New TJ Lawsuit Filed 3/10/21 by Pacific Legal Foundation

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
28% if the class of 2024 came from one prep company. Multiple TJ students stated in public forums that they had an advance copy of the test. This prep center served almost exclusively children of recent and relatively wealthy Indian immigrants.

If this were true, it would be a cheating scandal. Is there any objective proof that is not hearsay? Perhaps provide links or screenshots of the "public forums" in which this was stated. Which teachers were indicated in this leak? Please provide details, don't just make this a blanket insult to the ethnic group of which PoCs such as our VP are a member.

The poster you are responding to is a coward, hiding behind anonymity to say what they want without any evidence. I already challenged them to put their name behind these claims. Of course, they didn't want to. Until evidence is presented, this all BS.

what's your name? see, it works both ways

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This country and society are rooted in racism, so to fix the problems we now have, we can’t be race neutral or race blind. I think a lot of the people who have problems with the admissions changes don’t even really understand the history of systemic racism in the US. You can’t treat an entire group of humans as less than for centuries and then say “oh, the system is fair.” No, it’s not fair. Literally nothing in this country is fair for Black people who have to overcome far more obstacles than others. They are not starting from the same starting line; it’s as if everyone else has a head start in a race. And it doesn’t matter if you don’t consider yourself to be affluent; if you are not Black, you will not face the same obstacles.

You are then stigmatizing the blacks who get in as less qualified, plus putting in less qualified people and having them try and perform in a harder setting. Harvard can get all the top blacks. Then the rest of the colleges are dealing with students who should be in a lower tier. And the tier below that like UNC has people who should be in an even lower tier college.

The above commenter has absolutely no idea how anything works and is babbling incoherently while spewing deep racism. -1000

'Deep racism'? Look up college mismatch thesis to learn more. Asking colleges to fix problems of lower level education systems which have their own problems with this systemic racism, inevitably leads to the same results.

1) I would imagine that we are in agreement that working to help fix these issues at the high school level is better than working to fix them at the college level

2) No one who is pro-reform is arguing that we should abandon working to solve issues at the PreK-8 level as well. But leaving generations of students behind while we wait for results doesn't work either and serves to deepen the status quo.

the anti-reform want to focus to be on solving issues prek-8 because that leaves the status quo intact indefinitely.

Exactly. It's so disingenuous when you hear "we need to be fixing these issues at the younger levels and bring these kids up to speed before we start looking at TJ admissions".

These people feign concern for what's going on in those grade levels when they haven't lifted one finger - in 99% of all cases - to actually support issues of diversity, equity, and inclusion.

No matter what changes are made at the younger levels, they will continue to demand that metrics are used which will allow them to leverage their resources to get their kids to the front of the line.

It's an addiction to feeling like a superior parent. It strives to make the admissions process about the efforts and priorities of the parents rather than that of the students.

- So you are advocating not doing anything at lower levels of education but step in to find and promote URM kids into TJ even if they are ill-prepared for the experience? If that is done, and the kids struggle at TJ, the next call will be to reduce standards at TJ. Not implying ALL of them will struggle, but some will and I know you are not asking for a "dumbing down" yet, but you will. Soon.

- What have YOU done "to actually support issues of diversity, equity, and inclusion" other than prattle away on anonymous boards? Please be specific. We are waiting to hear.

One of the commencement speakers at the TJ graduation was a Black kid (not sure if she was native-AA or recent immigrant) going to Harvard. She was talking about how she felt that her accomplishments were considered "suspect" and feared that it will continue to be so in the future as well. This is sad given how smart she is. However, this will ALWAYS be the case as long as someone like her is getting in through a preferential process (which it is regardless of how y'all want to sugarcoat it). How are you going to fix that? Believe me, it won't take care of itself.

In time this will stop too. It just takes time and patience, further saying this is no reason not to level the playing field.

It will not as long as "leveling the playing the field" is code for preferential treatment for a few. I guess I will never understand the resistance to teaching younger kids how to be competitive so they don't need these crutches.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
28% if the class of 2024 came from one prep company. Multiple TJ students stated in public forums that they had an advance copy of the test. This prep center served almost exclusively children of recent and relatively wealthy Indian immigrants.

