TJ 1.5% accepted?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Does TJ automatically accept the top 1.5% of each middle school? When you have many more than 1.5% taking the same classes and getting all A’s, what happens next?

The top 1.5% doesn't refer to GPA or courses taken.
All kids applying to TJ write a bunch of personal essays and a problem solving essay. The essays are graded, and the kids' scores are based on the essay scores, unweighted GPA, and experience factors (FARMS, IEP, ESOL). The unweighted GPA is not a huge factor, and they don't even look at courses taken or math level.

If a school has 600 8th graders, then it is guaranteed 1.5% of 600 = 9 TJ spots. The 9 kids with the highest scores are offered admissions.

But the highest scores are not the smartest or most prepared, due to the new system eliminating math level, objective testing, courses taken and teacher recommendations, correct?

That is correct. They may be the smartest. They may not be. The ranking is mostly based on the essays and experience factors.

+1

The idea was to get as close to a lottery as possible, which was the solution that the FCPS board tried to push the hardest.

Put a low threshold so that many would qualify and then try to keep the information available on the student to the minimum possible. Then, you get closer to the desired "should represent FCPS demographics". The main problem for FCPS board from achieving this is because of self selection bias and the pool of students who are applying do not represent FCPS demographics.

Just like most opportunists who took advantage of the riots in 2020 to pursue their own interests, FCPS board did the same.

Not really.. The idea was to address the rampant cheating that had tainted selection since many were buying early access to the entrance exam.

I am sorry your child did not get in. Please do not be bitter, as it would impact your child.

I understand your frustration and why you are agitated, but calm down for your kids sake.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Does TJ automatically accept the top 1.5% of each middle school? When you have many more than 1.5% taking the same classes and getting all A’s, what happens next?

The top 1.5% doesn't refer to GPA or courses taken.
All kids applying to TJ write a bunch of personal essays and a problem solving essay. The essays are graded, and the kids' scores are based on the essay scores, unweighted GPA, and experience factors (FARMS, IEP, ESOL). The unweighted GPA is not a huge factor, and they don't even look at courses taken or math level.

If a school has 600 8th graders, then it is guaranteed 1.5% of 600 = 9 TJ spots. The 9 kids with the highest scores are offered admissions.

But the highest scores are not the smartest or most prepared, due to the new system eliminating math level, objective testing, courses taken and teacher recommendations, correct?

That is correct. They may be the smartest. They may not be. The ranking is mostly based on the essays and experience factors.

+1

The idea was to get as close to a lottery as possible, which was the solution that the FCPS board tried to push the hardest.

Put a low threshold so that many would qualify and then try to keep the information available on the student to the minimum possible. Then, you get closer to the desired "should represent FCPS demographics". The main problem for FCPS board from achieving this is because of self selection bias and the pool of students who are applying do not represent FCPS demographics.

Just like most opportunists who took advantage of the riots in 2020 to pursue their own interests, FCPS board did the same.

I believe that some of the changes to AAP and TJ were forced by lawsuits from the NCAAP. The County wants to show that the programs are inclusive, hence the local school norms and the 1.5% for each MS. The County really can't do much if kids don't apply and it is clear that the County is not automatically accepting every Black or Hispanic applicant who meets the criteria, a parent just posted that their child was waitlisted from a non-feed MS.

Asian students remain the largest group of applicants, and the largest demographic at the school. There is no surprise there. I won't be surprised if we see a decline in the number of kids applying from the non-feeder schools as there are kids who return to their base schools or struggling in the classes at TJ. I don't have a huge problem with there being a path for kids in taking Algebra 1 H in 8th grade, not every kid who enjoys STEM and is strong in STEM fields figures that out early enough to take a faster math track. Not every MS offers as many sections of Geometry or Algebra II, a good number don't offer Algebra II. Penalizing kids who are smart and interested in STEM because of the ES/MS path that they in isn't fair. I do wish that they had a better system for identifying the top kids coming out of the feeder schools so that there was a bit more weight on the level of math a student is in. That said, I still believe that some of the kids who should have been accepted wrote something in their essays to make it clear they didn't want to go to TJ. The kids who do that are not going to announce that they did it publicly, they are looking for a way to not attend that their families cannot blame on them.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Does TJ automatically accept the top 1.5% of each middle school? When you have many more than 1.5% taking the same classes and getting all A’s, what happens next?

