Data for middle schools for TJ

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Previous years.
https://www.fcag.org/tjstatistics.shtml

I haven’t seen the class of 2026 data yet.

Thank you! Just what I was looking for.

You will notice the traditional feeders were reduced 33-50% in the name of equity compare 2024 vs 2025

The top STEM students are no longer going to TJ

Yes, the affluent families from those schools were less able to game admissions.

It is not affluent families gaming the system. You guys get it completely wrong. We bought older homes to live in McLean area for the schools. So the kids who are attending top feeders are really smart kids with lot of students with GPA 4. In addition, if you have noticed Longfellow MS made it to top 5 in Science Olympiad Nationals and also was in nationals in science bowl and other activities too. These are really hard working smart kids and we bought home what we thought was the right school for them. Just taking some TJ prep course won't help in all these.

Also there is nothing wrong in taking prep courses. We all are in life long learning. We learn from kids too and they learn from others as well. People who send to prep courses are not to get into TJ but to set a strong foundation for success

People who send their kids to enrichment course, like RSM or AoPS, build a strong foundation for success. They are learning skills and developing critical thinking abilities.

People who send their kids to prep classes are focused on one test and scoring high on that one test. That might help the kids for foundational skills but that is not the goal.

STEM clubs, enrichment classes and all that should be because the kids enjoy the activities and want to further their skills. That love of those activities will hopefully carry on into high school and college and adult life regardless of where they go to school.

Prep classes are to score well on one test. That could be the old Quant test for TJ or the SAT or the ACT but you don't continue prepping for a test after you have taken the test. It is not an activity that you are doing because you enjoy it. Prep classes have their place but the exams that people prep for have been declining in importance because admissions branches for programs across the board, from AAP to TJ to Universities, are aware that prep courses are inflating individuals scores and that those score differentials are more a mark of how well you are prepped and less of actual ability.

If you moved to a top school because academics are important to you, then not getting into TJ is disappointing but I am sure that your kids will have a great experience at McLean or Langley High School. Both of which offer a larger variety of courses then my kid will have a chance to take at South Lakes. The parents from Fox Mill had to petition and fight for math classes past Calculus because there were none when Fox Mill ES was switched to South Lakes. So few kids at SLHS got to that point that there were no options for the Fox Mill kids who were getting there. I doubt that has been an issue at McLean or Langley. The kids who are stronger in math and science in the lower SES MS schools have fewer opportunities then the kids at higher SES schools because the number of kids participating in the AP/IB programs is so much smaller. TJ is a world of difference for them in even the basic AP classes that are available.

HS across the county do not offer the same classes because the need for different types of classes is so starkly different. I get that TJ is important to a lot of bright kids and it is disappointing to not be accepted. But they are going to have opportunities at McLean or Langley or Oakton or Chantilly that kids at other HS won't.

Lots of bright, hard working kids are going to be disappointed with college acceptances as well. People are going to apply for jobs or promotions and not get them. Not getting what you want even when you work hard is a part of life. It is part of the parents job to teach their kid how to handle that with grace. So you can tell your kid "It is because you were the wrong race" or you can tell your kid "Rejection sucks. It's ok to be disappointed. But there are great opportunities at your base school and you will be able to study with more of your friends. What club or activity do you want to do that might push you? Let's find something after school."

Your argument is crap, every high school should offer advanced math and problem solve TJ can go back to taking the best students in STEM.

Look here's what actually needs to happen

They need to do a much better job identifying kids who actually belong in AAP and then those are the kids that should be going to TJ period. If you are taking Algebra 1 in 8th you aren't an advanced STEM student.

This geographic diversity and other needs equity garbage has to stop. As it currently stands TJ is no longer taking the best STEM students.

My Kid is going to take Algebra 1 in 8th.... a super strong STEM kid. DC is doing things that a high schooler or college student is doing. How will you define a top STEM kid? Should my DC stop hoping or dreaming about TJ?

What makes your kid a super strong STEM kid? What is your DC doing that high school or college kids are doing? If your kid is actually a STEM outlier, then hopefully your kid can write about it in their essays and get points that way.

I don't think the door should be closed to Algebra I in 8th grade students. I just think admissions should be pretty rare, as they were before the reforms. This could easily be done by giving bonus points to kids based on their math level. If kids can earn 90 points for being ED or 45 points for having a 504/IEP, then why not at least 30-45 points per math level beyond Algebra I in 8th? Kids like yours wouldn't be shut out under this system, but they would have to make up for those math points by really impressing the reviewer in the essays.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Previous years.
https://www.fcag.org/tjstatistics.shtml

I haven’t seen the class of 2026 data yet.

Thank you! Just what I was looking for.

You will notice the traditional feeders were reduced 33-50% in the name of equity compare 2024 vs 2025

The top STEM students are no longer going to TJ

Yes, the affluent families from those schools were less able to game admissions.

It is not affluent families gaming the system. You guys get it completely wrong. We bought older homes to live in McLean area for the schools. So the kids who are attending top feeders are really smart kids with lot of students with GPA 4. In addition, if you have noticed Longfellow MS made it to top 5 in Science Olympiad Nationals and also was in nationals in science bowl and other activities too. These are really hard working smart kids and we bought home what we thought was the right school for them. Just taking some TJ prep course won't help in all these.

Also there is nothing wrong in taking prep courses. We all are in life long learning. We learn from kids too and they learn from others as well. People who send to prep courses are not to get into TJ but to set a strong foundation for success

People who send their kids to enrichment course, like RSM or AoPS, build a strong foundation for success. They are learning skills and developing critical thinking abilities.

People who send their kids to prep classes are focused on one test and scoring high on that one test. That might help the kids for foundational skills but that is not the goal.

STEM clubs, enrichment classes and all that should be because the kids enjoy the activities and want to further their skills. That love of those activities will hopefully carry on into high school and college and adult life regardless of where they go to school.

Prep classes are to score well on one test. That could be the old Quant test for TJ or the SAT or the ACT but you don't continue prepping for a test after you have taken the test. It is not an activity that you are doing because you enjoy it. Prep classes have their place but the exams that people prep for have been declining in importance because admissions branches for programs across the board, from AAP to TJ to Universities, are aware that prep courses are inflating individuals scores and that those score differentials are more a mark of how well you are prepped and less of actual ability.

If you moved to a top school because academics are important to you, then not getting into TJ is disappointing but I am sure that your kids will have a great experience at McLean or Langley High School. Both of which offer a larger variety of courses then my kid will have a chance to take at South Lakes. The parents from Fox Mill had to petition and fight for math classes past Calculus because there were none when Fox Mill ES was switched to South Lakes. So few kids at SLHS got to that point that there were no options for the Fox Mill kids who were getting there. I doubt that has been an issue at McLean or Langley. The kids who are stronger in math and science in the lower SES MS schools have fewer opportunities then the kids at higher SES schools because the number of kids participating in the AP/IB programs is so much smaller. TJ is a world of difference for them in even the basic AP classes that are available.

