Reply to Huge changes to TJ admissions test beginning next year

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]It would be interesting if they could somehow come up with a test that can't be prepped for.  My kid did not prep, but we knew a lot of kids who did prep very extensively during middle school.

Not all, but many of those kids who prepped had to continue that "prep" mindset while they were at TJ. There were kids there who had to have tutors and outside help for a number of courses every year, plus they needed summer school and extra help for that each summer. Some kids privately took summer courses then took the same course during the school year in hopes of getting a better grade.

My kid and other friends of his who did not prep did not need all this outside help and managed to graduate with high GPAs and are at great schools now, most of them majoring in engineering, physics, math, and other STEM fields.

I would love to see what the school would be like if it were populated by kids who hadn't prepped and didn't need outside help to understand their course work. 
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And I'm sure your son and his friends didn't ever stay up late studying once at TJ either.  It all was natural  :roll: I believe kids at TJ take summer school to be able to do things like band.  Also, if the kids who have tutors don't hold your natural genius back, why are you so focused on them?  To each his own.  If they are willing to study their butts off outside of school to keep up, why don't they belong there?  As far as I'm concerned as long as you keep up, you belong there.  When did the American attitude become that hard work and drive is a negative thing to be frowned on?  I always thought Americans prided themselves on the fact that in our country with hard work and dedication you can become anything you want.  [/quote]

But they DON'Tkeep up once they get there-- at least not at a level that satisfies their parents.   If you are a TJ parent, you know that number one item on the school improvement plan is cheating.  And that for the first 3/4 of the year, there were 90 academic integrity violations-- on place to have 1 kid in every 10 caught cheating.  And that is just the kids where cheating was caught and could be substantiated. My DC says 98% of the kids he is aware of with academic integerity violations are Asian, including the massive sophomore class cheating ring that was broken up this year.

So, either these kids can't keep up without cheating, or they can't get the grades their parents expect without cheating.  Are you okay with the fact that TJ is admitting kids who apparently need to cheat to manage at TJ?  I'm not, They are talking about increased punishments. I hope they crack down hard. Like first strike you get a zero on the assignment.  Second strike you funk the class, third strike, you are returned to the base school. It's ridiculous that kids who follow the rules on academic integrity end up at a disadvantage, because so many kids get test questions from peers who take the test earlier, siblings who attends, older TJ students who attend, or kids who sneak out their phone and take a picture of the test during class.

Maybe kids who don't need to prep for admissions will be able to actually do the work without cheating. [/quote]

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