If this were true, it would be a cheating scandal. Is there any objective proof that is not hearsay? Perhaps provide links or screenshots of the "public forums" in which this was stated. Which teachers were indicated in this leak? Please provide details, don't just make this a blanket insult to the ethnic group of which PoCs such as our VP are a member.

The poster you are responding to is a coward, hiding behind anonymity to say what they want without any evidence. I already challenged them to put their name behind these claims. Of course, they didn't want to. Until evidence is presented, this all BS.

what's your name? see, it works both ways

Nice try. I could easily give you a false name. But the real issue is I'm not accusing anyone of wrongdoing. You are. Anonymously. Like a coward. Get it, or is that logic too convoluted for you to follow? Maybe I need to reduce the standard of my sentences.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This country and society are rooted in racism, so to fix the problems we now have, we can’t be race neutral or race blind. I think a lot of the people who have problems with the admissions changes don’t even really understand the history of systemic racism in the US. You can’t treat an entire group of humans as less than for centuries and then say “oh, the system is fair.” No, it’s not fair. Literally nothing in this country is fair for Black people who have to overcome far more obstacles than others. They are not starting from the same starting line; it’s as if everyone else has a head start in a race. And it doesn’t matter if you don’t consider yourself to be affluent; if you are not Black, you will not face the same obstacles.

You are then stigmatizing the blacks who get in as less qualified, plus putting in less qualified people and having them try and perform in a harder setting. Harvard can get all the top blacks. Then the rest of the colleges are dealing with students who should be in a lower tier. And the tier below that like UNC has people who should be in an even lower tier college.

The above commenter has absolutely no idea how anything works and is babbling incoherently while spewing deep racism. -1000

'Deep racism'? Look up college mismatch thesis to learn more. Asking colleges to fix problems of lower level education systems which have their own problems with this systemic racism, inevitably leads to the same results.

1) I would imagine that we are in agreement that working to help fix these issues at the high school level is better than working to fix them at the college level

2) No one who is pro-reform is arguing that we should abandon working to solve issues at the PreK-8 level as well. But leaving generations of students behind while we wait for results doesn't work either and serves to deepen the status quo.

the anti-reform want to focus to be on solving issues prek-8 because that leaves the status quo intact indefinitely.

Exactly. It's so disingenuous when you hear "we need to be fixing these issues at the younger levels and bring these kids up to speed before we start looking at TJ admissions".

These people feign concern for what's going on in those grade levels when they haven't lifted one finger - in 99% of all cases - to actually support issues of diversity, equity, and inclusion.

No matter what changes are made at the younger levels, they will continue to demand that metrics are used which will allow them to leverage their resources to get their kids to the front of the line.

It's an addiction to feeling like a superior parent. It strives to make the admissions process about the efforts and priorities of the parents rather than that of the students.

You and your typical SJW high and mighty talk. Some people actually believe its better to help URM reach the bar rather than lowering it. Hand up vs. Handout has plenty of data behind it.

1) I'm betting you and most here have taken zero concrete steps to actually help with helping folks from underrepresented groups reach the artifically set bar

2) It's not about lowering any bar, it's about fixing the bar so that irrelevant metrics like standardized exams aren't used as barriers to entry.

1. I pay taxes for schools and teachers. They need to do their job. I also support school choice and vouchers.
2. Then can we agree to take race off of the application and identify truly gifted kids objectively n a race-blind application process? Or is race an inherent barrier to entry in your book?
2.

That still won’t put more Asians in. You don’t understand the system of white supremacy. You seem to think kissing white daddy’s @$$ and being his buffer class is gonna get you to the top, even if you have to stand on top of the other groups.

Kissing white daddy's @$$ is your binary model. We are way past that. We have enough critical mass that we don't have to do that.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:
how? that center was having previous students memorize questions and then the center was building a question bank. It's not realistic to expect them to come up with tests every year that are so unique that students are unable to effectively prep

Why not? They already host a math contest every year, which involves writing their own sets of problems. They also had prominent local math teachers, like Vern Williams, volunteer to write math tests that would find math gifted kids. They could come up with problem solving type engineering essays. They could basically give the kids a TJ final exam in the lowest level TJ math class and see how the kids would do. They could just randomly pick among multiple decent standardized tests, without letting the kids know beforehand which test will be used.