HS across the county do not offer the same classes because the need for different types of classes is so starkly different. I get that TJ is important to a lot of bright kids and it is disappointing to not be accepted. But they are going to have opportunities at McLean or Langley or Oakton or Chantilly that kids at other HS won't.

Lots of bright, hard working kids are going to be disappointed with college acceptances as well. People are going to apply for jobs or promotions and not get them. Not getting what you want even when you work hard is a part of life. It is part of the parents job to teach their kid how to handle that with grace. So you can tell your kid "It is because you were the wrong race" or you can tell your kid "Rejection sucks. It's ok to be disappointed. But there are great opportunities at your base school and you will be able to study with more of your friends. What club or activity do you want to do that might push you? Let's find something after school."

Your argument is crap, every high school should offer advanced math and problem solve TJ can go back to taking the best students in STEM.

Look here's what actually needs to happen

They need to do a much better job identifying kids who actually belong in AAP and then those are the kids that should be going to TJ period. If you are taking Algebra 1 in 8th you aren't an advanced STEM student.

This geographic diversity and other needs equity garbage has to stop. As it currently stands TJ is no longer taking the best STEM students.

My Kid is going to take Algebra 1 in 8th.... a super strong STEM kid. DC is doing things that a high schooler or college student is doing. How will you define a top STEM kid? Should my DC stop hoping or dreaming about TJ?

What makes your kid a super strong STEM kid? What is your DC doing that high school or college kids are doing? If your kid is actually a STEM outlier, then hopefully your kid can write about it in their essays and get points that way.

I don't think the door should be closed to Algebra I in 8th grade students. I just think admissions should be pretty rare, as they were before the reforms. This could easily be done by giving bonus points to kids based on their math level. If kids can earn 90 points for being ED or 45 points for having a 504/IEP, then why not at least 30-45 points per math level beyond Algebra I in 8th? Kids like yours wouldn't be shut out under this system, but they would have to make up for those math points by really impressing the reviewer in the essays.

Advancement in Math has to be penalized not rewarded as per the Progressive's manifesto. It is playing out nationwide.

[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:So basically the good schools are good enough and TJ should be an alternative for the kids who’d otherwise attend schools that aren’t very good?

That won’t do anything to improve the schools that aren’t very good (in fact it will strip them of kids who might have been role models), but it will change TJ from a top STEM magnet to a charter-like school for some families otherwise faced with less appealing alternatives.

That’s kind of ironic, given how much FCPS freaks out at any mention of charters.

It’s not “charter-like” at all. Or maybe you have a bizarre understanding of charter schools.

Apparently better than you. You might want to read up on their attributes.

Please describe the attributes you associate with charter schools.

Some that come to mind:

* located in declining school districts (check)

* largely functioning to give parents at the worst schools an alternative (check)

* selective (check) (feel free to read Valerie Strauss and Kevin Welner on this topic)

* function with greater autonomy than other schools in the same district (check)

* more likely to push out kids who don't make the school look successful (check)

BS.

Despite the RWNJ propaganda you read, FCPS isn’t “declining”.

TJ was just named #1 HS in the nation again so they must be doing something right.
#1 in National Rankings
#1 in Virginia High Schools
#1 in Washington, DC Metro Area High Schools

And FCPS has 8 out of 10 top HSs in VA.
https://www.usnews.com/education/best-high-schools/virginia


And TJ is certainly not “largely functioning to give parents at the worst schools an alternative”. GMAFB. Did they even admit the top 1.5% at every school?

Sure, FCPS has some of the top schools in the state because it still has parents compensating for the glaring weaknesses in FCPS. Now look at the growing number of schools in FCPS nowhere near the top 10.

And the latest TJ rankings are based entirely on the performance of recent graduates admitted years ago under the system that you and your crony friends worked so hard to overturn. Come back in 5-6 years when the rankings are based on the performance of kids admitted under the new pork-barrel spoils system.

FCPS and TJ are fine. More than fine.

And TJ is not like a charter.

So you got called out and your response was to run away from the facts?

Your ilk wants to take credit for the accomplishments of recent TJ graduates after you spent years calling them toxic, test-prepped robots.

These ranking that some parents are obsessed with are mostly meaningless. The value of TJ is how well it serves the tax payers who support it. These changes to the selection process seems to accomplish that much better than the old system.

Why? Are more children of tax-paying residents of Virginia attending TJ under the new system?

Actually, yes! Because the class size was increased by nearly 20%, indeed there are more children of Virginia taxapyers attending TJ now than there used to be.

That's a function of TJ's recent renovation and expansion, dumb ass, not the change in the admissions policy.

The renovation that was completed in 2017? You are full of sh1t.

It was part of the new admissions process:
“ This is the first class to apply under the revised admissions process which eliminated the standardized admissions test for TJHSST, eliminated the $100 application fee, raised the minimum GPA, and expanded the freshman class from 480 to 550.”

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Previous years.
https://www.fcag.org/tjstatistics.shtml

I haven’t seen the class of 2026 data yet.

Thank you! Just what I was looking for.

You will notice the traditional feeders were reduced 33-50% in the name of equity compare 2024 vs 2025

The top STEM students are no longer going to TJ

Yes, the affluent families from those schools were less able to game admissions.

It is not affluent families gaming the system. You guys get it completely wrong. We bought older homes to live in McLean area for the schools. So the kids who are attending top feeders are really smart kids with lot of students with GPA 4. In addition, if you have noticed Longfellow MS made it to top 5 in Science Olympiad Nationals and also was in nationals in science bowl and other activities too. These are really hard working smart kids and we bought home what we thought was the right school for them. Just taking some TJ prep course won't help in all these.

Also there is nothing wrong in taking prep courses. We all are in life long learning. We learn from kids too and they learn from others as well. People who send to prep courses are not to get into TJ but to set a strong foundation for success

People who send their kids to enrichment course, like RSM or AoPS, build a strong foundation for success. They are learning skills and developing critical thinking abilities.

People who send their kids to prep classes are focused on one test and scoring high on that one test. That might help the kids for foundational skills but that is not the goal.

STEM clubs, enrichment classes and all that should be because the kids enjoy the activities and want to further their skills. That love of those activities will hopefully carry on into high school and college and adult life regardless of where they go to school.

