TJ admissions: Top 1.5% means what exactly?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It guarantees spots to kids at every Middle School who has an interest and meets the general requirements. It makes TJ representative of all of FCPS by insuring that qualified kids from each MS have an opportunity to attend.

That 1.5% has to have met the basic criteria

1) 3.5 GPA (The average GPA last year was a 3.98)
2) Completed or taking Algebra Honors and at least one other Honors Math class (7th Grade Honors or Geometry Honors)
3) Completed 2 years of Honors Science
4) Completed at least 2 other Honors classes (History, English)
5) Successfully completed the math essay

And what happens if some schools have more kids meeting the basic criteria? How are they going to select 1.5% then?

So in a high income neighborhood, 1.5% will be easily filled by top 2% kids with very high GPA and other criteria. In another neighborhood, where there are many Farms 1.5% will be filled by kids who barely fulfill the criteria. It will be easier to get in TJ from those schools. This is called Equity and another kind of racism.

No, the real answer is:

Kids who meet the base criteria will do well at TJ. These are the requirements that are stringent and stick to classes and requirements that can be achieved at every Middle School and do not require kids to participate in outside activities that they cannot afford or get to or even know about.

The 1.5% leaves plenty of extra seats that are filled by the regular admissions practices. Schools like Carson and Rocky Run and Longfellow still had 50 or so kids admitted, which is well above their alloted 1.5%.

The reality is that less then 10% of the kids in the Country will take Algebra Honors in 7th grade. I get this number by looking at the 20% of the kids in AAP and reports that only half of those kids will qualify for Algebra Honors in 7th and not all of the kids who qualify will take Algebra Honors in 7th. There are also kids in Advanced Math so I am sort of filling the gaps with the Advanced Math only kids. I am not sure what the percentage of kids take Algebra Honors in 8th grade but I would guess it is about the same number who took Algebra Honors in 7th. I understand that people on this board think that the math sequence is too easy but there are lots of kids who struggle with math and most will

Plenty of kids take Honors classes and don't get a 3.5. You all seem to think that these are easy targets to hit but they are not.

With so few kids qualifying for Algebra Honors in 7th and needing a 3.5 the standard is rigorous enough.

Your issue is that FCPS is trying to spread the seats throughout the county instead of concentrating the seats in 4-5 schools that happen to have a higher SES and more Asian and White kids. I am fine with the standard and with the seats being distributed so that access is available across the county.

And no, electing Youngkin isn't going to change a damn thing because TJ is still administered by FCPS and the Republican Party has not been traditionally a bastion of Public School, education loving individuals.

I wouldn’t be so sure about that. TJ only exists because a Republican Board of Supervisors in Fairfax County wanted a STEM magnet years ago, and Youngkin is very close with the Coalition for TJ folks like Harry Jackson and Asra Nomani. He was at an awards banquet getting his picture taken with Nomani a few days ago. They helped get him elected by cutting into the Democratic margins in NoVa and he won’t quickly forget them.

Glenn Youngkin got exactly what he wanted from those constituencies and is no longer beholden to them because VA governors are not eligible for re-election. Public schools are not going to be a priority in a Youngkin administration except inasmuch as he will push for school vouchers to funnel public money into private schools. He does not care one bit about TJ. BUT wealthy Asian-American families will benefit from his governorship in the form of lower taxes. Less wealthy Asian-American families will suffer from poorer working conditions and less well-funded public schools, but those will almost exclusively be East and Southeast Asian families - which are not representative of the folks who troll these boards.

I think you're reading the room about as well as Terry McAuliffe and his campaign staff did, but we'll see.

That doesn't mean that PP is wrong. TM didn't win because he didn't spin parent fears into a campaign platform. TM didn't tell you want you wanted to hear because what you wanted to hear was BS.

I am the PP. Youngkin did what he needed to do to develop a winning coalition. He no longer needs it, so he can return to his priorities of cutting taxes and regulations for businesses and the wealthy at the expense of everyone else. This is not a guy who cares about TJ or public schools in ANY way.

You act like Virginia is something Youngkin just acquired for Carlyle and is now looking to sell off in pieces, but I think you're quite wrong. There are few things Youngkin could do to fracture the coalition that got him elected more quickly than turning a blind eye to the "mama bear/papa bear" types, and that group cares a great deal about reversing the anti-meritocratic trends in public education.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It guarantees spots to kids at every Middle School who has an interest and meets the general requirements. It makes TJ representative of all of FCPS by insuring that qualified kids from each MS have an opportunity to attend.

That 1.5% has to have met the basic criteria

1) 3.5 GPA (The average GPA last year was a 3.98)
2) Completed or taking Algebra Honors and at least one other Honors Math class (7th Grade Honors or Geometry Honors)
3) Completed 2 years of Honors Science
4) Completed at least 2 other Honors classes (History, English)
5) Successfully completed the math essay

And what happens if some schools have more kids meeting the basic criteria? How are they going to select 1.5% then?

