TJ Falls to 14th in the Nation Per US News

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:TJ applicants all deserve a chance to grow and foster their love of STEM. Even if they weren’t lucky enough to be born into a wealthy family.

TJ exists for learning and enrichment; it’s not just a prize for lucky kids.

If a program is for the most academically gifted students then you should probably be selecting the most academically gifted students without regard to how they became academically gifted.
If you want to level the playing field so that poor kids are as likely to become academically gifted as wealthier kids, what's your plan?
But you are trying to treat all kids as if they are equally academically gifted and treat TJ admissions like a bingo prize.

If you want more poor kids then make the admissions based purely on a test.
NYC does this with its flagship magnet schools and the majority of the students at those schools are on free or reduced lunch.
Holistic admissions and subjective criteria favors kids with resources.

TJ is for qualified students who have an interest in STEM.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:TJ applicants all deserve a chance to grow and foster their love of STEM. Even if they weren’t lucky enough to be born into a wealthy family.

TJ exists for learning and enrichment; it’s not just a prize for lucky kids.

If a program is for the most academically gifted students then you should probably be selecting the most academically gifted students without regard to how they became academically gifted.
If you want to level the playing field so that poor kids are as likely to become academically gifted as wealthier kids, what's your plan?
But you are trying to treat all kids as if they are equally academically gifted and treat TJ admissions like a bingo prize.

If you want more poor kids then make the admissions based purely on a test.
NYC does this with its flagship magnet schools and the majority of the students at those schools are on free or reduced lunch.
Holistic admissions and subjective criteria favors kids with resources.

TJ is for qualified students who have an interest in STEM.

It's not supposed to be.

TJ is a governor's school.

"The Virginia Governor's School Program has been designed to assist divisions as they meet the needs of a small population of students whose learning levels are remarkably different from their age-level peers. The foundation of the Virginia Governor's School Program centers on best practices in the field of gifted education and the presentation of advanced content to able learners." https://www.doe.virginia.gov/teaching-learnin...n/governor-s-schools

The pool of qualified students includes about 40% of FCPS
That is how many students in FCPS have 8th grade algebra and at least a 3.5 GPA.
That includes a lot of mediocre students.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:TJ applicants all deserve a chance to grow and foster their love of STEM. Even if they weren’t lucky enough to be born into a wealthy family.

TJ exists for learning and enrichment; it’s not just a prize for lucky kids.

If a program is for the most academically gifted students then you should probably be selecting the most academically gifted students without regard to how they became academically gifted.
If you want to level the playing field so that poor kids are as likely to become academically gifted as wealthier kids, what's your plan?
But you are trying to treat all kids as if they are equally academically gifted and treat TJ admissions like a bingo prize.

If you want more poor kids then make the admissions based purely on a test.
NYC does this with its flagship magnet schools and the majority of the students at those schools are on free or reduced lunch.
Holistic admissions and subjective criteria favors kids with resources.

TJ is for qualified students who have an interest in STEM.

It's not supposed to be.

TJ is a governor's school.

"The Virginia Governor's School Program has been designed to assist divisions as they meet the needs of a small population of students whose learning levels are remarkably different from their age-level peers. The foundation of the Virginia Governor's School Program centers on best practices in the field of gifted education and the presentation of advanced content to able learners." https://www.doe.virginia.gov/teaching-learnin...n/governor-s-schools

The pool of qualified students includes about 40% of FCPS
That is how many students in FCPS have 8th grade algebra and at least a 3.5 GPA.
That includes a lot of mediocre students.

Mediocre according to who? Their teachers who are giving them A's don't seem to think so...

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:TJ applicants all deserve a chance to grow and foster their love of STEM. Even if they weren’t lucky enough to be born into a wealthy family.

TJ exists for learning and enrichment; it’s not just a prize for lucky kids.

If a program is for the most academically gifted students then you should probably be selecting the most academically gifted students without regard to how they became academically gifted.
If you want to level the playing field so that poor kids are as likely to become academically gifted as wealthier kids, what's your plan?
But you are trying to treat all kids as if they are equally academically gifted and treat TJ admissions like a bingo prize.