Prep classes are to score well on one test. That could be the old Quant test for TJ or the SAT or the ACT but you don't continue prepping for a test after you have taken the test. It is not an activity that you are doing because you enjoy it. Prep classes have their place but the exams that people prep for have been declining in importance because admissions branches for programs across the board, from AAP to TJ to Universities, are aware that prep courses are inflating individuals scores and that those score differentials are more a mark of how well you are prepped and less of actual ability.

If you moved to a top school because academics are important to you, then not getting into TJ is disappointing but I am sure that your kids will have a great experience at McLean or Langley High School. Both of which offer a larger variety of courses then my kid will have a chance to take at South Lakes. The parents from Fox Mill had to petition and fight for math classes past Calculus because there were none when Fox Mill ES was switched to South Lakes. So few kids at SLHS got to that point that there were no options for the Fox Mill kids who were getting there. I doubt that has been an issue at McLean or Langley. The kids who are stronger in math and science in the lower SES MS schools have fewer opportunities then the kids at higher SES schools because the number of kids participating in the AP/IB programs is so much smaller. TJ is a world of difference for them in even the basic AP classes that are available.

HS across the county do not offer the same classes because the need for different types of classes is so starkly different. I get that TJ is important to a lot of bright kids and it is disappointing to not be accepted. But they are going to have opportunities at McLean or Langley or Oakton or Chantilly that kids at other HS won't.

Lots of bright, hard working kids are going to be disappointed with college acceptances as well. People are going to apply for jobs or promotions and not get them. Not getting what you want even when you work hard is a part of life. It is part of the parents job to teach their kid how to handle that with grace. So you can tell your kid "It is because you were the wrong race" or you can tell your kid "Rejection sucks. It's ok to be disappointed. But there are great opportunities at your base school and you will be able to study with more of your friends. What club or activity do you want to do that might push you? Let's find something after school."

Your argument is crap, every high school should offer advanced math and problem solve TJ can go back to taking the best students in STEM.

Look here's what actually needs to happen

They need to do a much better job identifying kids who actually belong in AAP and then those are the kids that should be going to TJ period. If you are taking Algebra 1 in 8th you aren't an advanced STEM student.

This geographic diversity and other needs equity garbage has to stop. As it currently stands TJ is no longer taking the best STEM students.

My Kid is going to take Algebra 1 in 8th.... a super strong STEM kid. DC is doing things that a high schooler or college student is doing. How will you define a top STEM kid? Should my DC stop hoping or dreaming about TJ?

What makes your kid a super strong STEM kid? What is your DC doing that high school or college kids are doing? If your kid is actually a STEM outlier, then hopefully your kid can write about it in their essays and get points that way.

I don't think the door should be closed to Algebra I in 8th grade students. I just think admissions should be pretty rare, as they were before the reforms. This could easily be done by giving bonus points to kids based on their math level. If kids can earn 90 points for being ED or 45 points for having a 504/IEP, then why not at least 30-45 points per math level beyond Algebra I in 8th? Kids like yours wouldn't be shut out under this system, but they would have to make up for those math points by really impressing the reviewer in the essays.

Advancement in Math has to be penalized not rewarded as per the Progressive's manifesto. It is playing out nationwide.

You need to read less RWNJ propaganda.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Kilmer went to having the fourth or fifth highest number of TJ admissions behind Carson, Longfellow, and Rocky Run (and sometimes Frost) to having the lowest percentage admissions rate of any FCPS middle school for the TJ Class of 2025.

Kilmer is in the Providence District, represented by Karl Frisch. FCPS Pride gave Frisch an award this weekend for his service to FCPS, also specifically including the LBGTQIA community.

If you aren't as thrilled with what Frisch has done for Kilmer and other Providence District schools and families as FCPS Pride, you know what to do next fall when the School Board is up for re-election.

What makes Kilmer so inherently special that falling from 5th place means something is wrong with FCPS policy? Consider the other dozen middle schools that sent less than 10 kids every year for the past decade. Was nothing wrong with FCPS policy then? Of course, it was benefitting you so the policy was perfect in your eyes. Why does the Providence district deserve something that the Mount Vernon district doesn't?

You'd have to be deliberately obtuse not to know that FCPS pulled the rug out from under parents who'd sent their kids to AAP centers by suddenly allocating seats largely based on middle school quotas that reflected the schools that students were attending, and not their base schools.

So kids who weren't in AAP or were among the minority of AAP-eligible students who turned down the offer to attend an AAP center suddenly were advantaged in the admissions process, while others were disadvantaged - after they and their families thought they were doing exactly what FCPS had encouraged them to do to position themselves for admission to TJ.

That doesn't bother you, of course, because you basically see TJ admission as an exercise in "equal representation," akin to each magisterial district being allowed to have one seat on the Board of Supervisors. That's OK, one supposes, but it has little to do with the concept of a Governor's School or the notion that TJ exists to nurture the students with the most STEM aptitude. And, over time, it will lead to TJ's becoming a slightly better than average FCPS high school, but that's about it.

Very well said. This is exactly what happened. All the TJ threads can end now.

[Anonymous]

Why so obsessed about TJ. IF many of your bright kids won't make it to TJ then if your kid is bright enough will shine in their respective base school with other rejected bright STEM kids who were SUPPOSED to be in TJ. Through PTA pull in some excellent technical resources for your base school. Your child will shine anywhere if they are capable of it, be it TJ or base school. It's so upsetting to see parents whining about TJ's new admission process. TJ will deal with its reformed admission process and its ranking. Why are you worried?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Previous years.
https://www.fcag.org/tjstatistics.shtml

I haven’t seen the class of 2026 data yet.

Thank you! Just what I was looking for.

You will notice the traditional feeders were reduced 33-50% in the name of equity compare 2024 vs 2025

The top STEM students are no longer going to TJ

Yes, the affluent families from those schools were less able to game admissions.

It is not affluent families gaming the system. You guys get it completely wrong. We bought older homes to live in McLean area for the schools. So the kids who are attending top feeders are really smart kids with lot of students with GPA 4. In addition, if you have noticed Longfellow MS made it to top 5 in Science Olympiad Nationals and also was in nationals in science bowl and other activities too. These are really hard working smart kids and we bought home what we thought was the right school for them. Just taking some TJ prep course won't help in all these.

Also there is nothing wrong in taking prep courses. We all are in life long learning. We learn from kids too and they learn from others as well. People who send to prep courses are not to get into TJ but to set a strong foundation for success

People who send their kids to enrichment course, like RSM or AoPS, build a strong foundation for success. They are learning skills and developing critical thinking abilities.

People who send their kids to prep classes are focused on one test and scoring high on that one test. That might help the kids for foundational skills but that is not the goal.