So in a high income neighborhood, 1.5% will be easily filled by top 2% kids with very high GPA and other criteria. In another neighborhood, where there are many Farms 1.5% will be filled by kids who barely fulfill the criteria. It will be easier to get in TJ from those schools. This is called Equity and another kind of racism.

No, the real answer is:

Kids who meet the base criteria will do well at TJ. These are the requirements that are stringent and stick to classes and requirements that can be achieved at every Middle School and do not require kids to participate in outside activities that they cannot afford or get to or even know about.

The 1.5% leaves plenty of extra seats that are filled by the regular admissions practices. Schools like Carson and Rocky Run and Longfellow still had 50 or so kids admitted, which is well above their alloted 1.5%.

The reality is that less then 10% of the kids in the Country will take Algebra Honors in 7th grade. I get this number by looking at the 20% of the kids in AAP and reports that only half of those kids will qualify for Algebra Honors in 7th and not all of the kids who qualify will take Algebra Honors in 7th. There are also kids in Advanced Math so I am sort of filling the gaps with the Advanced Math only kids. I am not sure what the percentage of kids take Algebra Honors in 8th grade but I would guess it is about the same number who took Algebra Honors in 7th. I understand that people on this board think that the math sequence is too easy but there are lots of kids who struggle with math and most will

Plenty of kids take Honors classes and don't get a 3.5. You all seem to think that these are easy targets to hit but they are not.

With so few kids qualifying for Algebra Honors in 7th and needing a 3.5 the standard is rigorous enough.

Your issue is that FCPS is trying to spread the seats throughout the county instead of concentrating the seats in 4-5 schools that happen to have a higher SES and more Asian and White kids. I am fine with the standard and with the seats being distributed so that access is available across the county.

And no, electing Youngkin isn't going to change a damn thing because TJ is still administered by FCPS and the Republican Party has not been traditionally a bastion of Public School, education loving individuals.

I wouldn’t be so sure about that. TJ only exists because a Republican Board of Supervisors in Fairfax County wanted a STEM magnet years ago, and Youngkin is very close with the Coalition for TJ folks like Harry Jackson and Asra Nomani. He was at an awards banquet getting his picture taken with Nomani a few days ago. They helped get him elected by cutting into the Democratic margins in NoVa and he won’t quickly forget them.

Glenn Youngkin got exactly what he wanted from those constituencies and is no longer beholden to them because VA governors are not eligible for re-election. Public schools are not going to be a priority in a Youngkin administration except inasmuch as he will push for school vouchers to funnel public money into private schools. He does not care one bit about TJ. BUT wealthy Asian-American families will benefit from his governorship in the form of lower taxes. Less wealthy Asian-American families will suffer from poorer working conditions and less well-funded public schools, but those will almost exclusively be East and Southeast Asian families - which are not representative of the folks who troll these boards.

I think you're reading the room about as well as Terry McAuliffe and his campaign staff did, but we'll see.

That doesn't mean that PP is wrong. TM didn't win because he didn't spin parent fears into a campaign platform. TM didn't tell you want you wanted to hear because what you wanted to hear was BS.

I am the PP. Youngkin did what he needed to do to develop a winning coalition. He no longer needs it, so he can return to his priorities of cutting taxes and regulations for businesses and the wealthy at the expense of everyone else. This is not a guy who cares about TJ or public schools in ANY way.

You act like Virginia is something Youngkin just acquired for Carlyle and is now looking to sell off in pieces, but I think you're quite wrong. There are few things Youngkin could do to fracture the coalition that got him elected more quickly than turning a blind eye to the "mama bear/papa bear" types, and that group cares a great deal about reversing the anti-meritocratic trends in public education.

He is not eligible for re-election until 2029, by which time Virginia will have changed remarkably. It does not matter if he fractures that coalition. What matters to him is that a) he relieves taxes and regulations on businesses and wealthy people, and b) rigs future elections so that they will turn in favor of the next Republican candidate.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It guarantees spots to kids at every Middle School who has an interest and meets the general requirements. It makes TJ representative of all of FCPS by insuring that qualified kids from each MS have an opportunity to attend.

That 1.5% has to have met the basic criteria

1) 3.5 GPA (The average GPA last year was a 3.98)
2) Completed or taking Algebra Honors and at least one other Honors Math class (7th Grade Honors or Geometry Honors)
3) Completed 2 years of Honors Science
4) Completed at least 2 other Honors classes (History, English)
5) Successfully completed the math essay

And what happens if some schools have more kids meeting the basic criteria? How are they going to select 1.5% then?

So in a high income neighborhood, 1.5% will be easily filled by top 2% kids with very high GPA and other criteria. In another neighborhood, where there are many Farms 1.5% will be filled by kids who barely fulfill the criteria. It will be easier to get in TJ from those schools. This is called Equity and another kind of racism.

No, the real answer is:

Kids who meet the base criteria will do well at TJ. These are the requirements that are stringent and stick to classes and requirements that can be achieved at every Middle School and do not require kids to participate in outside activities that they cannot afford or get to or even know about.