Any of these would suppress the highly prepped kids mores than simply using GPA and an essay. The same kids who are highly prepped will get the tutors they need to have a 4.0 in middle school, and they likewise will get the coaching they need to write perfect essays.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
how? that center was having previous students memorize questions and then the center was building a question bank. It's not realistic to expect them to come up with tests every year that are so unique that students are unable to effectively prep

Why not? They already host a math contest every year, which involves writing their own sets of problems. They also had prominent local math teachers, like Vern Williams, volunteer to write math tests that would find math gifted kids. They could come up with problem solving type engineering essays. They could basically give the kids a TJ final exam in the lowest level TJ math class and see how the kids would do. They could just randomly pick among multiple decent standardized tests, without letting the kids know beforehand which test will be used.

Any of these would suppress the highly prepped kids mores than simply using GPA and an essay. The same kids who are highly prepped will get the tutors they need to have a 4.0 in middle school, and they likewise will get the coaching they need to write perfect essays.

if they used old exams, the prepping would pick that up and those classes would become the focus, if they use math contest questions then most kids would probably flat out fail, they could just pick random standardized tests, but the smart test centers would look at who FCPS is contracting with for test services and focus on their tests (it's a public school, so the procurement would be public)

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This country and society are rooted in racism, so to fix the problems we now have, we can’t be race neutral or race blind. I think a lot of the people who have problems with the admissions changes don’t even really understand the history of systemic racism in the US. You can’t treat an entire group of humans as less than for centuries and then say “oh, the system is fair.” No, it’s not fair. Literally nothing in this country is fair for Black people who have to overcome far more obstacles than others. They are not starting from the same starting line; it’s as if everyone else has a head start in a race. And it doesn’t matter if you don’t consider yourself to be affluent; if you are not Black, you will not face the same obstacles.

You are then stigmatizing the blacks who get in as less qualified, plus putting in less qualified people and having them try and perform in a harder setting. Harvard can get all the top blacks. Then the rest of the colleges are dealing with students who should be in a lower tier. And the tier below that like UNC has people who should be in an even lower tier college.

The above commenter has absolutely no idea how anything works and is babbling incoherently while spewing deep racism. -1000

'Deep racism'? Look up college mismatch thesis to learn more. Asking colleges to fix problems of lower level education systems which have their own problems with this systemic racism, inevitably leads to the same results.

1) I would imagine that we are in agreement that working to help fix these issues at the high school level is better than working to fix them at the college level

2) No one who is pro-reform is arguing that we should abandon working to solve issues at the PreK-8 level as well. But leaving generations of students behind while we wait for results doesn't work either and serves to deepen the status quo.

the anti-reform want to focus to be on solving issues prek-8 because that leaves the status quo intact indefinitely.

Exactly. It's so disingenuous when you hear "we need to be fixing these issues at the younger levels and bring these kids up to speed before we start looking at TJ admissions".

These people feign concern for what's going on in those grade levels when they haven't lifted one finger - in 99% of all cases - to actually support issues of diversity, equity, and inclusion.

No matter what changes are made at the younger levels, they will continue to demand that metrics are used which will allow them to leverage their resources to get their kids to the front of the line.

It's an addiction to feeling like a superior parent. It strives to make the admissions process about the efforts and priorities of the parents rather than that of the students.

- So you are advocating not doing anything at lower levels of education but step in to find and promote URM kids into TJ even if they are ill-prepared for the experience? If that is done, and the kids struggle at TJ, the next call will be to reduce standards at TJ. Not implying ALL of them will struggle, but some will and I know you are not asking for a "dumbing down" yet, but you will. Soon.

- What have YOU done "to actually support issues of diversity, equity, and inclusion" other than prattle away on anonymous boards? Please be specific. We are waiting to hear.

One of the commencement speakers at the TJ graduation was a Black kid (not sure if she was native-AA or recent immigrant) going to Harvard. She was talking about how she felt that her accomplishments were considered "suspect" and feared that it will continue to be so in the future as well. This is sad given how smart she is. However, this will ALWAYS be the case as long as someone like her is getting in through a preferential process (which it is regardless of how y'all want to sugarcoat it). How are you going to fix that? Believe me, it won't take care of itself.

In time this will stop too. It just takes time and patience, further saying this is no reason not to level the playing field.