STEM clubs, enrichment classes and all that should be because the kids enjoy the activities and want to further their skills. That love of those activities will hopefully carry on into high school and college and adult life regardless of where they go to school.

Prep classes are to score well on one test. That could be the old Quant test for TJ or the SAT or the ACT but you don't continue prepping for a test after you have taken the test. It is not an activity that you are doing because you enjoy it. Prep classes have their place but the exams that people prep for have been declining in importance because admissions branches for programs across the board, from AAP to TJ to Universities, are aware that prep courses are inflating individuals scores and that those score differentials are more a mark of how well you are prepped and less of actual ability.

If you moved to a top school because academics are important to you, then not getting into TJ is disappointing but I am sure that your kids will have a great experience at McLean or Langley High School. Both of which offer a larger variety of courses then my kid will have a chance to take at South Lakes. The parents from Fox Mill had to petition and fight for math classes past Calculus because there were none when Fox Mill ES was switched to South Lakes. So few kids at SLHS got to that point that there were no options for the Fox Mill kids who were getting there. I doubt that has been an issue at McLean or Langley. The kids who are stronger in math and science in the lower SES MS schools have fewer opportunities then the kids at higher SES schools because the number of kids participating in the AP/IB programs is so much smaller. TJ is a world of difference for them in even the basic AP classes that are available.

HS across the county do not offer the same classes because the need for different types of classes is so starkly different. I get that TJ is important to a lot of bright kids and it is disappointing to not be accepted. But they are going to have opportunities at McLean or Langley or Oakton or Chantilly that kids at other HS won't.

Lots of bright, hard working kids are going to be disappointed with college acceptances as well. People are going to apply for jobs or promotions and not get them. Not getting what you want even when you work hard is a part of life. It is part of the parents job to teach their kid how to handle that with grace. So you can tell your kid "It is because you were the wrong race" or you can tell your kid "Rejection sucks. It's ok to be disappointed. But there are great opportunities at your base school and you will be able to study with more of your friends. What club or activity do you want to do that might push you? Let's find something after school."

Your argument is crap, every high school should offer advanced math and problem solve TJ can go back to taking the best students in STEM.

Look here's what actually needs to happen

They need to do a much better job identifying kids who actually belong in AAP and then those are the kids that should be going to TJ period. If you are taking Algebra 1 in 8th you aren't an advanced STEM student.

This geographic diversity and other needs equity garbage has to stop. As it currently stands TJ is no longer taking the best STEM students.

My Kid is going to take Algebra 1 in 8th.... a super strong STEM kid. DC is doing things that a high schooler or college student is doing. How will you define a top STEM kid? Should my DC stop hoping or dreaming about TJ?

What makes your kid a super strong STEM kid? What is your DC doing that high school or college kids are doing? If your kid is actually a STEM outlier, then hopefully your kid can write about it in their essays and get points that way.

I don't think the door should be closed to Algebra I in 8th grade students. I just think admissions should be pretty rare, as they were before the reforms. This could easily be done by giving bonus points to kids based on their math level. If kids can earn 90 points for being ED or 45 points for having a 504/IEP, then why not at least 30-45 points per math level beyond Algebra I in 8th? Kids like yours wouldn't be shut out under this system, but they would have to make up for those math points by really impressing the reviewer in the essays.

Advancement in Math has to be penalized not rewarded as per the Progressive's manifesto. It is playing out nationwide.

You need to read less RWNJ propaganda.

You need to be transparent. Look around

[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:So basically the good schools are good enough and TJ should be an alternative for the kids who’d otherwise attend schools that aren’t very good?

That won’t do anything to improve the schools that aren’t very good (in fact it will strip them of kids who might have been role models), but it will change TJ from a top STEM magnet to a charter-like school for some families otherwise faced with less appealing alternatives.

That’s kind of ironic, given how much FCPS freaks out at any mention of charters.

It’s not “charter-like” at all. Or maybe you have a bizarre understanding of charter schools.

Apparently better than you. You might want to read up on their attributes.

Please describe the attributes you associate with charter schools.

Some that come to mind:

* located in declining school districts (check)

* largely functioning to give parents at the worst schools an alternative (check)

* selective (check) (feel free to read Valerie Strauss and Kevin Welner on this topic)

* function with greater autonomy than other schools in the same district (check)

* more likely to push out kids who don't make the school look successful (check)

BS.

Despite the RWNJ propaganda you read, FCPS isn’t “declining”.

TJ was just named #1 HS in the nation again so they must be doing something right.
#1 in National Rankings
#1 in Virginia High Schools
#1 in Washington, DC Metro Area High Schools

And FCPS has 8 out of 10 top HSs in VA.
https://www.usnews.com/education/best-high-schools/virginia


And TJ is certainly not “largely functioning to give parents at the worst schools an alternative”. GMAFB. Did they even admit the top 1.5% at every school?

Sure, FCPS has some of the top schools in the state because it still has parents compensating for the glaring weaknesses in FCPS. Now look at the growing number of schools in FCPS nowhere near the top 10.

And the latest TJ rankings are based entirely on the performance of recent graduates admitted years ago under the system that you and your crony friends worked so hard to overturn. Come back in 5-6 years when the rankings are based on the performance of kids admitted under the new pork-barrel spoils system.

FCPS and TJ are fine. More than fine.

And TJ is not like a charter.

So you got called out and your response was to run away from the facts?

Your ilk wants to take credit for the accomplishments of recent TJ graduates after you spent years calling them toxic, test-prepped robots.

These ranking that some parents are obsessed with are mostly meaningless. The value of TJ is how well it serves the tax payers who support it. These changes to the selection process seems to accomplish that much better than the old system.

Why? Are more children of tax-paying residents of Virginia attending TJ under the new system?

Actually, yes! Because the class size was increased by nearly 20%, indeed there are more children of Virginia taxapyers attending TJ now than there used to be.

That's a function of TJ's recent renovation and expansion, dumb ass, not the change in the admissions policy.

The renovation that was completed in 2017? You are full of sh1t.

It was part of the new admissions process:
“ This is the first class to apply under the revised admissions process which eliminated the standardized admissions test for TJHSST, eliminated the $100 application fee, raised the minimum GPA, and expanded the freshman class from 480 to 550.”

Sorry if some of us don’t drink your Kool-Aid. The fact that the expansion predated the change in admissions policy only proves PP’s point.

[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:

Anonymous wrote:So basically the good schools are good enough and TJ should be an alternative for the kids who’d otherwise attend schools that aren’t very good?

That won’t do anything to improve the schools that aren’t very good (in fact it will strip them of kids who might have been role models), but it will change TJ from a top STEM magnet to a charter-like school for some families otherwise faced with less appealing alternatives.

