TJ info sessions at MS

[Anonymous]

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Anonymous wrote:For parents that went to info sessions, at ours when answering a question they said that a student has better chance to get accepted at MIT and Harvard if stay at base school than to compete against all the other TJ kids. Know that is speculated in posts here on DCUM, but I was surprised when it was said by to room of people. Is it a new talking point? I would have thought would just be silent on that and especially to not name any schools.

Who said this?
I can't imagine anyone from FCPS said this.
How many TJ kids got into Ivy+ last 3 years vs the rest of FCPS?

Said worked at Gatehouse. Not a TJ teacher. It was a surprising statement to be saying at a general info meeting, but again the whole meeting had a vibe of don’t apply.

I heard from a staff member at ours that it had the same vibe. They said that only 3-4 kids would get in (strong, but not too or previously listed AAP center), so don't set hopes on getting in.

Are they getting rid of the 1.5% rule?

1.5% is not feasible; it's a farce. TJ admissions cannot expect students to meet the school’s rigorous standards when applicants from under-performing schools have only been prepared for low-level middle school academics. Even the student enrolling with lowest TJ Math 1 may not be prepared sufficiently in per-algebra, and that's on FCPS for enabling substandard middle schools without addressing quality concerns.

What middle schools don't have sufficient numbers of kids taking at least geometry? Even Whitman manages to have a geometry class

I heard last Spring that Herndon Middle wasn't going to have enough taking Geometry to have a middle school class. Students were going to need to take Geometry online.

Now, whether any of those students wants to ride the bus all the way to TJ is another issue.

My kid's MS also did not offer Geometry in person last year. This year there is a full class of 8th graders taking it. Most of them were at the AAP feeder for 7th grade and switched back to the lower ranking base for 8th grade. Their parents figured out how to play the game.

Why does FCPS create an environment with roadblocks where parents are having to switch in and out of program just for access to courses?

The question is how or why FCPS didn’t see this coming. These kids are overwhelmingly higher SES than most of the other students at the school. Guess who is going to get the allocated spots to TJ?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:For parents that went to info sessions, at ours when answering a question they said that a student has better chance to get accepted at MIT and Harvard if stay at base school than to compete against all the other TJ kids. Know that is speculated in posts here on DCUM, but I was surprised when it was said by to room of people. Is it a new talking point? I would have thought would just be silent on that and especially to not name any schools.

Who said this?
I can't imagine anyone from FCPS said this.
How many TJ kids got into Ivy+ last 3 years vs the rest of FCPS?

Said worked at Gatehouse. Not a TJ teacher. It was a surprising statement to be saying at a general info meeting, but again the whole meeting had a vibe of don’t apply.

I heard from a staff member at ours that it had the same vibe. They said that only 3-4 kids would get in (strong, but not too or previously listed AAP center), so don't set hopes on getting in.

Are they getting rid of the 1.5% rule?

1.5% is not feasible; it's a farce. TJ admissions cannot expect students to meet the school’s rigorous standards when applicants from under-performing schools have only been prepared for low-level middle school academics. Even the student enrolling with lowest TJ Math 1 may not be prepared sufficiently in per-algebra, and that's on FCPS for enabling substandard middle schools without addressing quality concerns.

What middle schools don't have sufficient numbers of kids taking at least geometry? Even Whitman manages to have a geometry class

Well, there are thousands of students taking middle school math, but the low SOL scores show there is drastic difference in math learning proficiency from one school to another, but obscured by the inflated GPAs. The current essay process has no way of evaluating and offering the most proficient students at Whitman, and hence the huge increase in lowest level TJ math and remedial enrollment, or rejection of offers.

Bulk averages don't tell the real story. There are many high-achieving kids at all schools. Some have more low-income students who often bring down the average more than the more affluent schools. It doesn't mean there are plenty of kids doing great at all schools.

Some middle schools have 0% of their students achieve advance pass on geometry SOL

[Anonymous]

It's pathetic and a shame to use ELS and SES as a cover to justify the switch to race-based admission. After four years of switching to race-based non-merit admissions, ELS count is < 3 out of 2111 total (0.15%), and SES count is < 29 out of 2111 total (1.4%)

TJ school profile

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:It's pathetic and a shame to use ELS and SES as a cover to justify the switch to race-based admission. After four years of switching to race-based non-merit admissions, ELS count is < 3 out of 2111 total (0.15%), and SES count is < 29 out of 2111 total (1.4%)

TJ school profile

Those things were all just thrown in to make their ace based seem more wide sweeping.

They were trying to make the school look more like the county and there are few better ways to do that than a lottery. The law prevented them from using a lottery so they moved to this system that approximates a lottery.