It will not as long as "leveling the playing the field" is code for preferential treatment for a few. I guess I will never understand the resistance to teaching younger kids how to be competitive so they don't need these crutches.

most people are saying you need both; one as a long term solution and one as short term. I will never understand the resistance to a temporary solution while waiting for a decade long solution to play out. Actually, I do, it's a good way to avoid any reform at all.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This country and society are rooted in racism, so to fix the problems we now have, we can’t be race neutral or race blind. I think a lot of the people who have problems with the admissions changes don’t even really understand the history of systemic racism in the US. You can’t treat an entire group of humans as less than for centuries and then say “oh, the system is fair.” No, it’s not fair. Literally nothing in this country is fair for Black people who have to overcome far more obstacles than others. They are not starting from the same starting line; it’s as if everyone else has a head start in a race. And it doesn’t matter if you don’t consider yourself to be affluent; if you are not Black, you will not face the same obstacles.

You are then stigmatizing the blacks who get in as less qualified, plus putting in less qualified people and having them try and perform in a harder setting. Harvard can get all the top blacks. Then the rest of the colleges are dealing with students who should be in a lower tier. And the tier below that like UNC has people who should be in an even lower tier college.

The above commenter has absolutely no idea how anything works and is babbling incoherently while spewing deep racism. -1000

'Deep racism'? Look up college mismatch thesis to learn more. Asking colleges to fix problems of lower level education systems which have their own problems with this systemic racism, inevitably leads to the same results.

1) I would imagine that we are in agreement that working to help fix these issues at the high school level is better than working to fix them at the college level

2) No one who is pro-reform is arguing that we should abandon working to solve issues at the PreK-8 level as well. But leaving generations of students behind while we wait for results doesn't work either and serves to deepen the status quo.

the anti-reform want to focus to be on solving issues prek-8 because that leaves the status quo intact indefinitely.

Exactly. It's so disingenuous when you hear "we need to be fixing these issues at the younger levels and bring these kids up to speed before we start looking at TJ admissions".

These people feign concern for what's going on in those grade levels when they haven't lifted one finger - in 99% of all cases - to actually support issues of diversity, equity, and inclusion.

No matter what changes are made at the younger levels, they will continue to demand that metrics are used which will allow them to leverage their resources to get their kids to the front of the line.

It's an addiction to feeling like a superior parent. It strives to make the admissions process about the efforts and priorities of the parents rather than that of the students.

- So you are advocating not doing anything at lower levels of education but step in to find and promote URM kids into TJ even if they are ill-prepared for the experience? If that is done, and the kids struggle at TJ, the next call will be to reduce standards at TJ. Not implying ALL of them will struggle, but some will and I know you are not asking for a "dumbing down" yet, but you will. Soon.

- What have YOU done "to actually support issues of diversity, equity, and inclusion" other than prattle away on anonymous boards? Please be specific. We are waiting to hear.

One of the commencement speakers at the TJ graduation was a Black kid (not sure if she was native-AA or recent immigrant) going to Harvard. She was talking about how she felt that her accomplishments were considered "suspect" and feared that it will continue to be so in the future as well. This is sad given how smart she is. However, this will ALWAYS be the case as long as someone like her is getting in through a preferential process (which it is regardless of how y'all want to sugarcoat it). How are you going to fix that? Believe me, it won't take care of itself.

1) I specifically said that I AM advocating for additional support for students from underrepresented groups at younger levels.

2) Answering what I have done would betray my identity. Nice try.

3) That commencement speaker felt that way for the entirety of her TJ career even though there was no element of affirmative action in her admissions process. Black folks have their accomplishments on trial constantly even when they reap no rewards from affirmative action because of people like you that insist on pushing the narrative.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
how? that center was having previous students memorize questions and then the center was building a question bank. It's not realistic to expect them to come up with tests every year that are so unique that students are unable to effectively prep

Why not? They already host a math contest every year, which involves writing their own sets of problems. They also had prominent local math teachers, like Vern Williams, volunteer to write math tests that would find math gifted kids. They could come up with problem solving type engineering essays. They could basically give the kids a TJ final exam in the lowest level TJ math class and see how the kids would do. They could just randomly pick among multiple decent standardized tests, without letting the kids know beforehand which test will be used.

Any of these would suppress the highly prepped kids mores than simply using GPA and an essay. The same kids who are highly prepped will get the tutors they need to have a 4.0 in middle school, and they likewise will get the coaching they need to write perfect essays.