That’s kind of ironic, given how much FCPS freaks out at any mention of charters.

It’s not “charter-like” at all. Or maybe you have a bizarre understanding of charter schools.

Apparently better than you. You might want to read up on their attributes.

Please describe the attributes you associate with charter schools.

Some that come to mind:

* located in declining school districts (check)

* largely functioning to give parents at the worst schools an alternative (check)

* selective (check) (feel free to read Valerie Strauss and Kevin Welner on this topic)

* function with greater autonomy than other schools in the same district (check)

* more likely to push out kids who don't make the school look successful (check)

BS.

Despite the RWNJ propaganda you read, FCPS isn’t “declining”.

TJ was just named #1 HS in the nation again so they must be doing something right.
#1 in National Rankings
#1 in Virginia High Schools
#1 in Washington, DC Metro Area High Schools

And FCPS has 8 out of 10 top HSs in VA.
https://www.usnews.com/education/best-high-schools/virginia


And TJ is certainly not “largely functioning to give parents at the worst schools an alternative”. GMAFB. Did they even admit the top 1.5% at every school?

Sure, FCPS has some of the top schools in the state because it still has parents compensating for the glaring weaknesses in FCPS. Now look at the growing number of schools in FCPS nowhere near the top 10.

And the latest TJ rankings are based entirely on the performance of recent graduates admitted years ago under the system that you and your crony friends worked so hard to overturn. Come back in 5-6 years when the rankings are based on the performance of kids admitted under the new pork-barrel spoils system.

FCPS and TJ are fine. More than fine.

And TJ is not like a charter.

So you got called out and your response was to run away from the facts?

Your ilk wants to take credit for the accomplishments of recent TJ graduates after you spent years calling them toxic, test-prepped robots.

These ranking that some parents are obsessed with are mostly meaningless. The value of TJ is how well it serves the tax payers who support it. These changes to the selection process seems to accomplish that much better than the old system.

Why? Are more children of tax-paying residents of Virginia attending TJ under the new system?

Actually, yes! Because the class size was increased by nearly 20%, indeed there are more children of Virginia taxapyers attending TJ now than there used to be.

That's a function of TJ's recent renovation and expansion, dumb ass, not the change in the admissions policy.

The renovation that was completed in 2017? You are full of sh1t.

It was part of the new admissions process:
“ This is the first class to apply under the revised admissions process which eliminated the standardized admissions test for TJHSST, eliminated the $100 application fee, raised the minimum GPA, and expanded the freshman class from 480 to 550.”

Sorry if some of us don’t drink your Kool-Aid. The fact that the expansion predated the change in admissions policy only proves PP’s point.

They waited FOUR years to increase the class size?

Lame.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Previous years.
https://www.fcag.org/tjstatistics.shtml

I haven’t seen the class of 2026 data yet.

Thank you! Just what I was looking for.

You will notice the traditional feeders were reduced 33-50% in the name of equity compare 2024 vs 2025

The top STEM students are no longer going to TJ

Yes, the affluent families from those schools were less able to game admissions.

It is not affluent families gaming the system. You guys get it completely wrong. We bought older homes to live in McLean area for the schools. So the kids who are attending top feeders are really smart kids with lot of students with GPA 4. In addition, if you have noticed Longfellow MS made it to top 5 in Science Olympiad Nationals and also was in nationals in science bowl and other activities too. These are really hard working smart kids and we bought home what we thought was the right school for them. Just taking some TJ prep course won't help in all these.

Also there is nothing wrong in taking prep courses. We all are in life long learning. We learn from kids too and they learn from others as well. People who send to prep courses are not to get into TJ but to set a strong foundation for success

People who send their kids to enrichment course, like RSM or AoPS, build a strong foundation for success. They are learning skills and developing critical thinking abilities.

People who send their kids to prep classes are focused on one test and scoring high on that one test. That might help the kids for foundational skills but that is not the goal.

STEM clubs, enrichment classes and all that should be because the kids enjoy the activities and want to further their skills. That love of those activities will hopefully carry on into high school and college and adult life regardless of where they go to school.

Prep classes are to score well on one test. That could be the old Quant test for TJ or the SAT or the ACT but you don't continue prepping for a test after you have taken the test. It is not an activity that you are doing because you enjoy it. Prep classes have their place but the exams that people prep for have been declining in importance because admissions branches for programs across the board, from AAP to TJ to Universities, are aware that prep courses are inflating individuals scores and that those score differentials are more a mark of how well you are prepped and less of actual ability.

If you moved to a top school because academics are important to you, then not getting into TJ is disappointing but I am sure that your kids will have a great experience at McLean or Langley High School. Both of which offer a larger variety of courses then my kid will have a chance to take at South Lakes. The parents from Fox Mill had to petition and fight for math classes past Calculus because there were none when Fox Mill ES was switched to South Lakes. So few kids at SLHS got to that point that there were no options for the Fox Mill kids who were getting there. I doubt that has been an issue at McLean or Langley. The kids who are stronger in math and science in the lower SES MS schools have fewer opportunities then the kids at higher SES schools because the number of kids participating in the AP/IB programs is so much smaller. TJ is a world of difference for them in even the basic AP classes that are available.

HS across the county do not offer the same classes because the need for different types of classes is so starkly different. I get that TJ is important to a lot of bright kids and it is disappointing to not be accepted. But they are going to have opportunities at McLean or Langley or Oakton or Chantilly that kids at other HS won't.

Lots of bright, hard working kids are going to be disappointed with college acceptances as well. People are going to apply for jobs or promotions and not get them. Not getting what you want even when you work hard is a part of life. It is part of the parents job to teach their kid how to handle that with grace. So you can tell your kid "It is because you were the wrong race" or you can tell your kid "Rejection sucks. It's ok to be disappointed. But there are great opportunities at your base school and you will be able to study with more of your friends. What club or activity do you want to do that might push you? Let's find something after school."

Your argument is crap, every high school should offer advanced math and problem solve TJ can go back to taking the best students in STEM.

Look here's what actually needs to happen

They need to do a much better job identifying kids who actually belong in AAP and then those are the kids that should be going to TJ period. If you are taking Algebra 1 in 8th you aren't an advanced STEM student.

This geographic diversity and other needs equity garbage has to stop. As it currently stands TJ is no longer taking the best STEM students.

My Kid is going to take Algebra 1 in 8th.... a super strong STEM kid. DC is doing things that a high schooler or college student is doing. How will you define a top STEM kid? Should my DC stop hoping or dreaming about TJ?

What makes your kid a super strong STEM kid? What is your DC doing that high school or college kids are doing? If your kid is actually a STEM outlier, then hopefully your kid can write about it in their essays and get points that way.

