.

https://content.govdelivery.com/accounts/VAEDUFCPS/bulletins/38d509c

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:For a long time the number one school in the nation, US News now has TJ at #14. Not sure how much is a change in methodology, how much is the admissions policy (surprised to see WTOP call that one out below, because they usually parrot the FCPS party line on everything), and how much is other schools getting better.

Following controversial changes to its admissions policy in 2021 to boost diversity, Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology in Virginia remains the top ranked school in the D.C. region and 14th in the nation, slipping from the top 10. It’s also the 5th ranked STEM school in the nation.

https://wtop.com/education/2024/04/regions-best-high-schools/

Diversity in the school (Blacks, Hispanics, Low income) had 10% weightage too and class of 2022 lacked that which could have costed the ranking

Can you explain how this works with a race-blind process that is required by law in the US?

The US New rating forumula (which is what PP was talking about) is not governed by US law.

Yes, the lack of diversity at TJ is costing them their ranking.

So, why TJ’s ranking is getting worse not better?

the county has a large share of black and Hispanic students that are not being fairly represented at TJ

So, why adding more Black and Hispanic students worsens the ranking? It should make the ranking better if your logic is right.

For ranking TJ at #14, they used seniors data from year 2021-22 when there was less diversity than it is now. Going forward rankings should be better since the new policy admitted more blacks and Hispanics than before.

Methodology data is needed here.

It would not surprise me if US News & World Report has recently altered their scoring criteria to give more weight to DEI. A different rating organization- Great Schools - did exactly that, and they have dinged McLean HS not for any academic deficiencies, but Great School’s perception of insufficient diversity at McLean.

Has USNWR re-weighted diversity to TJ’s disadvantage?

And no mention of methodology changes though the minions are trying to convince how the continuous drops in academic and rankings are actually a good thing LOL

[Anonymous]

Stop the BS about Black and Latino, White is the group benefits the most from the new admissions. In my DD’s school, they waitlisted a Black kid with Geo and STEM awards and took a couple of white kids who barely survived Alg 1.