The top 1.5% doesn't refer to GPA or courses taken.
All kids applying to TJ write a bunch of personal essays and a problem solving essay. The essays are graded, and the kids' scores are based on the essay scores, unweighted GPA, and experience factors (FARMS, IEP, ESOL). The unweighted GPA is not a huge factor, and they don't even look at courses taken or math level.

If a school has 600 8th graders, then it is guaranteed 1.5% of 600 = 9 TJ spots. The 9 kids with the highest scores are offered admissions.

But the highest scores are not the smartest or most prepared, due to the new system eliminating math level, objective testing, courses taken and teacher recommendations, correct?

That is correct. They may be the smartest. They may not be. The ranking is mostly based on the essays and experience factors.

+1

The idea was to get as close to a lottery as possible, which was the solution that the FCPS board tried to push the hardest.

Put a low threshold so that many would qualify and then try to keep the information available on the student to the minimum possible. Then, you get closer to the desired "should represent FCPS demographics". The main problem for FCPS board from achieving this is because of self selection bias and the pool of students who are applying do not represent FCPS demographics.

Just like most opportunists who took advantage of the riots in 2020 to pursue their own interests, FCPS board did the same.

Not really.. The idea was to address the rampant cheating that had tainted selection since many were buying early access to the entrance exam.

I am sorry your child did not get in. Please do not be bitter, as it would impact your child.

I understand your frustration and why you are agitated, but calm down for your kids sake.

There were test banks at certain prep schools with questions kids memorized and told the schools. The test banks gave the students at those schools an advantage. We have seen issues with the AMC tests along these lines as well. MathCounts reminds parents to not take pictures of questions and post them because there are kids in other sections taking the tests later. There is plenty of evidence of cheating/unfair advantages in higher level math competitions and tests.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Does TJ automatically accept the top 1.5% of each middle school? When you have many more than 1.5% taking the same classes and getting all A’s, what happens next?

The top 1.5% doesn't refer to GPA or courses taken.
All kids applying to TJ write a bunch of personal essays and a problem solving essay. The essays are graded, and the kids' scores are based on the essay scores, unweighted GPA, and experience factors (FARMS, IEP, ESOL). The unweighted GPA is not a huge factor, and they don't even look at courses taken or math level.

If a school has 600 8th graders, then it is guaranteed 1.5% of 600 = 9 TJ spots. The 9 kids with the highest scores are offered admissions.

But the highest scores are not the smartest or most prepared, due to the new system eliminating math level, objective testing, courses taken and teacher recommendations, correct?

That is correct. They may be the smartest. They may not be. The ranking is mostly based on the essays and experience factors.

+1

The idea was to get as close to a lottery as possible, which was the solution that the FCPS board tried to push the hardest.

Put a low threshold so that many would qualify and then try to keep the information available on the student to the minimum possible. Then, you get closer to the desired "should represent FCPS demographics". The main problem for FCPS board from achieving this is because of self selection bias and the pool of students who are applying do not represent FCPS demographics.

Just like most opportunists who took advantage of the riots in 2020 to pursue their own interests, FCPS board did the same.

Not really.. The idea was to address the rampant cheating that had tainted selection since many were buying early access to the entrance exam.

I am sorry your child did not get in. Please do not be bitter, as it would impact your child.

I understand your frustration and why you are agitated, but calm down for your kids sake.

There were test banks at certain prep schools with questions kids memorized and told the schools. The test banks gave the students at those schools an advantage. We have seen issues with the AMC tests along these lines as well. MathCounts reminds parents to not take pictures of questions and post them because there are kids in other sections taking the tests later. There is plenty of evidence of cheating/unfair advantages in higher level math competitions and tests.

This is silly.

TJ test is all on one day. Studying last year's test is only "cheating" at TJ, because FCPS admin makes idiotic rules

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Does TJ automatically accept the top 1.5% of each middle school? When you have many more than 1.5% taking the same classes and getting all A’s, what happens next?

