Reply to TJ - which middle schools had students accepted in 2017

Forum Index » Advanced Academic Programs (AAP)

Reply to "TJ - which middle schools had students accepted in 2017"

Subject:

Emoticons





More smilies

Text Color: Font: Close Marks

[quote=Anonymous]A couple thoughts on all of this....

What I consider TJ prepping is specifically reviewing previous tests beyond the one provided on their website - seeking out these tests at a prep center and working on scrambled paragraphs over and over again. I have no problem with people taking creating writing classes or math enrichment, but these centers that have popped up where kids are repetitively taking tests for years - that's where people have an issue with prepping. Parents who are doing this to their kids: yes, your kid may get in but think about what you lost over the years of doing this, but I can assure you it comes with a cost.

The sports analogy doesn't work - it would be the equivalent of someone only working on 3 hail mary plays in football over and over again until they can do those 3 plays. But great football players don't do that - they run, they do push ups, they lift weights, etc. So you're not getting the best football player. With TJ, we don't know if we're getting the kids with the best STEM potential - in some cases they have just been trained to pass the test with extreme help preparing.  Not all kids who are admitted are doing this, but I think given the increase in the number of prep centers in the area and the age at which they are starting, there is a market for these services. The admissions office cannot pretend they don't exist and up till this point has been unable to stay one step ahead of the prep centers.

If looking at old tests is considered cheating when you're at TJ, should it not be considered cheating during the admissions process? Unauthorized access to grades is considered cheating yet the admissions office was unable to prevent some students from getting their scores before others. The admissions office was able to correct the mistake but there was no effort made to catch those who were responsible for this or took advantage of this glitch. I'd rather see a question about cheating and ethics on the SIS than any other type of question.

If people are cheating their way through high school, when does it end? I don't want a doctor who cheated his or her way through medical school! TJ/FCPS currently does not have the political will to expel all the cheaters, but they need to start somewhere.

I know two teachers at TJ who are extremely frustrated by the cheating and stressful environment there. One teacher (not in the language department) said that native Chinese speakers are taking Chinese for the easy A, thereby making it difficult for the students who really want to learn Chinese.

Asian groups in NoVa have tightknit communities - now that many of their students are getting in, it creates more pressure for the rest to get in and go - and yes, there are some families that will go to extreme measures to make this happen.

To the Asian mom who thinks we are all judging her and her student, I can tell you that I am not judging any individuals. I can't speak for everyone, I agree that there are harmful stereotypes. But the sheer number of Asians being accepted - even if just a fraction of these are extreme preppers and then cheaters, that is a lot of people.

[/quote]

Options

	Disable HTML in this message
	Disable BB Code in this message
	Disable smilies in this message

Review message

Search Recent Topics Hottest Topics