If you want more poor kids then make the admissions based purely on a test.
NYC does this with its flagship magnet schools and the majority of the students at those schools are on free or reduced lunch.
Holistic admissions and subjective criteria favors kids with resources.

TJ is for qualified students who have an interest in STEM.

It's not supposed to be.

TJ is a governor's school.

"The Virginia Governor's School Program has been designed to assist divisions as they meet the needs of a small population of students whose learning levels are remarkably different from their age-level peers. The foundation of the Virginia Governor's School Program centers on best practices in the field of gifted education and the presentation of advanced content to able learners." https://www.doe.virginia.gov/teaching-learnin...n/governor-s-schools

The pool of qualified students includes about 40% of FCPS
That is how many students in FCPS have 8th grade algebra and at least a 3.5 GPA.
That includes a lot of mediocre students.

Mediocre according to who? Their teachers who are giving them A's don't seem to think so...

You must not understand how education works these days. Due to retake policies, late work policies, pressure from administration, and pressure from parents, teachers are forced to hand out a lot of As to kids that they would consider mediocre. Seriously, talk to any middle or high school teacher about their students.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:TJ applicants all deserve a chance to grow and foster their love of STEM. Even if they weren’t lucky enough to be born into a wealthy family.

TJ exists for learning and enrichment; it’s not just a prize for lucky kids.

If a program is for the most academically gifted students then you should probably be selecting the most academically gifted students without regard to how they became academically gifted.
If you want to level the playing field so that poor kids are as likely to become academically gifted as wealthier kids, what's your plan?
But you are trying to treat all kids as if they are equally academically gifted and treat TJ admissions like a bingo prize.

If you want more poor kids then make the admissions based purely on a test.
NYC does this with its flagship magnet schools and the majority of the students at those schools are on free or reduced lunch.
Holistic admissions and subjective criteria favors kids with resources.

TJ is for qualified students who have an interest in STEM.

It's not supposed to be.

TJ is a governor's school.

"The Virginia Governor's School Program has been designed to assist divisions as they meet the needs of a small population of students whose learning levels are remarkably different from their age-level peers. The foundation of the Virginia Governor's School Program centers on best practices in the field of gifted education and the presentation of advanced content to able learners." https://www.doe.virginia.gov/teaching-learnin...n/governor-s-schools

The pool of qualified students includes about 40% of FCPS
That is how many students in FCPS have 8th grade algebra and at least a 3.5 GPA.
That includes a lot of mediocre students.

Mediocre according to who? Their teachers who are giving them A's don't seem to think so...

You must not understand how education works these days. Due to retake policies, late work policies, pressure from administration, and pressure from parents, teachers are forced to hand out a lot of As to kids that they would consider mediocre. Seriously, talk to any middle or high school teacher about their students.

Also, the inability to distinguish between a 4.0 student who is an academic superstar and a 4.0 student who is slightly above average is a feature and not a bug in TJ admissions. For AAP, teacher ratings carry the most weight by far. For 10th and 11th grade TJ admissions, teacher recommendations carry a ton of weight. Regular TJ admissions is oddly the only case where FCPS doesn't want to hear what the teachers have to say. Teachers could easily differentiate between the top notch kid with an A and the pretty average kid who did the retakes and whatever else to get a watered down A.

[Anonymous]

I'm still not sure why Geometry or higher in 8th isn't a requirement for FCPS applicants to TJ. In the 2022-2023 testing cycle, FCPS had 1453 8th graders pass the Geometry SOL and another 210 the Algebra II SOL. Among these kids, 137 URMs passed the Geo SOL and 16 URMs passed Algebra II. 98 Disadvantaged 8th graders passed the Geometry SOL, and 11 disadvantaged kids passed the Algebra II one. Almost every middle school had 10+ kids at least in geometry, with the exception of 2 or so schools that are not AAP centers or LLIVs.

They could fill the 350 or so FCPS TJ slots 4-5 times over with the kids who are at least in Geometry in 8th, while still getting adequate racial, economic, and geographic diversity.