I don't think the door should be closed to Algebra I in 8th grade students. I just think admissions should be pretty rare, as they were before the reforms. This could easily be done by giving bonus points to kids based on their math level. If kids can earn 90 points for being ED or 45 points for having a 504/IEP, then why not at least 30-45 points per math level beyond Algebra I in 8th? Kids like yours wouldn't be shut out under this system, but they would have to make up for those math points by really impressing the reviewer in the essays.

Advancement in Math has to be penalized not rewarded as per the Progressive's manifesto. It is playing out nationwide.

You need to read less RWNJ propaganda.

Read this -

https://quillette.com/2021/08/19/as-us-schools-prioritize-diversity-over-merit-china-is-becoming-the-worlds-stem-leader/

Scholarly article by mathematicians from Princeton, Georgia Tech, et al which talks to how we are driving our STEM education to the ground. It is a nuanced article that is not a propaganda piece and it also talks about the progressive efforts to remove math differentiation from California schools.

[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:Previous years.
https://www.fcag.org/tjstatistics.shtml

I haven’t seen the class of 2026 data yet.

Thank you! Just what I was looking for.

You will notice the traditional feeders were reduced 33-50% in the name of equity compare 2024 vs 2025

The top STEM students are no longer going to TJ

Yes, the affluent families from those schools were less able to game admissions.

It is not affluent families gaming the system. You guys get it completely wrong. We bought older homes to live in McLean area for the schools. So the kids who are attending top feeders are really smart kids with lot of students with GPA 4. In addition, if you have noticed Longfellow MS made it to top 5 in Science Olympiad Nationals and also was in nationals in science bowl and other activities too. These are really hard working smart kids and we bought home what we thought was the right school for them. Just taking some TJ prep course won't help in all these.

Also there is nothing wrong in taking prep courses. We all are in life long learning. We learn from kids too and they learn from others as well. People who send to prep courses are not to get into TJ but to set a strong foundation for success

People who send their kids to enrichment course, like RSM or AoPS, build a strong foundation for success. They are learning skills and developing critical thinking abilities.

People who send their kids to prep classes are focused on one test and scoring high on that one test. That might help the kids for foundational skills but that is not the goal.

STEM clubs, enrichment classes and all that should be because the kids enjoy the activities and want to further their skills. That love of those activities will hopefully carry on into high school and college and adult life regardless of where they go to school.

Prep classes are to score well on one test. That could be the old Quant test for TJ or the SAT or the ACT but you don't continue prepping for a test after you have taken the test. It is not an activity that you are doing because you enjoy it. Prep classes have their place but the exams that people prep for have been declining in importance because admissions branches for programs across the board, from AAP to TJ to Universities, are aware that prep courses are inflating individuals scores and that those score differentials are more a mark of how well you are prepped and less of actual ability.

If you moved to a top school because academics are important to you, then not getting into TJ is disappointing but I am sure that your kids will have a great experience at McLean or Langley High School. Both of which offer a larger variety of courses then my kid will have a chance to take at South Lakes. The parents from Fox Mill had to petition and fight for math classes past Calculus because there were none when Fox Mill ES was switched to South Lakes. So few kids at SLHS got to that point that there were no options for the Fox Mill kids who were getting there. I doubt that has been an issue at McLean or Langley. The kids who are stronger in math and science in the lower SES MS schools have fewer opportunities then the kids at higher SES schools because the number of kids participating in the AP/IB programs is so much smaller. TJ is a world of difference for them in even the basic AP classes that are available.

HS across the county do not offer the same classes because the need for different types of classes is so starkly different. I get that TJ is important to a lot of bright kids and it is disappointing to not be accepted. But they are going to have opportunities at McLean or Langley or Oakton or Chantilly that kids at other HS won't.

Lots of bright, hard working kids are going to be disappointed with college acceptances as well. People are going to apply for jobs or promotions and not get them. Not getting what you want even when you work hard is a part of life. It is part of the parents job to teach their kid how to handle that with grace. So you can tell your kid "It is because you were the wrong race" or you can tell your kid "Rejection sucks. It's ok to be disappointed. But there are great opportunities at your base school and you will be able to study with more of your friends. What club or activity do you want to do that might push you? Let's find something after school."

Your argument is crap, every high school should offer advanced math and problem solve TJ can go back to taking the best students in STEM.

Look here's what actually needs to happen

They need to do a much better job identifying kids who actually belong in AAP and then those are the kids that should be going to TJ period. If you are taking Algebra 1 in 8th you aren't an advanced STEM student.

This geographic diversity and other needs equity garbage has to stop. As it currently stands TJ is no longer taking the best STEM students.

My Kid is going to take Algebra 1 in 8th.... a super strong STEM kid. DC is doing things that a high schooler or college student is doing. How will you define a top STEM kid? Should my DC stop hoping or dreaming about TJ?

What makes your kid a super strong STEM kid? What is your DC doing that high school or college kids are doing? If your kid is actually a STEM outlier, then hopefully your kid can write about it in their essays and get points that way.

I don't think the door should be closed to Algebra I in 8th grade students. I just think admissions should be pretty rare, as they were before the reforms. This could easily be done by giving bonus points to kids based on their math level. If kids can earn 90 points for being ED or 45 points for having a 504/IEP, then why not at least 30-45 points per math level beyond Algebra I in 8th? Kids like yours wouldn't be shut out under this system, but they would have to make up for those math points by really impressing the reviewer in the essays.

Advancement in Math has to be penalized not rewarded as per the Progressive's manifesto. It is playing out nationwide.

You need to read less RWNJ propaganda.

Read this -

https://quillette.com/2021/08/19/as-us-schools-prioritize-diversity-over-merit-china-is-becoming-the-worlds-stem-leader/

Scholarly article by mathematicians from Princeton, Georgia Tech, et al which talks to how we are driving our STEM education to the ground. It is a nuanced article that is not a propaganda piece and it also talks about the progressive efforts to remove math differentiation from California schools.

Gross. The old, white mathematicians pushing math wars again?

Hard pass.

[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:Previous years.
https://www.fcag.org/tjstatistics.shtml

I haven’t seen the class of 2026 data yet.

Thank you! Just what I was looking for.

You will notice the traditional feeders were reduced 33-50% in the name of equity compare 2024 vs 2025

The top STEM students are no longer going to TJ

Yes, the affluent families from those schools were less able to game admissions.

It is not affluent families gaming the system. You guys get it completely wrong. We bought older homes to live in McLean area for the schools. So the kids who are attending top feeders are really smart kids with lot of students with GPA 4. In addition, if you have noticed Longfellow MS made it to top 5 in Science Olympiad Nationals and also was in nationals in science bowl and other activities too. These are really hard working smart kids and we bought home what we thought was the right school for them. Just taking some TJ prep course won't help in all these.