The 1.5% leaves plenty of extra seats that are filled by the regular admissions practices. Schools like Carson and Rocky Run and Longfellow still had 50 or so kids admitted, which is well above their alloted 1.5%.

The reality is that less then 10% of the kids in the Country will take Algebra Honors in 7th grade. I get this number by looking at the 20% of the kids in AAP and reports that only half of those kids will qualify for Algebra Honors in 7th and not all of the kids who qualify will take Algebra Honors in 7th. There are also kids in Advanced Math so I am sort of filling the gaps with the Advanced Math only kids. I am not sure what the percentage of kids take Algebra Honors in 8th grade but I would guess it is about the same number who took Algebra Honors in 7th. I understand that people on this board think that the math sequence is too easy but there are lots of kids who struggle with math and most will

Plenty of kids take Honors classes and don't get a 3.5. You all seem to think that these are easy targets to hit but they are not.

With so few kids qualifying for Algebra Honors in 7th and needing a 3.5 the standard is rigorous enough.

Your issue is that FCPS is trying to spread the seats throughout the county instead of concentrating the seats in 4-5 schools that happen to have a higher SES and more Asian and White kids. I am fine with the standard and with the seats being distributed so that access is available across the county.

And no, electing Youngkin isn't going to change a damn thing because TJ is still administered by FCPS and the Republican Party has not been traditionally a bastion of Public School, education loving individuals.

I wouldn’t be so sure about that. TJ only exists because a Republican Board of Supervisors in Fairfax County wanted a STEM magnet years ago, and Youngkin is very close with the Coalition for TJ folks like Harry Jackson and Asra Nomani. He was at an awards banquet getting his picture taken with Nomani a few days ago. They helped get him elected by cutting into the Democratic margins in NoVa and he won’t quickly forget them.

Glenn Youngkin got exactly what he wanted from those constituencies and is no longer beholden to them because VA governors are not eligible for re-election. Public schools are not going to be a priority in a Youngkin administration except inasmuch as he will push for school vouchers to funnel public money into private schools. He does not care one bit about TJ. BUT wealthy Asian-American families will benefit from his governorship in the form of lower taxes. Less wealthy Asian-American families will suffer from poorer working conditions and less well-funded public schools, but those will almost exclusively be East and Southeast Asian families - which are not representative of the folks who troll these boards.

I think you're reading the room about as well as Terry McAuliffe and his campaign staff did, but we'll see.

That doesn't mean that PP is wrong. TM didn't win because he didn't spin parent fears into a campaign platform. TM didn't tell you want you wanted to hear because what you wanted to hear was BS.

I am the PP. Youngkin did what he needed to do to develop a winning coalition. He no longer needs it, so he can return to his priorities of cutting taxes and regulations for businesses and the wealthy at the expense of everyone else. This is not a guy who cares about TJ or public schools in ANY way.

You act like Virginia is something Youngkin just acquired for Carlyle and is now looking to sell off in pieces, but I think you're quite wrong. There are few things Youngkin could do to fracture the coalition that got him elected more quickly than turning a blind eye to the "mama bear/papa bear" types, and that group cares a great deal about reversing the anti-meritocratic trends in public education.

He is not eligible for re-election until 2029, by which time Virginia will have changed remarkably. It does not matter if he fractures that coalition. What matters to him is that a) he relieves taxes and regulations on businesses and wealthy people, and b) rigs future elections so that they will turn in favor of the next Republican candidate.

+1. The goal is to no longer need the mama and papa bears. Republicans are not interested in solving perceived issues in public education - they are interested in DEFUNDING and ELIMINATING public education.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It guarantees spots to kids at every Middle School who has an interest and meets the general requirements. It makes TJ representative of all of FCPS by insuring that qualified kids from each MS have an opportunity to attend.

That 1.5% has to have met the basic criteria

1) 3.5 GPA (The average GPA last year was a 3.98)
2) Completed or taking Algebra Honors and at least one other Honors Math class (7th Grade Honors or Geometry Honors)
3) Completed 2 years of Honors Science
4) Completed at least 2 other Honors classes (History, English)
5) Successfully completed the math essay

And what happens if some schools have more kids meeting the basic criteria? How are they going to select 1.5% then?

So in a high income neighborhood, 1.5% will be easily filled by top 2% kids with very high GPA and other criteria. In another neighborhood, where there are many Farms 1.5% will be filled by kids who barely fulfill the criteria. It will be easier to get in TJ from those schools. This is called Equity and another kind of racism.

No, the real answer is:

Kids who meet the base criteria will do well at TJ. These are the requirements that are stringent and stick to classes and requirements that can be achieved at every Middle School and do not require kids to participate in outside activities that they cannot afford or get to or even know about.

The 1.5% leaves plenty of extra seats that are filled by the regular admissions practices. Schools like Carson and Rocky Run and Longfellow still had 50 or so kids admitted, which is well above their alloted 1.5%.