*yes, I know there's always some exception to the rule. So, there could be some exemption form where the very rare and extreme cases could have the Geo requirement waived. But, these cases should be pretty rare.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I'm still not sure why Geometry or higher in 8th isn't a requirement for FCPS applicants to TJ. In the 2022-2023 testing cycle, FCPS had 1453 8th graders pass the Geometry SOL and another 210 the Algebra II SOL. Among these kids, 137 URMs passed the Geo SOL and 16 URMs passed Algebra II. 98 Disadvantaged 8th graders passed the Geometry SOL, and 11 disadvantaged kids passed the Algebra II one. Almost every middle school had 10+ kids at least in geometry, with the exception of 2 or so schools that are not AAP centers or LLIVs.

They could fill the 350 or so FCPS TJ slots 4-5 times over with the kids who are at least in Geometry in 8th, while still getting adequate racial, economic, and geographic diversity.

*yes, I know there's always some exception to the rule. So, there could be some exemption form where the very rare and extreme cases could have the Geo requirement waived. But, these cases should be pretty rare.

Why create these obstacles though? There are plenty of super smart kids who may not have taken geometry by 8th who might benefit from TJ too.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'm still not sure why Geometry or higher in 8th isn't a requirement for FCPS applicants to TJ. In the 2022-2023 testing cycle, FCPS had 1453 8th graders pass the Geometry SOL and another 210 the Algebra II SOL. Among these kids, 137 URMs passed the Geo SOL and 16 URMs passed Algebra II. 98 Disadvantaged 8th graders passed the Geometry SOL, and 11 disadvantaged kids passed the Algebra II one. Almost every middle school had 10+ kids at least in geometry, with the exception of 2 or so schools that are not AAP centers or LLIVs.

They could fill the 350 or so FCPS TJ slots 4-5 times over with the kids who are at least in Geometry in 8th, while still getting adequate racial, economic, and geographic diversity.

*yes, I know there's always some exception to the rule. So, there could be some exemption form where the very rare and extreme cases could have the Geo requirement waived. But, these cases should be pretty rare.

Why create these obstacles though? There are plenty of super smart kids who may not have taken geometry by 8th who might benefit from TJ too.

Not really. The bar for taking Algebra in 7th isn't high. In fact, it's so easy to clear that 1663 FCPS kids in the 2022-2023 cycle from across the region and from every racial and economic group did exactly that. Even low SES schools had a substantial number of 7th graders pass the Algebra I SOL in the last testing cycle. Glasgow had 61. Sandburg had 41. There's no need to dip into the kids who are pretty average at math for an elite school with limited spots, unless the kid has some other extenuating factor or some other significant achievement that shows that the kid is brilliant at biology or coding or something, even if they're only okay at math.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'm still not sure why Geometry or higher in 8th isn't a requirement for FCPS applicants to TJ. In the 2022-2023 testing cycle, FCPS had 1453 8th graders pass the Geometry SOL and another 210 the Algebra II SOL. Among these kids, 137 URMs passed the Geo SOL and 16 URMs passed Algebra II. 98 Disadvantaged 8th graders passed the Geometry SOL, and 11 disadvantaged kids passed the Algebra II one. Almost every middle school had 10+ kids at least in geometry, with the exception of 2 or so schools that are not AAP centers or LLIVs.

They could fill the 350 or so FCPS TJ slots 4-5 times over with the kids who are at least in Geometry in 8th, while still getting adequate racial, economic, and geographic diversity.

*yes, I know there's always some exception to the rule. So, there could be some exemption form where the very rare and extreme cases could have the Geo requirement waived. But, these cases should be pretty rare.

Why create these obstacles though? There are plenty of super smart kids who may not have taken geometry by 8th who might benefit from TJ too.

Because they want to hoard opportunities for wealthier kids.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:TJ applicants all deserve a chance to grow and foster their love of STEM. Even if they weren’t lucky enough to be born into a wealthy family.

TJ exists for learning and enrichment; it’s not just a prize for lucky kids.

If a program is for the most academically gifted students then you should probably be selecting the most academically gifted students without regard to how they became academically gifted.
If you want to level the playing field so that poor kids are as likely to become academically gifted as wealthier kids, what's your plan?
But you are trying to treat all kids as if they are equally academically gifted and treat TJ admissions like a bingo prize.

If you want more poor kids then make the admissions based purely on a test.
NYC does this with its flagship magnet schools and the majority of the students at those schools are on free or reduced lunch.
Holistic admissions and subjective criteria favors kids with resources.