While there is some merit to this idea, it creates a logistical nightmare.

You can't have someone like Vern Williams come up with these exams because there would be an appearance of conflict of interest. I personally believe Vern to be beyond reproach in this area, but that appearance would still exist.

If you give them a final exam in TJ's lowest math class, you will have prep centers essentially teaching TJ's lowest math level to folks willing and able to pay for it.

If you pick among multiple randomized standardized tests, you have to pay for all of them.

The great thing about essays is, if you ask the right types of questions and are seeking diverse answers, there is no perfect essay.

I honestly think that this commenter has their heart in the right place, but doesn't really understand the complexity of admissions processes.

[Anonymous]

The bad part of an essay is that the grading can be very subjective

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
how? that center was having previous students memorize questions and then the center was building a question bank. It's not realistic to expect them to come up with tests every year that are so unique that students are unable to effectively prep

Why not? They already host a math contest every year, which involves writing their own sets of problems. They also had prominent local math teachers, like Vern Williams, volunteer to write math tests that would find math gifted kids. They could come up with problem solving type engineering essays. They could basically give the kids a TJ final exam in the lowest level TJ math class and see how the kids would do. They could just randomly pick among multiple decent standardized tests, without letting the kids know beforehand which test will be used.

Any of these would suppress the highly prepped kids mores than simply using GPA and an essay. The same kids who are highly prepped will get the tutors they need to have a 4.0 in middle school, and they likewise will get the coaching they need to write perfect essays.

While there is some merit to this idea, it creates a logistical nightmare.

You can't have someone like Vern Williams come up with these exams because there would be an appearance of conflict of interest. I personally believe Vern to be beyond reproach in this area, but that appearance would still exist.

If you give them a final exam in TJ's lowest math class, you will have prep centers essentially teaching TJ's lowest math level to folks willing and able to pay for it.

If you pick among multiple randomized standardized tests, you have to pay for all of them.

The great thing about essays is, if you ask the right types of questions and are seeking diverse answers, there is no perfect essay.

I honestly think that this commenter has their heart in the right place, but doesn't really understand the complexity of admissions processes.

+100. The problem with admissions processes that are hell-bent on objectivity is that they create an artificial standard for kids to live up to, and then motivated families leverage their resources as hard as possible to make their kid try to live up to that standard.

The result is that you have far too many kids at TJ who did the same activities in middle school and want to do the same things when they get to TJ.

That reality inherently creates a hyper-competitive environment at TJ, and that hyper-competitiveness has very problematic results for the mental health and well-being of many of the students.

This is a huge part of why you don't have college admissions processes that are 100% objective in nature. Folks want to blame it on a search for diversity from a racial perspective, but the reality is that most of these more subjective admissions processes are seeking diversity of thought, interests, backgrounds, and perspectives.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The bad part of an essay is that the grading can be very subjective

Subjectivity is a part of life. These kids will have to deal with it in college admissions, graduate schools, job applications, and consumer relations. Even the TJ kids who go out and start their own businesses have to endure subjectivity from their consumers.

What I think most families are afraid of is the inability to give their child a hard and fast path of exactly what to say, write, and do in order to achieve their goals. That's preparation for reality.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This country and society are rooted in racism, so to fix the problems we now have, we can’t be race neutral or race blind. I think a lot of the people who have problems with the admissions changes don’t even really understand the history of systemic racism in the US. You can’t treat an entire group of humans as less than for centuries and then say “oh, the system is fair.” No, it’s not fair. Literally nothing in this country is fair for Black people who have to overcome far more obstacles than others. They are not starting from the same starting line; it’s as if everyone else has a head start in a race. And it doesn’t matter if you don’t consider yourself to be affluent; if you are not Black, you will not face the same obstacles.

You are then stigmatizing the blacks who get in as less qualified, plus putting in less qualified people and having them try and perform in a harder setting. Harvard can get all the top blacks. Then the rest of the colleges are dealing with students who should be in a lower tier. And the tier below that like UNC has people who should be in an even lower tier college.

The above commenter has absolutely no idea how anything works and is babbling incoherently while spewing deep racism. -1000

'Deep racism'? Look up college mismatch thesis to learn more. Asking colleges to fix problems of lower level education systems which have their own problems with this systemic racism, inevitably leads to the same results.