The reality is that less then 10% of the kids in the Country will take Algebra Honors in 7th grade. I get this number by looking at the 20% of the kids in AAP and reports that only half of those kids will qualify for Algebra Honors in 7th and not all of the kids who qualify will take Algebra Honors in 7th. There are also kids in Advanced Math so I am sort of filling the gaps with the Advanced Math only kids. I am not sure what the percentage of kids take Algebra Honors in 8th grade but I would guess it is about the same number who took Algebra Honors in 7th. I understand that people on this board think that the math sequence is too easy but there are lots of kids who struggle with math and most will

Plenty of kids take Honors classes and don't get a 3.5. You all seem to think that these are easy targets to hit but they are not.

With so few kids qualifying for Algebra Honors in 7th and needing a 3.5 the standard is rigorous enough.

Your issue is that FCPS is trying to spread the seats throughout the county instead of concentrating the seats in 4-5 schools that happen to have a higher SES and more Asian and White kids. I am fine with the standard and with the seats being distributed so that access is available across the county.

And no, electing Youngkin isn't going to change a damn thing because TJ is still administered by FCPS and the Republican Party has not been traditionally a bastion of Public School, education loving individuals.

I wouldn’t be so sure about that. TJ only exists because a Republican Board of Supervisors in Fairfax County wanted a STEM magnet years ago, and Youngkin is very close with the Coalition for TJ folks like Harry Jackson and Asra Nomani. He was at an awards banquet getting his picture taken with Nomani a few days ago. They helped get him elected by cutting into the Democratic margins in NoVa and he won’t quickly forget them.

Glenn Youngkin got exactly what he wanted from those constituencies and is no longer beholden to them because VA governors are not eligible for re-election. Public schools are not going to be a priority in a Youngkin administration except inasmuch as he will push for school vouchers to funnel public money into private schools. He does not care one bit about TJ. BUT wealthy Asian-American families will benefit from his governorship in the form of lower taxes. Less wealthy Asian-American families will suffer from poorer working conditions and less well-funded public schools, but those will almost exclusively be East and Southeast Asian families - which are not representative of the folks who troll these boards.

I think you're reading the room about as well as Terry McAuliffe and his campaign staff did, but we'll see.

That doesn't mean that PP is wrong. TM didn't win because he didn't spin parent fears into a campaign platform. TM didn't tell you want you wanted to hear because what you wanted to hear was BS.

I am the PP. Youngkin did what he needed to do to develop a winning coalition. He no longer needs it, so he can return to his priorities of cutting taxes and regulations for businesses and the wealthy at the expense of everyone else. This is not a guy who cares about TJ or public schools in ANY way.

You act like Virginia is something Youngkin just acquired for Carlyle and is now looking to sell off in pieces, but I think you're quite wrong. There are few things Youngkin could do to fracture the coalition that got him elected more quickly than turning a blind eye to the "mama bear/papa bear" types, and that group cares a great deal about reversing the anti-meritocratic trends in public education.

He is not eligible for re-election until 2029, by which time Virginia will have changed remarkably. It does not matter if he fractures that coalition. What matters to him is that a) he relieves taxes and regulations on businesses and wealthy people, and b) rigs future elections so that they will turn in favor of the next Republican candidate.

+1. The goal is to no longer need the mama and papa bears. Republicans are not interested in solving perceived issues in public education - they are interested in DEFUNDING and ELIMINATING public education.

I think that part of the problem is that too many Democrats aren't smart enough to think abstractly. As a result, we end up with these concrete associations, like Democrat = {science, education, human rights}, which end up defeating all of the above by imbuing them a political polarity. On one hand, it ends up spawning an organic resistance to the previously uncontroversial, because now its political. On the other, those institutions lose influence because although their premises are neutral and universal, they're now harder to separate from the motives of political cliques. It plays out as an increasingly divisive society.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It guarantees spots to kids at every Middle School who has an interest and meets the general requirements. It makes TJ representative of all of FCPS by insuring that qualified kids from each MS have an opportunity to attend.

That 1.5% has to have met the basic criteria

1) 3.5 GPA (The average GPA last year was a 3.98)
2) Completed or taking Algebra Honors and at least one other Honors Math class (7th Grade Honors or Geometry Honors)
3) Completed 2 years of Honors Science
4) Completed at least 2 other Honors classes (History, English)
5) Successfully completed the math essay

And what happens if some schools have more kids meeting the basic criteria? How are they going to select 1.5% then?

So in a high income neighborhood, 1.5% will be easily filled by top 2% kids with very high GPA and other criteria. In another neighborhood, where there are many Farms 1.5% will be filled by kids who barely fulfill the criteria. It will be easier to get in TJ from those schools. This is called Equity and another kind of racism.

No, the real answer is:

Kids who meet the base criteria will do well at TJ. These are the requirements that are stringent and stick to classes and requirements that can be achieved at every Middle School and do not require kids to participate in outside activities that they cannot afford or get to or even know about.

The 1.5% leaves plenty of extra seats that are filled by the regular admissions practices. Schools like Carson and Rocky Run and Longfellow still had 50 or so kids admitted, which is well above their alloted 1.5%.

