TJ results

[Anonymous]

You mean like the Algebra 1 SOL, the only class they have all taken? That won’t make you happy, you want something that points to how kids who are farther ahead in math are better then the kids in A1 or Geometry. You want something that can be prepped.

[Anonymous]

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Anonymous wrote:The tests and recs would end up looking similar. Asking teachers at some of the MS to write recs or do evaluations would mean no time for grading. How many kids apply from Carson, Longfellow, Cooper, Rocky Run, Kathrine Johnson and some of the others?

Mathcounts scores for winners, top 12, and the top 20 are separated by one or two answers.

If you are upset by this process, you are likely to be devastated by the College process in 4 years. When you have the number of applicants that apply to TJ, or the colleges I know you are targeting, the results are not going to be easily understood. Like it or not, there were 2,762 kids that met the criteria that the County set and the vast majority of those kids are 4.0 students in Geometry or A2H. They can’t all make it in.

Are you saying that testing would not result in a materially different entering class? Because that sounds pretty unlikely to me.

I think that most of the kids with A1H only and lower GPAs are coming from the schools filling quota and fewer from the feeder schools. I think that you have a lot of kids that look very similar on paper and tests are not going to change that because these are kids who excel in STEM and many have experience in competitions, math or science based. My kid is at Carson and participate in the STEM clubs, the kids who got in are not that different then the kids waitlisted. I could not tell you why the ones who got in where selected over the kids who were waitlisted.

The waitliested kids should've taken the essay writing class @Curie. My neighbor said it was like the golden ticket.

There are 500+ stuidents who are taking this at Curie. Admit rate is virtually identical to the overall rate!

Yeah, that is BS and you know it. My kid has never taken a class at Curie and he was admitted. And plenty of places offer essay writing prep. It is not a surprise that kids take the classes, some take them because their parents make them, some ask to take them. I am guessing a good number of kids prepped for the writing element.

I would guess that a good number of waitlisted kids took the prep classes. The kid I am thinking of took summer geometry and a writing class. I know for a fact that not all the kids in Carsons A2H class were accepted, a good number were waitlisted.

We don’t know how they distinguish the kids who are accepted from the kids who are waitlisted and who are not accepted. And all the ways that people suggest to try and make it more fair are 1) deemed unfair by someone else 2) gamable. And even if they do chose the kids that everyone thinks are amazing, some of those kids will struggle. Just like happened in A1H in 7th. Even with the IAAT and Passing Advance on the SOL and high iReady scores, there were kids who took A1H and struggled.

There is no perfect system. I am sorry your kid didn’t get in, that would hurt. But they might not have gotten in under whatever system you think is best because 2,762 kids applied for 550 seats. Some great candidates were going to not make the cut.

Bunch of kids we know were at Curie… some spending entire days there. They didn’t get in. Even other top preps. Waitlisted.

Just entire day, what about evening and night?

What Curie location? DC finds their math curriculum extremely difficult, dropped midway.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:You mean like the Algebra 1 SOL, the only class they have all taken? That won’t make you happy, you want something that points to how kids who are farther ahead in math are better then the kids in A1 or Geometry. You want something that can be prepped.

Hot take:

Anyone taking algebra in 8th grade shouldn't go to TJ.

You will max out with Calculus BC/Physics in your senior year.

The 8/9 PSAT exists.

The SHSAT exists.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:You mean like the Algebra 1 SOL, the only class they have all taken? That won’t make you happy, you want something that points to how kids who are farther ahead in math are better then the kids in A1 or Geometry. You want something that can be prepped.

Pretty much anyone can max SOL. There is no time limit.

[Anonymous]

Tonight was preview night.

To the admitted parents / students: how did it go? Did it influence your choice (either way?).

If you don’t mind sharing your thoughts, how could we improve the experience next year?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The tests and recs would end up looking similar. Asking teachers at some of the MS to write recs or do evaluations would mean no time for grading. How many kids apply from Carson, Longfellow, Cooper, Rocky Run, Kathrine Johnson and some of the others?

Mathcounts scores for winners, top 12, and the top 20 are separated by one or two answers.