Also there is nothing wrong in taking prep courses. We all are in life long learning. We learn from kids too and they learn from others as well. People who send to prep courses are not to get into TJ but to set a strong foundation for success

People who send their kids to enrichment course, like RSM or AoPS, build a strong foundation for success. They are learning skills and developing critical thinking abilities.

People who send their kids to prep classes are focused on one test and scoring high on that one test. That might help the kids for foundational skills but that is not the goal.

STEM clubs, enrichment classes and all that should be because the kids enjoy the activities and want to further their skills. That love of those activities will hopefully carry on into high school and college and adult life regardless of where they go to school.

Prep classes are to score well on one test. That could be the old Quant test for TJ or the SAT or the ACT but you don't continue prepping for a test after you have taken the test. It is not an activity that you are doing because you enjoy it. Prep classes have their place but the exams that people prep for have been declining in importance because admissions branches for programs across the board, from AAP to TJ to Universities, are aware that prep courses are inflating individuals scores and that those score differentials are more a mark of how well you are prepped and less of actual ability.

If you moved to a top school because academics are important to you, then not getting into TJ is disappointing but I am sure that your kids will have a great experience at McLean or Langley High School. Both of which offer a larger variety of courses then my kid will have a chance to take at South Lakes. The parents from Fox Mill had to petition and fight for math classes past Calculus because there were none when Fox Mill ES was switched to South Lakes. So few kids at SLHS got to that point that there were no options for the Fox Mill kids who were getting there. I doubt that has been an issue at McLean or Langley. The kids who are stronger in math and science in the lower SES MS schools have fewer opportunities then the kids at higher SES schools because the number of kids participating in the AP/IB programs is so much smaller. TJ is a world of difference for them in even the basic AP classes that are available.

HS across the county do not offer the same classes because the need for different types of classes is so starkly different. I get that TJ is important to a lot of bright kids and it is disappointing to not be accepted. But they are going to have opportunities at McLean or Langley or Oakton or Chantilly that kids at other HS won't.

Lots of bright, hard working kids are going to be disappointed with college acceptances as well. People are going to apply for jobs or promotions and not get them. Not getting what you want even when you work hard is a part of life. It is part of the parents job to teach their kid how to handle that with grace. So you can tell your kid "It is because you were the wrong race" or you can tell your kid "Rejection sucks. It's ok to be disappointed. But there are great opportunities at your base school and you will be able to study with more of your friends. What club or activity do you want to do that might push you? Let's find something after school."

Your argument is crap, every high school should offer advanced math and problem solve TJ can go back to taking the best students in STEM.

Look here's what actually needs to happen

They need to do a much better job identifying kids who actually belong in AAP and then those are the kids that should be going to TJ period. If you are taking Algebra 1 in 8th you aren't an advanced STEM student.

This geographic diversity and other needs equity garbage has to stop. As it currently stands TJ is no longer taking the best STEM students.

My Kid is going to take Algebra 1 in 8th.... a super strong STEM kid. DC is doing things that a high schooler or college student is doing. How will you define a top STEM kid? Should my DC stop hoping or dreaming about TJ?

What makes your kid a super strong STEM kid? What is your DC doing that high school or college kids are doing? If your kid is actually a STEM outlier, then hopefully your kid can write about it in their essays and get points that way.

I don't think the door should be closed to Algebra I in 8th grade students. I just think admissions should be pretty rare, as they were before the reforms. This could easily be done by giving bonus points to kids based on their math level. If kids can earn 90 points for being ED or 45 points for having a 504/IEP, then why not at least 30-45 points per math level beyond Algebra I in 8th? Kids like yours wouldn't be shut out under this system, but they would have to make up for those math points by really impressing the reviewer in the essays.

Advancement in Math has to be penalized not rewarded as per the Progressive's manifesto. It is playing out nationwide.

You need to read less RWNJ propaganda.

Read this -

https://quillette.com/2021/08/19/as-us-schools-prioritize-diversity-over-merit-china-is-becoming-the-worlds-stem-leader/

Scholarly article by mathematicians from Princeton, Georgia Tech, et al which talks to how we are driving our STEM education to the ground. It is a nuanced article that is not a propaganda piece and it also talks about the progressive efforts to remove math differentiation from California schools.

Gross. The old, white mathematicians pushing math wars again?

Hard pass.

Mathematics does not care what color you or what age you are. There are people who can solve problems, and there are people who can’t. Period.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Why so obsessed about TJ. IF many of your bright kids won't make it to TJ then if your kid is bright enough will shine in their respective base school with other rejected bright STEM kids who were SUPPOSED to be in TJ. Through PTA pull in some excellent technical resources for your base school. Your child will shine anywhere if they are capable of it, be it TJ or base school. It's so upsetting to see parents whining about TJ's new admission process. TJ will deal with its reformed admission process and its ranking. Why are you worried?

This

[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:Previous years.
https://www.fcag.org/tjstatistics.shtml

I haven’t seen the class of 2026 data yet.

Thank you! Just what I was looking for.

You will notice the traditional feeders were reduced 33-50% in the name of equity compare 2024 vs 2025

The top STEM students are no longer going to TJ

Yes, the affluent families from those schools were less able to game admissions.

It is not affluent families gaming the system. You guys get it completely wrong. We bought older homes to live in McLean area for the schools. So the kids who are attending top feeders are really smart kids with lot of students with GPA 4. In addition, if you have noticed Longfellow MS made it to top 5 in Science Olympiad Nationals and also was in nationals in science bowl and other activities too. These are really hard working smart kids and we bought home what we thought was the right school for them. Just taking some TJ prep course won't help in all these.

Also there is nothing wrong in taking prep courses. We all are in life long learning. We learn from kids too and they learn from others as well. People who send to prep courses are not to get into TJ but to set a strong foundation for success

People who send their kids to enrichment course, like RSM or AoPS, build a strong foundation for success. They are learning skills and developing critical thinking abilities.

People who send their kids to prep classes are focused on one test and scoring high on that one test. That might help the kids for foundational skills but that is not the goal.

STEM clubs, enrichment classes and all that should be because the kids enjoy the activities and want to further their skills. That love of those activities will hopefully carry on into high school and college and adult life regardless of where they go to school.

Prep classes are to score well on one test. That could be the old Quant test for TJ or the SAT or the ACT but you don't continue prepping for a test after you have taken the test. It is not an activity that you are doing because you enjoy it. Prep classes have their place but the exams that people prep for have been declining in importance because admissions branches for programs across the board, from AAP to TJ to Universities, are aware that prep courses are inflating individuals scores and that those score differentials are more a mark of how well you are prepped and less of actual ability.