The top 1.5% doesn't refer to GPA or courses taken.
All kids applying to TJ write a bunch of personal essays and a problem solving essay. The essays are graded, and the kids' scores are based on the essay scores, unweighted GPA, and experience factors (FARMS, IEP, ESOL). The unweighted GPA is not a huge factor, and they don't even look at courses taken or math level.

If a school has 600 8th graders, then it is guaranteed 1.5% of 600 = 9 TJ spots. The 9 kids with the highest scores are offered admissions.

But the highest scores are not the smartest or most prepared, due to the new system eliminating math level, objective testing, courses taken and teacher recommendations, correct?

That is correct. They may be the smartest. They may not be. The ranking is mostly based on the essays and experience factors.

+1

The idea was to get as close to a lottery as possible, which was the solution that the FCPS board tried to push the hardest.

Put a low threshold so that many would qualify and then try to keep the information available on the student to the minimum possible. Then, you get closer to the desired "should represent FCPS demographics". The main problem for FCPS board from achieving this is because of self selection bias and the pool of students who are applying do not represent FCPS demographics.

Just like most opportunists who took advantage of the riots in 2020 to pursue their own interests, FCPS board did the same.

Not really.. The idea was to address the rampant cheating that had tainted selection since many were buying early access to the entrance exam.

I am sorry your child did not get in. Please do not be bitter, as it would impact your child.

I understand your frustration and why you are agitated, but calm down for your kids sake.

There were test banks at certain prep schools with questions kids memorized and told the schools. The test banks gave the students at those schools an advantage. We have seen issues with the AMC tests along these lines as well. MathCounts reminds parents to not take pictures of questions and post them because there are kids in other sections taking the tests later. There is plenty of evidence of cheating/unfair advantages in higher level math competitions and tests.

Students claimed that many of the same questions they had studied from the question bank were used even. It was definitely a big advantage to have seen many of the questions beforehand. I'm glad the school board sought to level the playing field.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Why don’t they have the kids take the SAT? That would be quicker and easier.

scared of an all-out Asian American takeover

Now that makes me wonder if there are cram schools that sell advanced copies of the SAT...

That's because you're racist and can't understand why hard working asian kids do so much better than coddled white kid. It's not all asian kids and it's not all white kids but there is cultural difference in how kids are raised.

NP here. I hope you are aware that the one who sound very racist is actually you.

This is what white people sound like when they have their racism pointed out to them.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Does TJ automatically accept the top 1.5% of each middle school? When you have many more than 1.5% taking the same classes and getting all A’s, what happens next?

The top 1.5% doesn't refer to GPA or courses taken.
All kids applying to TJ write a bunch of personal essays and a problem solving essay. The essays are graded, and the kids' scores are based on the essay scores, unweighted GPA, and experience factors (FARMS, IEP, ESOL). The unweighted GPA is not a huge factor, and they don't even look at courses taken or math level.

If a school has 600 8th graders, then it is guaranteed 1.5% of 600 = 9 TJ spots. The 9 kids with the highest scores are offered admissions.

Only the very best and brightest are selected.

Not true

It's true.

DP
Nobody believes that the current method selects better students than the previous method. Not even you.

Get serious. The previous method just favored people who could afford to purchase the test.

And yet there is no arrest, prosecution or even news story. Just a social media post by a virtue signaling teenager.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Does TJ automatically accept the top 1.5% of each middle school? When you have many more than 1.5% taking the same classes and getting all A’s, what happens next?

The top 1.5% doesn't refer to GPA or courses taken.
All kids applying to TJ write a bunch of personal essays and a problem solving essay. The essays are graded, and the kids' scores are based on the essay scores, unweighted GPA, and experience factors (FARMS, IEP, ESOL). The unweighted GPA is not a huge factor, and they don't even look at courses taken or math level.

If a school has 600 8th graders, then it is guaranteed 1.5% of 600 = 9 TJ spots. The 9 kids with the highest scores are offered admissions.

