TJ - which middle schools had students accepted in 2017

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Rachel Carson Middle School has some TJ class of 2021 info on their website https://www.fcps.edu/news/fcps-offers-admission-tjhsst-490-students

Ouch. These numbers are brutal. No wonder FCPS buried them/ waited six week to release them. Nearly equal male/female applicants, but 60% male acceptances. We are past "math is hard" for girls. The applied accepted should not skew that badly. Only 17 AA plus Hispanic admits out of 400 applicants. 75% (!!!)Asian, but Asians were only 54% of the applicants, which is ridiculous, especially in light of all the Asian cheating rings. 8 FARMS admits out of almost 300. These admit numbers are way, way skewed. More so than usual.

TJ Parent here, and not at all pleased. This is a public high school. 220 Hispanic applicants, and only 8 were qualified? Only 87 of 763 white applicants accepted. Really? TJ had enough of an admissions demographics problem before. These numbers are worse than they have ever been. TJ doesn't need the bad publicity or the lawsuits. Or more pressure to cheat.

I guess this explains why TJ is going for the new and improved "unpreppable" math test for next year and adding a science reasoning section without a lot of prep material. This is not sustainable.

[Anonymous]

Oh my goodness. These numbers are appalling in every category. I'll be surprised if they get any Hispanic, black or farms applicants next year if those groups see these numbers. Completely unrepresentative of our county. Diversity is a strength and this is going to ruin TH if it hasn't already

[Anonymous]

It's inevitable that FCPS will pull the plug on TJ within the next 5-6 years. County residents will not continue to support a magnet that opens its doors to only a handful of non-Asians. This is the final nail in the coffin.

[Anonymous]

We should figure out how to make elementary and middle school education at FARMS schools better because fcps isn't pulling the plug on TJ - so much invested there. TJ and its Partnershup Fund are working hard to improve StEM education for all students so they all have a chance to pass the admission tests.

[Anonymous]

Does anyone know the ethnic mix of kids in AAP? Isn't that the mix we should be comparing against and not the general population?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:It's inevitable that FCPS will pull the plug on TJ within the next 5-6 years. County residents will not continue to support a magnet that opens its doors to only a handful of non-Asians. This is the final nail in the coffin.

Wishful thinking. I thought it was paid for by the State and not the county. Regardless, aint gonna happen.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Does anyone know the ethnic mix of kids in AAP? Isn't that the mix we should be comparing against and not the general population?

Comparing applied vs accepted is a good proxy. Most kids who apply are AAP. And TJ can't accept kids who don't apply.

SES is supposed to be the single greatest predictor of academic success. It would explain why AA, Hispanic and FARMs numbers are skewed on accepted vs applied, But they should not be this skewed. I find it impossible to believe that 192 of the AA applicants were unqualified.

And since white and Asian SES are roughly similar, the site/ Asian acceptance number shouldn't skew at all. Unless something else is going on. Like, say, the massive prepping industry. But prepping heavily for a test does not make a kid a better overall student and heavily prepped kids are not necessarily doing better at TJ. And the male/ female acceptable should not skew this badly either. This isn't 1950.

I have a current TJ student, and people should be pissed by these numbers. DC2 is applying TJ next year, and they certainly give me pause about letting her apply. The atmosphere at the school is already high pressure, toxic and cheating without consequence. And, oh yeah-- they can't find a principal.

The admissions process should be more transparent. Right now, it's a black box and who the heck knows how kids are chosen. And the school should reflect the AAP population and the applicant pool. I am normally a huge defender of TJ on this board. But F*ck that. Admissions needs to justify this mess to FCPS stakeholders. There are literally hundreds of well qualified applicants to TJ each year who are rejected. Kids who can handle the program and would go on to be very successful. They didn't *have* to put together a 75% Asian, 70% male, single digit AA, Hispanic and FARMs kid class.

And I will say it again. This is NOT sour grapes. My HS aged kid was accepted in a prior class and my MS kid has yet to apply. The TJ admissions process has worked for us. It is still not okay to form a class that looks like this. It's bad for FCPS and ultimately bad for TJ. The white, AA and Hispanic kids on the waitlist? They would do as well as the bottom 20% of Asian kids admitted.

FCPS usually releases the demographics with acceptances in early April. This year, they sat on them. They know this is going to cause an uproar, and hope people don't notice the info. Take notice and let the school board know this is not okay.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It's inevitable that FCPS will pull the plug on TJ within the next 5-6 years. County residents will not continue to support a magnet that opens its doors to only a handful of non-Asians. This is the final nail in the coffin.

Wishful thinking. I thought it was paid for by the State and not the county. Regardless, aint gonna happen.

Each participating county pays no?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It's inevitable that FCPS will pull the plug on TJ within the next 5-6 years. County residents will not continue to support a magnet that opens its doors to only a handful of non-Asians. This is the final nail in the coffin.

Wishful thinking. I thought it was paid for by the State and not the county. Regardless, aint gonna happen.