TJ is for qualified students who have an interest in STEM.

It's not supposed to be.

TJ is a governor's school.

"The Virginia Governor's School Program has been designed to assist divisions as they meet the needs of a small population of students whose learning levels are remarkably different from their age-level peers. The foundation of the Virginia Governor's School Program centers on best practices in the field of gifted education and the presentation of advanced content to able learners." https://www.doe.virginia.gov/teaching-learnin...n/governor-s-schools

The pool of qualified students includes about 40% of FCPS
That is how many students in FCPS have 8th grade algebra and at least a 3.5 GPA.
That includes a lot of mediocre students.

Right. TJ is for qualified students who have an interest in STEM.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'm still not sure why Geometry or higher in 8th isn't a requirement for FCPS applicants to TJ. In the 2022-2023 testing cycle, FCPS had 1453 8th graders pass the Geometry SOL and another 210 the Algebra II SOL. Among these kids, 137 URMs passed the Geo SOL and 16 URMs passed Algebra II. 98 Disadvantaged 8th graders passed the Geometry SOL, and 11 disadvantaged kids passed the Algebra II one. Almost every middle school had 10+ kids at least in geometry, with the exception of 2 or so schools that are not AAP centers or LLIVs.

They could fill the 350 or so FCPS TJ slots 4-5 times over with the kids who are at least in Geometry in 8th, while still getting adequate racial, economic, and geographic diversity.

*yes, I know there's always some exception to the rule. So, there could be some exemption form where the very rare and extreme cases could have the Geo requirement waived. But, these cases should be pretty rare.

Why create these obstacles though? There are plenty of super smart kids who may not have taken geometry by 8th who might benefit from TJ too.

Because they want to hoard opportunities for wealthier kids.

There are only around 350 TJ slots for FCPS kids. FCPS had 143 8th grade URMs pass the Geo or Algebra II SOL. They had 109 disadvantaged kids pass Geo or Algebra II. The least wealthy AAP centers still had over 40 kids on the Algebra-in-7th track. There are more than enough poor kids who would qualify for TJ even if Geometry were required.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'm still not sure why Geometry or higher in 8th isn't a requirement for FCPS applicants to TJ. In the 2022-2023 testing cycle, FCPS had 1453 8th graders pass the Geometry SOL and another 210 the Algebra II SOL. Among these kids, 137 URMs passed the Geo SOL and 16 URMs passed Algebra II. 98 Disadvantaged 8th graders passed the Geometry SOL, and 11 disadvantaged kids passed the Algebra II one. Almost every middle school had 10+ kids at least in geometry, with the exception of 2 or so schools that are not AAP centers or LLIVs.

They could fill the 350 or so FCPS TJ slots 4-5 times over with the kids who are at least in Geometry in 8th, while still getting adequate racial, economic, and geographic diversity.

*yes, I know there's always some exception to the rule. So, there could be some exemption form where the very rare and extreme cases could have the Geo requirement waived. But, these cases should be pretty rare.

Why create these obstacles though? There are plenty of super smart kids who may not have taken geometry by 8th who might benefit from TJ too.

Because they want to hoard opportunities for wealthier kids.

There are only around 350 TJ slots for FCPS kids. FCPS had 143 8th grade URMs pass the Geo or Algebra II SOL. They had 109 disadvantaged kids pass Geo or Algebra II. The least wealthy AAP centers still had over 40 kids on the Algebra-in-7th track. There are more than enough poor kids who would qualify for TJ even if Geometry were required.

It’s an unnecessary barrier.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'm still not sure why Geometry or higher in 8th isn't a requirement for FCPS applicants to TJ. In the 2022-2023 testing cycle, FCPS had 1453 8th graders pass the Geometry SOL and another 210 the Algebra II SOL. Among these kids, 137 URMs passed the Geo SOL and 16 URMs passed Algebra II. 98 Disadvantaged 8th graders passed the Geometry SOL, and 11 disadvantaged kids passed the Algebra II one. Almost every middle school had 10+ kids at least in geometry, with the exception of 2 or so schools that are not AAP centers or LLIVs.

They could fill the 350 or so FCPS TJ slots 4-5 times over with the kids who are at least in Geometry in 8th, while still getting adequate racial, economic, and geographic diversity.