But the highest scores are not the smartest or most prepared, due to the new system eliminating math level, objective testing, courses taken and teacher recommendations, correct?

That is correct. They may be the smartest. They may not be. The ranking is mostly based on the essays and experience factors.

+1

The idea was to get as close to a lottery as possible, which was the solution that the FCPS board tried to push the hardest.

Put a low threshold so that many would qualify and then try to keep the information available on the student to the minimum possible. Then, you get closer to the desired "should represent FCPS demographics". The main problem for FCPS board from achieving this is because of self selection bias and the pool of students who are applying do not represent FCPS demographics.

Just like most opportunists who took advantage of the riots in 2020 to pursue their own interests, FCPS board did the same.

Not really.. The idea was to address the rampant cheating that had tainted selection since many were buying early access to the entrance exam.

I am sorry your child did not get in. Please do not be bitter, as it would impact your child.

I understand your frustration and why you are agitated, but calm down for your kids sake.

There were test banks at certain prep schools with questions kids memorized and told the schools. The test banks gave the students at those schools an advantage. We have seen issues with the AMC tests along these lines as well. MathCounts reminds parents to not take pictures of questions and post them because there are kids in other sections taking the tests later. There is plenty of evidence of cheating/unfair advantages in higher level math competitions and tests.

as fictional as your stories are, can you dare to name one prep school that did this?

DP but wasn’t it Curie? They used to post the names of all their students who got accepted to TJ and it was close to if not over 100 students every year until the criteria changed.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Yet, what fcps politicians are aiming for and what fcps black students want are at odds. Fcps black students are genuinely and passionately interested in sports but fcps politicians want them to join TJ with lowest math and survive alongside peers who are already two years ahead?

Not true, my point is - black still very minority, yet people like you think they rob the Asian seat bigly.
You don’t believe if poor non asian kid is exist.

A lot more seats went from Asians to whites than from Asians to blacks. This wasn't really about helping black kid

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Yet, what fcps politicians are aiming for and what fcps black students want are at odds. Fcps black students are genuinely and passionately interested in sports but fcps politicians want them to join TJ with lowest math and survive alongside peers who are already two years ahead?

Not true, my point is - black still very minority, yet people like you think they rob the Asian seat bigly.
You don’t believe if poor non asian kid is exist.

Exactly, and then there's the FACT that the largest beneficiary of the selection change were LOW-INCOME (poor) Asians.

There are fewer Asian kid than before. There are more of every other race than before. The largest increase is among white kids. It stands to reason that if you make the process more random then more seats will go to the majority population.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Yet, what fcps politicians are aiming for and what fcps black students want are at odds. Fcps black students are genuinely and passionately interested in sports but fcps politicians want them to join TJ with lowest math and survive alongside peers who are already two years ahead?

Not true, my point is - black still very minority, yet people like you think they rob the Asian seat bigly.
You don’t believe if poor non asian kid is exist.

Exactly, and then there's the FACT that the largest beneficiary of the selection change were LOW-INCOME (poor) Asians.

Mid- or low-income, Asian Americans are willing to put in the hard work to uphold TJ’s reputation. Despite manipulating the admissions process, FCPS finds itself with no choice but to reluctantly select Asian Americans because of their prerequsite STEM strengths. And when other students return to their base schools during or end of freshman year due to TJ rigor, FCPS ends up calling on Asian Americans again to fill those vacated sophomore seats.
No matter how much FCPS aims to reduce the Asian percentage, it reluctantly relies on Asian students for TJ’s continued survival —because others aren't showing similar interest in STEM and willing to put in the effort to learn it.

Very pathetic post
Asian only 30% in 2010 and TJ never need any survival from certain race.
Its open to all human being who loves stem and ready to work hard, and that attitude is not only belong to Asian.
You need to get out of your very tiny bubble.

America celebrates diversity and the unique strengths each ethnicity contributes, whether it's the NHL with a White majority, the NBA with a strong African American presence, or STEM education where Asian Americans are prominently represented.

You compare private for profit sports league to a government school funded by taxpayer.