The reality is that less then 10% of the kids in the Country will take Algebra Honors in 7th grade. I get this number by looking at the 20% of the kids in AAP and reports that only half of those kids will qualify for Algebra Honors in 7th and not all of the kids who qualify will take Algebra Honors in 7th. There are also kids in Advanced Math so I am sort of filling the gaps with the Advanced Math only kids. I am not sure what the percentage of kids take Algebra Honors in 8th grade but I would guess it is about the same number who took Algebra Honors in 7th. I understand that people on this board think that the math sequence is too easy but there are lots of kids who struggle with math and most will

Plenty of kids take Honors classes and don't get a 3.5. You all seem to think that these are easy targets to hit but they are not.

With so few kids qualifying for Algebra Honors in 7th and needing a 3.5 the standard is rigorous enough.

Your issue is that FCPS is trying to spread the seats throughout the county instead of concentrating the seats in 4-5 schools that happen to have a higher SES and more Asian and White kids. I am fine with the standard and with the seats being distributed so that access is available across the county.

And no, electing Youngkin isn't going to change a damn thing because TJ is still administered by FCPS and the Republican Party has not been traditionally a bastion of Public School, education loving individuals.

I wouldn’t be so sure about that. TJ only exists because a Republican Board of Supervisors in Fairfax County wanted a STEM magnet years ago, and Youngkin is very close with the Coalition for TJ folks like Harry Jackson and Asra Nomani. He was at an awards banquet getting his picture taken with Nomani a few days ago. They helped get him elected by cutting into the Democratic margins in NoVa and he won’t quickly forget them.

Glenn Youngkin got exactly what he wanted from those constituencies and is no longer beholden to them because VA governors are not eligible for re-election. Public schools are not going to be a priority in a Youngkin administration except inasmuch as he will push for school vouchers to funnel public money into private schools. He does not care one bit about TJ. BUT wealthy Asian-American families will benefit from his governorship in the form of lower taxes. Less wealthy Asian-American families will suffer from poorer working conditions and less well-funded public schools, but those will almost exclusively be East and Southeast Asian families - which are not representative of the folks who troll these boards.

I think you're reading the room about as well as Terry McAuliffe and his campaign staff did, but we'll see.

That doesn't mean that PP is wrong. TM didn't win because he didn't spin parent fears into a campaign platform. TM didn't tell you want you wanted to hear because what you wanted to hear was BS.

I am the PP. Youngkin did what he needed to do to develop a winning coalition. He no longer needs it, so he can return to his priorities of cutting taxes and regulations for businesses and the wealthy at the expense of everyone else. This is not a guy who cares about TJ or public schools in ANY way.

You act like Virginia is something Youngkin just acquired for Carlyle and is now looking to sell off in pieces, but I think you're quite wrong. There are few things Youngkin could do to fracture the coalition that got him elected more quickly than turning a blind eye to the "mama bear/papa bear" types, and that group cares a great deal about reversing the anti-meritocratic trends in public education.

He is not eligible for re-election until 2029, by which time Virginia will have changed remarkably. It does not matter if he fractures that coalition. What matters to him is that a) he relieves taxes and regulations on businesses and wealthy people, and b) rigs future elections so that they will turn in favor of the next Republican candidate.

+1. The goal is to no longer need the mama and papa bears. Republicans are not interested in solving perceived issues in public education - they are interested in DEFUNDING and ELIMINATING public education.

I think that part of the problem is that too many Democrats aren't smart enough to think abstractly. As a result, we end up with these concrete associations, like Democrat = {science, education, human rights}, which end up defeating all of the above by imbuing them a political polarity. On one hand, it ends up spawning an organic resistance to the previously uncontroversial, because now its political. On the other, those institutions lose influence because although their premises are neutral and universal, they're now harder to separate from the motives of political cliques. It plays out as an increasingly divisive society.

Counterpoint:

The problem is that too many people don’t understand the ultimate aims of political actors and how they go about getting what they want.

Nice thinkpiece though.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Does this mean the top 1.5% in GPA from your middle school automatically get an offer of admission?

"A holistic review would measure each student’s likelihood of success while giving credit for factors that evinced underrepresentation, such as coming from a home where English is the second language. The big difference would be that the top 1.5 percent of students of each middle school in terms of GPA would automatically be admitted to TJ. The class would also be expanded by 70 students to 550[i]."

https://northernvirginiamag.com/family/education/2021/11/11/thomas-jefferson-high-school-admissions/

within your local school silly to ensure greater diversity

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It guarantees spots to kids at every Middle School who has an interest and meets the general requirements. It makes TJ representative of all of FCPS by insuring that qualified kids from each MS have an opportunity to attend.

That 1.5% has to have met the basic criteria

1) 3.5 GPA (The average GPA last year was a 3.98)
2) Completed or taking Algebra Honors and at least one other Honors Math class (7th Grade Honors or Geometry Honors)
3) Completed 2 years of Honors Science
4) Completed at least 2 other Honors classes (History, English)
5) Successfully completed the math essay

And what happens if some schools have more kids meeting the basic criteria? How are they going to select 1.5% then?