*yes, I know there's always some exception to the rule. So, there could be some exemption form where the very rare and extreme cases could have the Geo requirement waived. But, these cases should be pretty rare.

Why create these obstacles though? There are plenty of super smart kids who may not have taken geometry by 8th who might benefit from TJ too.

Because they want to hoard opportunities for wealthier kids.

There are only around 350 TJ slots for FCPS kids. FCPS had 143 8th grade URMs pass the Geo or Algebra II SOL. They had 109 disadvantaged kids pass Geo or Algebra II. The least wealthy AAP centers still had over 40 kids on the Algebra-in-7th track. There are more than enough poor kids who would qualify for TJ even if Geometry were required.

It’s an unnecessary barrier.

Expecting kids to be good at math rather than slightly above average at math is an "unnecessary barrier?"

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'm still not sure why Geometry or higher in 8th isn't a requirement for FCPS applicants to TJ. In the 2022-2023 testing cycle, FCPS had 1453 8th graders pass the Geometry SOL and another 210 the Algebra II SOL. Among these kids, 137 URMs passed the Geo SOL and 16 URMs passed Algebra II. 98 Disadvantaged 8th graders passed the Geometry SOL, and 11 disadvantaged kids passed the Algebra II one. Almost every middle school had 10+ kids at least in geometry, with the exception of 2 or so schools that are not AAP centers or LLIVs.

They could fill the 350 or so FCPS TJ slots 4-5 times over with the kids who are at least in Geometry in 8th, while still getting adequate racial, economic, and geographic diversity.

*yes, I know there's always some exception to the rule. So, there could be some exemption form where the very rare and extreme cases could have the Geo requirement waived. But, these cases should be pretty rare.

Why create these obstacles though? There are plenty of super smart kids who may not have taken geometry by 8th who might benefit from TJ too.

Because they want to hoard opportunities for wealthier kids.

There are only around 350 TJ slots for FCPS kids. FCPS had 143 8th grade URMs pass the Geo or Algebra II SOL. They had 109 disadvantaged kids pass Geo or Algebra II. The least wealthy AAP centers still had over 40 kids on the Algebra-in-7th track. There are more than enough poor kids who would qualify for TJ even if Geometry were required.

My kid opted out of the top math track unknown to me, his parent. He got into TJ and took Geometry over the summer, self-taught. He got a perfect score on the SOL. He's brilliant when it comes to math. So he's a great example of wasn't-in-Geometry, still brilliant.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'm still not sure why Geometry or higher in 8th isn't a requirement for FCPS applicants to TJ. In the 2022-2023 testing cycle, FCPS had 1453 8th graders pass the Geometry SOL and another 210 the Algebra II SOL. Among these kids, 137 URMs passed the Geo SOL and 16 URMs passed Algebra II. 98 Disadvantaged 8th graders passed the Geometry SOL, and 11 disadvantaged kids passed the Algebra II one. Almost every middle school had 10+ kids at least in geometry, with the exception of 2 or so schools that are not AAP centers or LLIVs.

They could fill the 350 or so FCPS TJ slots 4-5 times over with the kids who are at least in Geometry in 8th, while still getting adequate racial, economic, and geographic diversity.

*yes, I know there's always some exception to the rule. So, there could be some exemption form where the very rare and extreme cases could have the Geo requirement waived. But, these cases should be pretty rare.

Why create these obstacles though? There are plenty of super smart kids who may not have taken geometry by 8th who might benefit from TJ too.

Because they want to hoard opportunities for wealthier kids.

There are only around 350 TJ slots for FCPS kids. FCPS had 143 8th grade URMs pass the Geo or Algebra II SOL. They had 109 disadvantaged kids pass Geo or Algebra II. The least wealthy AAP centers still had over 40 kids on the Algebra-in-7th track. There are more than enough poor kids who would qualify for TJ even if Geometry were required.

It’s an unnecessary barrier.

Expecting kids to be good at math rather than slightly above average at math is an "unnecessary barrier?"

Kids who take Algebra in 8th can be good at math.

Yes, it’s an unnecessary barrier that limits who can apply. It makes TJ a prize for the few lucky kids instead of a learning resource for many qualified kids who are interested in STEM.