DP

Excellence and merit do not care about the source of funding.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Does TJ automatically accept the top 1.5% of each middle school? When you have many more than 1.5% taking the same classes and getting all A’s, what happens next?

The top 1.5% doesn't refer to GPA or courses taken.
All kids applying to TJ write a bunch of personal essays and a problem solving essay. The essays are graded, and the kids' scores are based on the essay scores, unweighted GPA, and experience factors (FARMS, IEP, ESOL). The unweighted GPA is not a huge factor, and they don't even look at courses taken or math level.

If a school has 600 8th graders, then it is guaranteed 1.5% of 600 = 9 TJ spots. The 9 kids with the highest scores are offered admissions.

But the highest scores are not the smartest or most prepared, due to the new system eliminating math level, objective testing, courses taken and teacher recommendations, correct?

That is correct. They may be the smartest. They may not be. The ranking is mostly based on the essays and experience factors.

+1

The idea was to get as close to a lottery as possible, which was the solution that the FCPS board tried to push the hardest.

Put a low threshold so that many would qualify and then try to keep the information available on the student to the minimum possible. Then, you get closer to the desired "should represent FCPS demographics". The main problem for FCPS board from achieving this is because of self selection bias and the pool of students who are applying do not represent FCPS demographics.

Just like most opportunists who took advantage of the riots in 2020 to pursue their own interests, FCPS board did the same.

Not really.. The idea was to address the rampant cheating that had tainted selection since many were buying early access to the entrance exam.

It was almost entirely about race. If people were buying the test, there world have at least been news stories. This myth about buying the test comes from one virtue signaling teenager's social media posts.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Does TJ automatically accept the top 1.5% of each middle school? When you have many more than 1.5% taking the same classes and getting all A’s, what happens next?

The top 1.5% doesn't refer to GPA or courses taken.
All kids applying to TJ write a bunch of personal essays and a problem solving essay. The essays are graded, and the kids' scores are based on the essay scores, unweighted GPA, and experience factors (FARMS, IEP, ESOL). The unweighted GPA is not a huge factor, and they don't even look at courses taken or math level.

If a school has 600 8th graders, then it is guaranteed 1.5% of 600 = 9 TJ spots. The 9 kids with the highest scores are offered admissions.

But the highest scores are not the smartest or most prepared, due to the new system eliminating math level, objective testing, courses taken and teacher recommendations, correct?

That is correct. They may be the smartest. They may not be. The ranking is mostly based on the essays and experience factors.

+1

The idea was to get as close to a lottery as possible, which was the solution that the FCPS board tried to push the hardest.

Put a low threshold so that many would qualify and then try to keep the information available on the student to the minimum possible. Then, you get closer to the desired "should represent FCPS demographics". The main problem for FCPS board from achieving this is because of self selection bias and the pool of students who are applying do not represent FCPS demographics.

Just like most opportunists who took advantage of the riots in 2020 to pursue their own interests, FCPS board did the same.

Not really.. The idea was to address the rampant cheating that had tainted selection since many were buying early access to the entrance exam.

I am sorry your child did not get in. Please do not be bitter, as it would impact your child.

I understand your frustration and why you are agitated, but calm down for your kids sake.

There were test banks at certain prep schools with questions kids memorized and told the schools. The test banks gave the students at those schools an advantage. We have seen issues with the AMC tests along these lines as well. MathCounts reminds parents to not take pictures of questions and post them because there are kids in other sections taking the tests later. There is plenty of evidence of cheating/unfair advantages in higher level math competitions and tests.

A test bank of previously administered tests from previous years cobbled together from the memory of 13 year old kids is not the same as buying the test. Everything we know about standardized testing tells us that this is the single most effective way of measuring cognitive ability and predicting academic performance.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Does TJ automatically accept the top 1.5% of each middle school? When you have many more than 1.5% taking the same classes and getting all A’s, what happens next?

The top 1.5% doesn't refer to GPA or courses taken.
All kids applying to TJ write a bunch of personal essays and a problem solving essay. The essays are graded, and the kids' scores are based on the essay scores, unweighted GPA, and experience factors (FARMS, IEP, ESOL). The unweighted GPA is not a huge factor, and they don't even look at courses taken or math level.