So in a high income neighborhood, 1.5% will be easily filled by top 2% kids with very high GPA and other criteria. In another neighborhood, where there are many Farms 1.5% will be filled by kids who barely fulfill the criteria. It will be easier to get in TJ from those schools. This is called Equity and another kind of racism.

No, the real answer is:

Kids who meet the base criteria will do well at TJ. These are the requirements that are stringent and stick to classes and requirements that can be achieved at every Middle School and do not require kids to participate in outside activities that they cannot afford or get to or even know about.

The 1.5% leaves plenty of extra seats that are filled by the regular admissions practices. Schools like Carson and Rocky Run and Longfellow still had 50 or so kids admitted, which is well above their alloted 1.5%.

The reality is that less then 10% of the kids in the Country will take Algebra Honors in 7th grade. I get this number by looking at the 20% of the kids in AAP and reports that only half of those kids will qualify for Algebra Honors in 7th and not all of the kids who qualify will take Algebra Honors in 7th. There are also kids in Advanced Math so I am sort of filling the gaps with the Advanced Math only kids. I am not sure what the percentage of kids take Algebra Honors in 8th grade but I would guess it is about the same number who took Algebra Honors in 7th. I understand that people on this board think that the math sequence is too easy but there are lots of kids who struggle with math and most will

Plenty of kids take Honors classes and don't get a 3.5. You all seem to think that these are easy targets to hit but they are not.

With so few kids qualifying for Algebra Honors in 7th and needing a 3.5 the standard is rigorous enough.

Your issue is that FCPS is trying to spread the seats throughout the county instead of concentrating the seats in 4-5 schools that happen to have a higher SES and more Asian and White kids. I am fine with the standard and with the seats being distributed so that access is available across the county.

And no, electing Youngkin isn't going to change a damn thing because TJ is still administered by FCPS and the Republican Party has not been traditionally a bastion of Public School, education loving individuals.

I wouldn’t be so sure about that. TJ only exists because a Republican Board of Supervisors in Fairfax County wanted a STEM magnet years ago, and Youngkin is very close with the Coalition for TJ folks like Harry Jackson and Asra Nomani. He was at an awards banquet getting his picture taken with Nomani a few days ago. They helped get him elected by cutting into the Democratic margins in NoVa and he won’t quickly forget them.

Glenn Youngkin got exactly what he wanted from those constituencies and is no longer beholden to them because VA governors are not eligible for re-election. Public schools are not going to be a priority in a Youngkin administration except inasmuch as he will push for school vouchers to funnel public money into private schools. He does not care one bit about TJ. BUT wealthy Asian-American families will benefit from his governorship in the form of lower taxes. Less wealthy Asian-American families will suffer from poorer working conditions and less well-funded public schools, but those will almost exclusively be East and Southeast Asian families - which are not representative of the folks who troll these boards.

I think you're reading the room about as well as Terry McAuliffe and his campaign staff did, but we'll see.

That doesn't mean that PP is wrong. TM didn't win because he didn't spin parent fears into a campaign platform. TM didn't tell you want you wanted to hear because what you wanted to hear was BS.

I am the PP. Youngkin did what he needed to do to develop a winning coalition. He no longer needs it, so he can return to his priorities of cutting taxes and regulations for businesses and the wealthy at the expense of everyone else. This is not a guy who cares about TJ or public schools in ANY way.

You act like Virginia is something Youngkin just acquired for Carlyle and is now looking to sell off in pieces, but I think you're quite wrong. There are few things Youngkin could do to fracture the coalition that got him elected more quickly than turning a blind eye to the "mama bear/papa bear" types, and that group cares a great deal about reversing the anti-meritocratic trends in public education.

He is not eligible for re-election until 2029, by which time Virginia will have changed remarkably. It does not matter if he fractures that coalition. What matters to him is that a) he relieves taxes and regulations on businesses and wealthy people, and b) rigs future elections so that they will turn in favor of the next Republican candidate.

+1. The goal is to no longer need the mama and papa bears. Republicans are not interested in solving perceived issues in public education - they are interested in DEFUNDING and ELIMINATING public education.

Doubt it. They talk about vouchers and defunding public education in the same way that Democrats talk about defunding the police. It’s a way to suggest that institutions that aren’t delivering services effectively or fairly need serious reform. And the last several years have shown Democrats are incompetent, bumbling hypocrites when it comes to running and overseeing public schools.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

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Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It guarantees spots to kids at every Middle School who has an interest and meets the general requirements. It makes TJ representative of all of FCPS by insuring that qualified kids from each MS have an opportunity to attend.

That 1.5% has to have met the basic criteria

1) 3.5 GPA (The average GPA last year was a 3.98)
2) Completed or taking Algebra Honors and at least one other Honors Math class (7th Grade Honors or Geometry Honors)
3) Completed 2 years of Honors Science
4) Completed at least 2 other Honors classes (History, English)
5) Successfully completed the math essay

And what happens if some schools have more kids meeting the basic criteria? How are they going to select 1.5% then?