If you are upset by this process, you are likely to be devastated by the College process in 4 years. When you have the number of applicants that apply to TJ, or the colleges I know you are targeting, the results are not going to be easily understood. Like it or not, there were 2,762 kids that met the criteria that the County set and the vast majority of those kids are 4.0 students in Geometry or A2H. They can’t all make it in.

Are you saying that testing would not result in a materially different entering class? Because that sounds pretty unlikely to me.

I think that most of the kids with A1H only and lower GPAs are coming from the schools filling quota and fewer from the feeder schools. I think that you have a lot of kids that look very similar on paper and tests are not going to change that because these are kids who excel in STEM and many have experience in competitions, math or science based. My kid is at Carson and participate in the STEM clubs, the kids who got in are not that different then the kids waitlisted. I could not tell you why the ones who got in where selected over the kids who were waitlisted.

The waitliested kids should've taken the essay writing class @Curie. My neighbor said it was like the golden ticket.

There are 500+ stuidents who are taking this at Curie. Admit rate is virtually identical to the overall rate!

Wow. We’re coming from Arlington and I haven’t even heard of this. I must not be in the right circles

Seriously? RSM sent out invites to all the 8th graders at RSM that they were having a 4 week writing class for TJ. Curie is a well known prep program. I would bet that there were plenty of other options out there if you had goggled. People were asking for recommendations on how to prepare on this site. Heck, there are Youtube videos.

We didn't end up needing it, got in from APS

I am sure a good number of the kids who were accepted didn’t take a class. DS did, he knows that writing isn’t his strong suit. We saw it as a positive because he writing would improve due to practice and direct feedback, which would be useful whether he got in to TJ or not. He was accepted amd his writing has improved. Win-Win.

You should take the class, too.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Tonight was preview night.

To the admitted parents / students: how did it go? Did it influence your choice (either way?).

If you don’t mind sharing your thoughts, how could we improve the experience next year?

Preview night was last Thursday.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Tonight was preview night.

To the admitted parents / students: how did it go? Did it influence your choice (either way?).

If you don’t mind sharing your thoughts, how could we improve the experience next year?

Preview night was Thursday. Honestly, it was chaotic and hard to navigate. I wish the parents had let their kids ask more questions instead of the parents dominating conversation with the Teachers. I am not a huge fan of the booth with people swarming, I would think classrooms with a 10 minute presentation and time for questions would work better but what do I know. My kid knew they would be attending and was more trying to figure out summer school classes, what language to take, and trying to better understand the pathways for senior research. We were also disappointed that none of the clubs were there, only the sports teams and language clubs were present.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:You mean like the Algebra 1 SOL, the only class they have all taken? That won’t make you happy, you want something that points to how kids who are farther ahead in math are better then the kids in A1 or Geometry. You want something that can be prepped.

Hot take:

Anyone taking algebra in 8th grade shouldn't go to TJ.

You will max out with Calculus BC/Physics in your senior year.

The 8/9 PSAT exists.

The SHSAT exists.

I don't disagree with you, the problem is that there are MS were very few kids are in Geometry in 8th grade and the ones who are do not necessarily get great grades in the subject. I would be fine with a weight being given to applications based on the level of math available at a MS. 1 point for the highest level math, .5 for the next level math. Schools that offer A2H, there are not too many, would give those kids a small bump over kids in Geometry. Kids should have to have an A in Math and Science to apply.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:You mean like the Algebra 1 SOL, the only class they have all taken? That won’t make you happy, you want something that points to how kids who are farther ahead in math are better then the kids in A1 or Geometry. You want something that can be prepped.

Hot take:

Anyone taking algebra in 8th grade shouldn't go to TJ.

You will max out with Calculus BC/Physics in your senior year.

The 8/9 PSAT exists.

The SHSAT exists.