1) I would imagine that we are in agreement that working to help fix these issues at the high school level is better than working to fix them at the college level

2) No one who is pro-reform is arguing that we should abandon working to solve issues at the PreK-8 level as well. But leaving generations of students behind while we wait for results doesn't work either and serves to deepen the status quo.

the anti-reform want to focus to be on solving issues prek-8 because that leaves the status quo intact indefinitely.

Exactly. It's so disingenuous when you hear "we need to be fixing these issues at the younger levels and bring these kids up to speed before we start looking at TJ admissions".

These people feign concern for what's going on in those grade levels when they haven't lifted one finger - in 99% of all cases - to actually support issues of diversity, equity, and inclusion.

No matter what changes are made at the younger levels, they will continue to demand that metrics are used which will allow them to leverage their resources to get their kids to the front of the line.

It's an addiction to feeling like a superior parent. It strives to make the admissions process about the efforts and priorities of the parents rather than that of the students.

- So you are advocating not doing anything at lower levels of education but step in to find and promote URM kids into TJ even if they are ill-prepared for the experience? If that is done, and the kids struggle at TJ, the next call will be to reduce standards at TJ. Not implying ALL of them will struggle, but some will and I know you are not asking for a "dumbing down" yet, but you will. Soon.

- What have YOU done "to actually support issues of diversity, equity, and inclusion" other than prattle away on anonymous boards? Please be specific. We are waiting to hear.

One of the commencement speakers at the TJ graduation was a Black kid (not sure if she was native-AA or recent immigrant) going to Harvard. She was talking about how she felt that her accomplishments were considered "suspect" and feared that it will continue to be so in the future as well. This is sad given how smart she is. However, this will ALWAYS be the case as long as someone like her is getting in through a preferential process (which it is regardless of how y'all want to sugarcoat it). How are you going to fix that? Believe me, it won't take care of itself.

In time this will stop too. It just takes time and patience, further saying this is no reason not to level the playing field.

It will not as long as "leveling the playing the field" is code for preferential treatment for a few. I guess I will never understand the resistance to teaching younger kids how to be competitive so they don't need these crutches.

Actually, that's not true. What we have now is preferential treatment where 28% of the accepted students simply bought the test from a prep center. Let's make sure all kids get a fair chance.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

The great thing about essays is, if you ask the right types of questions and are seeking diverse answers, there is no perfect essay.

I honestly think that this commenter has their heart in the right place, but doesn't really understand the complexity of admissions processes.

PP here. I agree that essays can be wonderful if they ask the right types of questions. Why not expand the essays, then? If they had essays that covered

Otherwise, if it's so infeasible to create new exams, here are a few other ideas that would be better than what FCPS is planning to do:
1. Only allow kids to apply in 9th grade for a Froshmore type admission. That way, they'd have some solid high school grades to use for evaluation, rather than inflated middle school grades. Also, every kid applying would at least have grades for a full year of algebra and half of a year of geometry. This would additionally create extra seats per grade level, if they no longer need to have any 9th graders.

2. Turn TJ into a full academy offering their specialized classes to any kid who meets the pre-reqs and wants to bus there for the classes.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

The great thing about essays is, if you ask the right types of questions and are seeking diverse answers, there is no perfect essay.

I honestly think that this commenter has their heart in the right place, but doesn't really understand the complexity of admissions processes.

PP here. I agree that essays can be wonderful if they ask the right types of questions. Why not expand the essays, then? If they had essays that covered

Otherwise, if it's so infeasible to create new exams, here are a few other ideas that would be better than what FCPS is planning to do:
1. Only allow kids to apply in 9th grade for a Froshmore type admission. That way, they'd have some solid high school grades to use for evaluation, rather than inflated middle school grades. Also, every kid applying would at least have grades for a full year of algebra and half of a year of geometry. This would additionally create extra seats per grade level, if they no longer need to have any 9th graders.

2. Turn TJ into a full academy offering their specialized classes to any kid who meets the pre-reqs and wants to bus there for the classes.

cut off... If they had essays that covered any sort of math problem solving, engineering design, personal ambitions, how they would handle a science ethics dilemma, etc., they could get a pretty good idea of which kids had anything special to offer.