So in a high income neighborhood, 1.5% will be easily filled by top 2% kids with very high GPA and other criteria. In another neighborhood, where there are many Farms 1.5% will be filled by kids who barely fulfill the criteria. It will be easier to get in TJ from those schools. This is called Equity and another kind of racism.

No, the real answer is:

Kids who meet the base criteria will do well at TJ. These are the requirements that are stringent and stick to classes and requirements that can be achieved at every Middle School and do not require kids to participate in outside activities that they cannot afford or get to or even know about.

The 1.5% leaves plenty of extra seats that are filled by the regular admissions practices. Schools like Carson and Rocky Run and Longfellow still had 50 or so kids admitted, which is well above their alloted 1.5%.

The reality is that less then 10% of the kids in the Country will take Algebra Honors in 7th grade. I get this number by looking at the 20% of the kids in AAP and reports that only half of those kids will qualify for Algebra Honors in 7th and not all of the kids who qualify will take Algebra Honors in 7th. There are also kids in Advanced Math so I am sort of filling the gaps with the Advanced Math only kids. I am not sure what the percentage of kids take Algebra Honors in 8th grade but I would guess it is about the same number who took Algebra Honors in 7th. I understand that people on this board think that the math sequence is too easy but there are lots of kids who struggle with math and most will

Plenty of kids take Honors classes and don't get a 3.5. You all seem to think that these are easy targets to hit but they are not.

With so few kids qualifying for Algebra Honors in 7th and needing a 3.5 the standard is rigorous enough.

Your issue is that FCPS is trying to spread the seats throughout the county instead of concentrating the seats in 4-5 schools that happen to have a higher SES and more Asian and White kids. I am fine with the standard and with the seats being distributed so that access is available across the county.

And no, electing Youngkin isn't going to change a damn thing because TJ is still administered by FCPS and the Republican Party has not been traditionally a bastion of Public School, education loving individuals.

I wouldn’t be so sure about that. TJ only exists because a Republican Board of Supervisors in Fairfax County wanted a STEM magnet years ago, and Youngkin is very close with the Coalition for TJ folks like Harry Jackson and Asra Nomani. He was at an awards banquet getting his picture taken with Nomani a few days ago. They helped get him elected by cutting into the Democratic margins in NoVa and he won’t quickly forget them.

Glenn Youngkin got exactly what he wanted from those constituencies and is no longer beholden to them because VA governors are not eligible for re-election. Public schools are not going to be a priority in a Youngkin administration except inasmuch as he will push for school vouchers to funnel public money into private schools. He does not care one bit about TJ. BUT wealthy Asian-American families will benefit from his governorship in the form of lower taxes. Less wealthy Asian-American families will suffer from poorer working conditions and less well-funded public schools, but those will almost exclusively be East and Southeast Asian families - which are not representative of the folks who troll these boards.

I think you're reading the room about as well as Terry McAuliffe and his campaign staff did, but we'll see.

That doesn't mean that PP is wrong. TM didn't win because he didn't spin parent fears into a campaign platform. TM didn't tell you want you wanted to hear because what you wanted to hear was BS.

I am the PP. Youngkin did what he needed to do to develop a winning coalition. He no longer needs it, so he can return to his priorities of cutting taxes and regulations for businesses and the wealthy at the expense of everyone else. This is not a guy who cares about TJ or public schools in ANY way.

You act like Virginia is something Youngkin just acquired for Carlyle and is now looking to sell off in pieces, but I think you're quite wrong. There are few things Youngkin could do to fracture the coalition that got him elected more quickly than turning a blind eye to the "mama bear/papa bear" types, and that group cares a great deal about reversing the anti-meritocratic trends in public education.

He is not eligible for re-election until 2029, by which time Virginia will have changed remarkably. It does not matter if he fractures that coalition. What matters to him is that a) he relieves taxes and regulations on businesses and wealthy people, and b) rigs future elections so that they will turn in favor of the next Republican candidate.

+1. The goal is to no longer need the mama and papa bears. Republicans are not interested in solving perceived issues in public education - they are interested in DEFUNDING and ELIMINATING public education.

Doubt it. They talk about vouchers and defunding public education in the same way that Democrats talk about defunding the police. It’s a way to suggest that institutions that aren’t delivering services effectively or fairly need serious reform. And the last several years have shown Democrats are incompetent, bumbling hypocrites when it comes to running and overseeing public schools.

Completely disagree. I think you are correct about a very small percentage of reasonable Republicans, but when the vast majority of Republicans/conservatives talk about "defunding" something, they are talking about reducing the public funds available for it to literally zero. See: Planned Parenthood.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It guarantees spots to kids at every Middle School who has an interest and meets the general requirements. It makes TJ representative of all of FCPS by insuring that qualified kids from each MS have an opportunity to attend.

That 1.5% has to have met the basic criteria

1) 3.5 GPA (The average GPA last year was a 3.98)
2) Completed or taking Algebra Honors and at least one other Honors Math class (7th Grade Honors or Geometry Honors)
3) Completed 2 years of Honors Science
4) Completed at least 2 other Honors classes (History, English)
5) Successfully completed the math essay

And what happens if some schools have more kids meeting the basic criteria? How are they going to select 1.5% then?

