Reply to TJ entrance test answers were never for sale

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]https://www.fcps.edu/news/offers-extended-thomas-jefferson-high-school-science-and-technology-class-2029

Offers made to "academically wealthy feeders" (schools with most advanced STEM students):
    Carson Middle School - 48
    Cooper Middle School - 25
    Longfellow Middle School - 48
    Rocky Run Middle School - 22

The term “academically wealthy feeders” is used by certain posters on this forum, with a tone of envy, to describe top-ranked middle schools that consistently produce a large number of hardworking, advanced STEM students, and FCPS proudly mentions them in the TJ offers news releases.  [/quote]

My kid attends Carson and will be applying for TJ next year. We are upper middle class and have been able to provide them with math competition classes, STEM extra curriculars, and STEM camps because they enjoy them. I would expect that their STEM resume looks better than a FARMs kid from Poe who is interested in STEM and a strong student but does not have the same access to extra-curricular activities. I don't have a problem with the new admission system making sure that kid from Poe has a chance to attend TJ even if he is starting with less of a STEM base then my kid. The kid from Poe shouldn't be penalized because his parents couldn't afford the same opportunities we could.

There are ways to tweak the current admissions process that would improve the selection process. Increase the GPA to 3.75 and require all Honors classes. Math classes should be given a weight. 1 point for Algebra 2, .5 points for Geometry. That would mean that the more advanced math kids at schools like Carson, Cooper, Longfellow, and Rocky Run would be more likely to be in the top 1.5% and at the top of the general pool while not penalizing the kid at Poe who didn't have the same opportunities to accelerate in math.

But TJ is a public school that should be available to all the kids in our area if they meet the criteria. The old system favored kids whose parents could pay for enrichment. Adding the quota for each school opens the school to additional kids and there is nothing wrong with that.

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TJ admits still come, overwhelmingly, from wealthier schools.  Idk why you say the new system is an improvement. [/quote]

DP, but there are now kids from ALL middle schools. Previously, many schools were shut out.

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Academic excellence is not evenly distributed by geography, wealth or race.  By the time 8th grade comes around, cognitive ability has already been fairly will developed and just going to TJ isn't going to make someone smarter if they are not prepared.  [/quote]

Right. Money buys "academic excellence".

https://record.umich.edu/articles/research-shows-how-wealth-begets-educational-disparity/
[i]"The greatest impact of wealth on educational success came in years 6-12, which echoes previous studies on income’s impact on success. "[/i]
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