Agree that isn't going to happen. And the money is a state/county/private mix. FCPS per pupil funding or tuition payment for non-FCPS, plus a state Governon's School supplement. Plus, parent donations and a lot of public-private partnerships. FCPS should pay the same per pupil for TJ and non- TJ, but a lot of supplements in various ways (cash donations, lab equipment, mentoring partners) from a number of different places.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Does anyone know the ethnic mix of kids in AAP? Isn't that the mix we should be comparing against and not the general population?

Comparing applied vs accepted is a good proxy. Most kids who apply are AAP. And TJ can't accept kids who don't apply.

SES is supposed to be the single greatest predictor of academic success. It would explain why AA, Hispanic and FARMs numbers are skewed on accepted vs applied, But they should not be this skewed. I find it impossible to believe that 192 of the AA applicants were unqualified.

And since white and Asian SES are roughly similar, the site/ Asian acceptance number shouldn't skew at all. Unless something else is going on. Like, say, the massive prepping industry. But prepping heavily for a test does not make a kid a better overall student and heavily prepped kids are not necessarily doing better at TJ. And the male/ female acceptable should not skew this badly either. This isn't 1950.

I have a current TJ student, and people should be pissed by these numbers. DC2 is applying TJ next year, and they certainly give me pause about letting her apply. The atmosphere at the school is already high pressure, toxic and cheating without consequence. And, oh yeah-- they can't find a principal.

The admissions process should be more transparent. Right now, it's a black box and who the heck knows how kids are chosen. And the school should reflect the AAP population and the applicant pool. I am normally a huge defender of TJ on this board. But F*ck that. Admissions needs to justify this mess to FCPS stakeholders. There are literally hundreds of well qualified applicants to TJ each year who are rejected. Kids who can handle the program and would go on to be very successful. They didn't *have* to put together a 75% Asian, 70% male, single digit AA, Hispanic and FARMs kid class.

And I will say it again. This is NOT sour grapes. My HS aged kid was accepted in a prior class and my MS kid has yet to apply. The TJ admissions process has worked for us. It is still not okay to form a class that looks like this. It's bad for FCPS and ultimately bad for TJ. The white, AA and Hispanic kids on the waitlist? They would do as well as the bottom 20% of Asian kids admitted.

FCPS usually releases the demographics with acceptances in early April. This year, they sat on them. They know this is going to cause an uproar, and hope people don't notice the info. Take notice and let the school board know this is not okay.

PP-- sorry 60% male, not 70%

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It's inevitable that FCPS will pull the plug on TJ within the next 5-6 years. County residents will not continue to support a magnet that opens its doors to only a handful of non-Asians. This is the final nail in the coffin.

Wishful thinking. I thought it was paid for by the State and not the county. Regardless, aint gonna happen.

Agree that isn't going to happen. And the money is a state/county/private mix. FCPS per pupil funding or tuition payment for non-FCPS, plus a state Governon's School supplement. Plus, parent donations and a lot of public-private partnerships. FCPS should pay the same per pupil for TJ and non- TJ, but a lot of supplements in various ways (cash donations, lab equipment, mentoring partners) from a number of different places.

Keep telling yourself this. The county owns TJ and its days as a school for Asian test prep kids are numbered. The county owns the land and the building and there is decreasing benefit to FCPS in having a school that only 1200 county kids attend.

[Anonymous]

Does anyone have the breakdown by middle school?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:It's inevitable that FCPS will pull the plug on TJ within the next 5-6 years. County residents will not continue to support a magnet that opens its doors to only a handful of non-Asians. This is the final nail in the coffin.

How many Asians are in NBA, or any team / school sports at HS level that can result in scholarships / admissions to top colleges? OMG, this is totally unacceptable and unrepresentative!!! non-asians cheat by prepping in sports and get better. This has to stop.

That is how the argument goes on against the one thing that Asian kids try to focus on, academic, so let's stop it and dumb it down.

[Anonymous]

Does anyone have info on the yield? I assume the final class numbers will end up over 75% Asian. I just spoke with someone who is reconsidering sending her son after seeing this.

[Anonymous]

I think TJ has reached the tipping point where white, hispanic and AA applicants have less interest in even applying or going to TJ. I know I feel that way -- the cheating, the pressure -- who wants it? Granted, I don't have a kid there, but it just seems like a giant freak show that has a good chance of causing my kid anxiety and the need for therapy.

The tipping point happened a couple of years ago. Can you really blame people when the numbers of some groups are extremely low or getting quite low? You can't help but think "my kid won't fit in here" or "my kid doesn't know the cultural 'rules' that will dominate this school."

I don't think it is entirely correct to just compare admitted numbers to applicant numbers b/c there is a chilling effect on who even applies. I think the AAP stats probably are a better representation -- but even those have problems. Shouldn't the AAP demographics mirror the county as a whole? (I know they don't -- but they should.)