I don't disagree with you, the problem is that there are MS were very few kids are in Geometry in 8th grade and the ones who are do not necessarily get great grades in the subject. I would be fine with a weight being given to applications based on the level of math available at a MS. 1 point for the highest level math, .5 for the next level math. Schools that offer A2H, there are not too many, would give those kids a small bump over kids in Geometry. Kids should have to have an A in Math and Science to apply.

if you aren’t in geometry and getting a good grade you should not go to TJ

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Tonight was preview night.

To the admitted parents / students: how did it go? Did it influence your choice (either way?).

If you don’t mind sharing your thoughts, how could we improve the experience next year?

Preview night was Thursday. Honestly, it was chaotic and hard to navigate. I wish the parents had let their kids ask more questions instead of the parents dominating conversation with the Teachers. I am not a huge fan of the booth with people swarming, I would think classrooms with a 10 minute presentation and time for questions would work better but what do I know. My kid knew they would be attending and was more trying to figure out summer school classes, what language to take, and trying to better understand the pathways for senior research. We were also disappointed that none of the clubs were there, only the sports teams and language clubs were present.

It was a bit hard to navigate. It seemed like some people brought their entire family and then they stood around in a circle blocking hallways.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Tonight was preview night.

To the admitted parents / students: how did it go? Did it influence your choice (either way?).

If you don’t mind sharing your thoughts, how could we improve the experience next year?

Preview night was Thursday. Honestly, it was chaotic and hard to navigate. I wish the parents had let their kids ask more questions instead of the parents dominating conversation with the Teachers. I am not a huge fan of the booth with people swarming, I would think classrooms with a 10 minute presentation and time for questions would work better but what do I know. My kid knew they would be attending and was more trying to figure out summer school classes, what language to take, and trying to better understand the pathways for senior research. We were also disappointed that none of the clubs were there, only the sports teams and language clubs were present.

It was a bit hard to navigate. It seemed like some people brought their entire family and then they stood around in a circle blocking hallways.

Yup. There were a lot of people, it was hard to get to talk to someone without being pushy. The gym was a mess, no order to lines for the booster sales tables. I don't mind the informal approach but there needs to be a middle ground between the chaos that was there and formal presentations. Maybe give different group different entry times and add 30 minutes tot he event, that way you get people in and moving through things in smaller groups.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Tonight was preview night.

To the admitted parents / students: how did it go? Did it influence your choice (either way?).

If you don’t mind sharing your thoughts, how could we improve the experience next year?

Preview night was Thursday. Honestly, it was chaotic and hard to navigate. I wish the parents had let their kids ask more questions instead of the parents dominating conversation with the Teachers. I am not a huge fan of the booth with people swarming, I would think classrooms with a 10 minute presentation and time for questions would work better but what do I know. My kid knew they would be attending and was more trying to figure out summer school classes, what language to take, and trying to better understand the pathways for senior research. We were also disappointed that none of the clubs were there, only the sports teams and language clubs were present.

It was a bit hard to navigate. It seemed like some people brought their entire family and then they stood around in a circle blocking hallways.

Yup. There were a lot of people, it was hard to get to talk to someone without being pushy. The gym was a mess, no order to lines for the booster sales tables. I don't mind the informal approach but there needs to be a middle ground between the chaos that was there and formal presentations. Maybe give different group different entry times and add 30 minutes tot he event, that way you get people in and moving through things in smaller groups.

Great suggestions. TJ PTSA needs volunteers just like yourself. Make sure you sign-up for events, leave work early, and stay late. Come with passion, and have a service for others mindset.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Tonight was preview night.

To the admitted parents / students: how did it go? Did it influence your choice (either way?).

If you don’t mind sharing your thoughts, how could we improve the experience next year?

Preview night was Thursday. Honestly, it was chaotic and hard to navigate. I wish the parents had let their kids ask more questions instead of the parents dominating conversation with the Teachers. I am not a huge fan of the booth with people swarming, I would think classrooms with a 10 minute presentation and time for questions would work better but what do I know. My kid knew they would be attending and was more trying to figure out summer school classes, what language to take, and trying to better understand the pathways for senior research. We were also disappointed that none of the clubs were there, only the sports teams and language clubs were present.

With nearly 200 clubs available at TJ, inviting them would be even more chaotic.