If a school has 600 8th graders, then it is guaranteed 1.5% of 600 = 9 TJ spots. The 9 kids with the highest scores are offered admissions.

But the highest scores are not the smartest or most prepared, due to the new system eliminating math level, objective testing, courses taken and teacher recommendations, correct?

That is correct. They may be the smartest. They may not be. The ranking is mostly based on the essays and experience factors.

+1

The idea was to get as close to a lottery as possible, which was the solution that the FCPS board tried to push the hardest.

Put a low threshold so that many would qualify and then try to keep the information available on the student to the minimum possible. Then, you get closer to the desired "should represent FCPS demographics". The main problem for FCPS board from achieving this is because of self selection bias and the pool of students who are applying do not represent FCPS demographics.

Just like most opportunists who took advantage of the riots in 2020 to pursue their own interests, FCPS board did the same.

Not really.. The idea was to address the rampant cheating that had tainted selection since many were buying early access to the entrance exam.

I am sorry your child did not get in. Please do not be bitter, as it would impact your child.

I understand your frustration and why you are agitated, but calm down for your kids sake.

There were test banks at certain prep schools with questions kids memorized and told the schools. The test banks gave the students at those schools an advantage. We have seen issues with the AMC tests along these lines as well. MathCounts reminds parents to not take pictures of questions and post them because there are kids in other sections taking the tests later. There is plenty of evidence of cheating/unfair advantages in higher level math competitions and tests.

Students claimed that many of the same questions they had studied from the question bank were used even. It was definitely a big advantage to have seen many of the questions beforehand. I'm glad the school board sought to level the playing field.

If FCPS was paying a testing company that was recycling questions it would have made the news. If people were buying tests, it world have made the news.

What you have are social media posts by a virtue signaling teenager making these claims about how much of an advantage their middle class wealth gave them because they could afford a prep class.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Does TJ automatically accept the top 1.5% of each middle school? When you have many more than 1.5% taking the same classes and getting all A’s, what happens next?

The top 1.5% doesn't refer to GPA or courses taken.
All kids applying to TJ write a bunch of personal essays and a problem solving essay. The essays are graded, and the kids' scores are based on the essay scores, unweighted GPA, and experience factors (FARMS, IEP, ESOL). The unweighted GPA is not a huge factor, and they don't even look at courses taken or math level.

If a school has 600 8th graders, then it is guaranteed 1.5% of 600 = 9 TJ spots. The 9 kids with the highest scores are offered admissions.

But the highest scores are not the smartest or most prepared, due to the new system eliminating math level, objective testing, courses taken and teacher recommendations, correct?

That is correct. They may be the smartest. They may not be. The ranking is mostly based on the essays and experience factors.

+1

The idea was to get as close to a lottery as possible, which was the solution that the FCPS board tried to push the hardest.

Put a low threshold so that many would qualify and then try to keep the information available on the student to the minimum possible. Then, you get closer to the desired "should represent FCPS demographics". The main problem for FCPS board from achieving this is because of self selection bias and the pool of students who are applying do not represent FCPS demographics.

Just like most opportunists who took advantage of the riots in 2020 to pursue their own interests, FCPS board did the same.

Not really.. The idea was to address the rampant cheating that had tainted selection since many were buying early access to the entrance exam.

I am sorry your child did not get in. Please do not be bitter, as it would impact your child.

I understand your frustration and why you are agitated, but calm down for your kids sake.

There were test banks at certain prep schools with questions kids memorized and told the schools. The test banks gave the students at those schools an advantage. We have seen issues with the AMC tests along these lines as well. MathCounts reminds parents to not take pictures of questions and post them because there are kids in other sections taking the tests later. There is plenty of evidence of cheating/unfair advantages in higher level math competitions and tests.

as fictional as your stories are, can you dare to name one prep school that did this?

DP but wasn’t it Curie? They used to post the names of all their students who got accepted to TJ and it was close to if not over 100 students every year until the criteria changed.

It was one year. They did that one year and the parents were furious to see their kids names in the newspaper identified as having prepped since 3rd grade.