If you moved to a top school because academics are important to you, then not getting into TJ is disappointing but I am sure that your kids will have a great experience at McLean or Langley High School. Both of which offer a larger variety of courses then my kid will have a chance to take at South Lakes. The parents from Fox Mill had to petition and fight for math classes past Calculus because there were none when Fox Mill ES was switched to South Lakes. So few kids at SLHS got to that point that there were no options for the Fox Mill kids who were getting there. I doubt that has been an issue at McLean or Langley. The kids who are stronger in math and science in the lower SES MS schools have fewer opportunities then the kids at higher SES schools because the number of kids participating in the AP/IB programs is so much smaller. TJ is a world of difference for them in even the basic AP classes that are available.

HS across the county do not offer the same classes because the need for different types of classes is so starkly different. I get that TJ is important to a lot of bright kids and it is disappointing to not be accepted. But they are going to have opportunities at McLean or Langley or Oakton or Chantilly that kids at other HS won't.

Lots of bright, hard working kids are going to be disappointed with college acceptances as well. People are going to apply for jobs or promotions and not get them. Not getting what you want even when you work hard is a part of life. It is part of the parents job to teach their kid how to handle that with grace. So you can tell your kid "It is because you were the wrong race" or you can tell your kid "Rejection sucks. It's ok to be disappointed. But there are great opportunities at your base school and you will be able to study with more of your friends. What club or activity do you want to do that might push you? Let's find something after school."

Your argument is crap, every high school should offer advanced math and problem solve TJ can go back to taking the best students in STEM.

Look here's what actually needs to happen

They need to do a much better job identifying kids who actually belong in AAP and then those are the kids that should be going to TJ period. If you are taking Algebra 1 in 8th you aren't an advanced STEM student.

This geographic diversity and other needs equity garbage has to stop. As it currently stands TJ is no longer taking the best STEM students.

My Kid is going to take Algebra 1 in 8th.... a super strong STEM kid. DC is doing things that a high schooler or college student is doing. How will you define a top STEM kid? Should my DC stop hoping or dreaming about TJ?

What makes your kid a super strong STEM kid? What is your DC doing that high school or college kids are doing? If your kid is actually a STEM outlier, then hopefully your kid can write about it in their essays and get points that way.

I don't think the door should be closed to Algebra I in 8th grade students. I just think admissions should be pretty rare, as they were before the reforms. This could easily be done by giving bonus points to kids based on their math level. If kids can earn 90 points for being ED or 45 points for having a 504/IEP, then why not at least 30-45 points per math level beyond Algebra I in 8th? Kids like yours wouldn't be shut out under this system, but they would have to make up for those math points by really impressing the reviewer in the essays.

Advancement in Math has to be penalized not rewarded as per the Progressive's manifesto. It is playing out nationwide.

You need to read less RWNJ propaganda.

Read this -

https://quillette.com/2021/08/19/as-us-schools-prioritize-diversity-over-merit-china-is-becoming-the-worlds-stem-leader/

Scholarly article by mathematicians from Princeton, Georgia Tech, et al which talks to how we are driving our STEM education to the ground. It is a nuanced article that is not a propaganda piece and it also talks about the progressive efforts to remove math differentiation from California schools.

I support differentiation and even acceleration done properly. The problem is too many folks on these boards are sending their kids to camps and having their kids do extra math every day. That's not raw talent. Any smart kid will advance if they spend extra time on a topic.

We need to highlight folks that are advancing without needing extra time or support. Those are the actual folks that need to be nurtured and actually go to TJ.

[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:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:So basically the good schools are good enough and TJ should be an alternative for the kids who’d otherwise attend schools that aren’t very good?

That won’t do anything to improve the schools that aren’t very good (in fact it will strip them of kids who might have been role models), but it will change TJ from a top STEM magnet to a charter-like school for some families otherwise faced with less appealing alternatives.

That’s kind of ironic, given how much FCPS freaks out at any mention of charters.

It’s not “charter-like” at all. Or maybe you have a bizarre understanding of charter schools.

Apparently better than you. You might want to read up on their attributes.

Please describe the attributes you associate with charter schools.

Some that come to mind:

* located in declining school districts (check)

* largely functioning to give parents at the worst schools an alternative (check)

* selective (check) (feel free to read Valerie Strauss and Kevin Welner on this topic)

* function with greater autonomy than other schools in the same district (check)

* more likely to push out kids who don't make the school look successful (check)

BS.

Despite the RWNJ propaganda you read, FCPS isn’t “declining”.

TJ was just named #1 HS in the nation again so they must be doing something right.
#1 in National Rankings
#1 in Virginia High Schools
#1 in Washington, DC Metro Area High Schools

And FCPS has 8 out of 10 top HSs in VA.
https://www.usnews.com/education/best-high-schools/virginia


And TJ is certainly not “largely functioning to give parents at the worst schools an alternative”. GMAFB. Did they even admit the top 1.5% at every school?

Sure, FCPS has some of the top schools in the state because it still has parents compensating for the glaring weaknesses in FCPS. Now look at the growing number of schools in FCPS nowhere near the top 10.

And the latest TJ rankings are based entirely on the performance of recent graduates admitted years ago under the system that you and your crony friends worked so hard to overturn. Come back in 5-6 years when the rankings are based on the performance of kids admitted under the new pork-barrel spoils system.

FCPS and TJ are fine. More than fine.

And TJ is not like a charter.

So you got called out and your response was to run away from the facts?

Your ilk wants to take credit for the accomplishments of recent TJ graduates after you spent years calling them toxic, test-prepped robots.

These ranking that some parents are obsessed with are mostly meaningless. The value of TJ is how well it serves the tax payers who support it. These changes to the selection process seems to accomplish that much better than the old system.

Why? Are more children of tax-paying residents of Virginia attending TJ under the new system?

Actually, yes! Because the class size was increased by nearly 20%, indeed there are more children of Virginia taxapyers attending TJ now than there used to be.

That's a function of TJ's recent renovation and expansion, dumb ass, not the change in the admissions policy.

The renovation that was completed in 2017? You are full of sh1t.

It was part of the new admissions process:
“ This is the first class to apply under the revised admissions process which eliminated the standardized admissions test for TJHSST, eliminated the $100 application fee, raised the minimum GPA, and expanded the freshman class from 480 to 550.”

Sorry if some of us don’t drink your Kool-Aid. The fact that the expansion predated the change in admissions policy only proves PP’s point.

They waited FOUR years to increase the class size?

Lame.

They have waited longer than four years to use the additional capacity or address overcrowding at other schools. Four years is lightning speed by FCPS standards.