So in a high income neighborhood, 1.5% will be easily filled by top 2% kids with very high GPA and other criteria. In another neighborhood, where there are many Farms 1.5% will be filled by kids who barely fulfill the criteria. It will be easier to get in TJ from those schools. This is called Equity and another kind of racism.

No, the real answer is:

Kids who meet the base criteria will do well at TJ. These are the requirements that are stringent and stick to classes and requirements that can be achieved at every Middle School and do not require kids to participate in outside activities that they cannot afford or get to or even know about.

The 1.5% leaves plenty of extra seats that are filled by the regular admissions practices. Schools like Carson and Rocky Run and Longfellow still had 50 or so kids admitted, which is well above their alloted 1.5%.

The reality is that less then 10% of the kids in the Country will take Algebra Honors in 7th grade. I get this number by looking at the 20% of the kids in AAP and reports that only half of those kids will qualify for Algebra Honors in 7th and not all of the kids who qualify will take Algebra Honors in 7th. There are also kids in Advanced Math so I am sort of filling the gaps with the Advanced Math only kids. I am not sure what the percentage of kids take Algebra Honors in 8th grade but I would guess it is about the same number who took Algebra Honors in 7th. I understand that people on this board think that the math sequence is too easy but there are lots of kids who struggle with math and most will

Plenty of kids take Honors classes and don't get a 3.5. You all seem to think that these are easy targets to hit but they are not.

With so few kids qualifying for Algebra Honors in 7th and needing a 3.5 the standard is rigorous enough.

Your issue is that FCPS is trying to spread the seats throughout the county instead of concentrating the seats in 4-5 schools that happen to have a higher SES and more Asian and White kids. I am fine with the standard and with the seats being distributed so that access is available across the county.

And no, electing Youngkin isn't going to change a damn thing because TJ is still administered by FCPS and the Republican Party has not been traditionally a bastion of Public School, education loving individuals.

I wouldn’t be so sure about that. TJ only exists because a Republican Board of Supervisors in Fairfax County wanted a STEM magnet years ago, and Youngkin is very close with the Coalition for TJ folks like Harry Jackson and Asra Nomani. He was at an awards banquet getting his picture taken with Nomani a few days ago. They helped get him elected by cutting into the Democratic margins in NoVa and he won’t quickly forget them.

Glenn Youngkin got exactly what he wanted from those constituencies and is no longer beholden to them because VA governors are not eligible for re-election. Public schools are not going to be a priority in a Youngkin administration except inasmuch as he will push for school vouchers to funnel public money into private schools. He does not care one bit about TJ. BUT wealthy Asian-American families will benefit from his governorship in the form of lower taxes. Less wealthy Asian-American families will suffer from poorer working conditions and less well-funded public schools, but those will almost exclusively be East and Southeast Asian families - which are not representative of the folks who troll these boards.

I think you're reading the room about as well as Terry McAuliffe and his campaign staff did, but we'll see.

That doesn't mean that PP is wrong. TM didn't win because he didn't spin parent fears into a campaign platform. TM didn't tell you want you wanted to hear because what you wanted to hear was BS.

I am the PP. Youngkin did what he needed to do to develop a winning coalition. He no longer needs it, so he can return to his priorities of cutting taxes and regulations for businesses and the wealthy at the expense of everyone else. This is not a guy who cares about TJ or public schools in ANY way.

You act like Virginia is something Youngkin just acquired for Carlyle and is now looking to sell off in pieces, but I think you're quite wrong. There are few things Youngkin could do to fracture the coalition that got him elected more quickly than turning a blind eye to the "mama bear/papa bear" types, and that group cares a great deal about reversing the anti-meritocratic trends in public education.

He is not eligible for re-election until 2029, by which time Virginia will have changed remarkably. It does not matter if he fractures that coalition. What matters to him is that a) he relieves taxes and regulations on businesses and wealthy people, and b) rigs future elections so that they will turn in favor of the next Republican candidate.

+1. The goal is to no longer need the mama and papa bears. Republicans are not interested in solving perceived issues in public education - they are interested in DEFUNDING and ELIMINATING public education.

Doubt it. They talk about vouchers and defunding public education in the same way that Democrats talk about defunding the police. It’s a way to suggest that institutions that aren’t delivering services effectively or fairly need serious reform. And the last several years have shown Democrats are incompetent, bumbling hypocrites when it comes to running and overseeing public schools.

Completely disagree. I think you are correct about a very small percentage of reasonable Republicans, but when the vast majority of Republicans/conservatives talk about "defunding" something, they are talking about reducing the public funds available for it to literally zero. See: Planned Parenthood.

I think it's the exact opposite, with a very small percentage of Republicans wanting to reduce public funding for education to "literally zero" and the majority invested in public education (more so, in fact, than the Democratic elites who dominate private school enrollment in coastal areas) and wishing to refocus public schools on core academics.

In any case, the Democrats in charge of school systems like FCPS are running them into the ground, so change needs to occur soon.