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Advanced Academic Programs (AAP)
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][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]Affluent families who could afford test prep programs were buying their kids an unfair advantage in admissions. In fact, back in 2017 the SB switched to quant-q, which intentionally didn’t share prep, in an effort to reduce this unfair advantage. https://www.washingtonian.com/2017/04/26/is-the-no-1-high-school-in-america-thomas-jefferson-fairfax-discrimination/ [i]“ “[u]Is it gonna once again advantage those kids whose parents can pay to sign them up for special prep camps[/u] to now be prepping for science testing as well?” Megan McLaughlin [FCPS School Board] asked when presented with the new plan. Admissions director Jeremy Shughart doesn’t think so. The firm that markets the math portion of the test, [u]Quant-Q, doesn’t release materials to the public, a practice that should make them harder for test-prep schools to crack[/u].”[/i] TJ students and others have publicly acknowledged the unfair advantage that money can buy and that test prep companies have a "cache of previous and example prompts". https://www.tjtoday.org/23143/showcase/the-children-left-behind/ [i]“ Families with more money can afford to give children that extra edge by signing them up for whatever prep classes they can find. They can pay money to tutoring organizations to teach their children test-taking skills, “skills learned outside of school,” and [u]to access a cache of previous and example prompts, as I witnessed when I took TJ prep[/u]; even if prompts become outdated by test changes, even access to old prompts enables private tutoring pupils to gain an upper edge over others: pupils become accustomed to the format of the writing sections and gain an approximate idea of what to expect.”[/i] TJ students admitted that [u]they shared quant-q test questions with a test prep company or they saw nearly identical questions on the test. [/u] https://www.facebook.com/tjvents/posts/pfbid0jKy4hotXF8AxKwfHm2MAVi7e2yYoCqtrTTXPYsszAdQg6uMoTmReMidqyM1mpu9Bl https://katedalby.com/get-tj-update/ [I]The math required for the test is basic math, algebra, and geometry. In the past, we have used old SAT tests from 30 years ago augmented with select problems to mimic the Quant Q. In order to adapt to the changes, we will increase the number of permutation and combination problems [u]in response to students’ observations about the math last fall[/u]. [/i] https://www.optimaltjprep.com/ [i]““M. said that the [u]math questions were very similar to the challenge problems[/u] she did with you in classes.” - C.R. (Mother, after 2018-19 test) “E. said that the [u]math questions were very close to what she did with you during the last 2 sessions.[/u] To quote her exactly: 'Dr, Tripathi's math problems were dead on point.' We really appreciate your help with her preparation for the test!” - L.R. (Father, after 2017-18 test)”[/i] Many videos showing [u]how to solve actual SIS math questions on TJ admissions tests[/u]: https://www.youtube.com/@katedalbysinspiringtestpre864/videos https://www.youtube.com/@EduAvenuesTJTestPrep https://www.youtube.com/@principiatutorsconsultants4395/videos [/quote] If all this is true and your conclusions are correct, then why did we saw no increase in FARM students with the first administration of the quant Q test? What did the quant Q test have as statistically insignificant impact on who got in relative to other years? Nobody could prep or study for quant Q because nobody knew what was on the test. So why didn't we see the sort of results you seem to think we would get if all the Asians weren't cheating?[/quote] I was explaining the rationale behind the change to Quant-Q, not that it was successful. Any test prep is still better than no test prep. Some good insights IMO: [i]"Almost every year since I applied to TJ, the Admissions Office has transformed its admissions process; though this purportedly prevents tutors from coaching students to a test, in actuality, this only makes it harder for disadvantaged groups to help themselves prepare for the exam. The set of skills needed to excel at the exam is different from the one that’s typically taught in schools: [b]for those who haven’t been taking test prep for years, this may as well be the first time that they’ve taken a timed, standardized test. For those who’ve prepared for years, frequent practice exams and sample prompts allow them to gain experience taking 3 hour multiple choice exams like the Quant-Q/ACT-Aspire. [/b]As a senior who went through more than three years of TJ prep classes, the contrast between tuition-based courses and free outreach programs is saddening because tuition-based programs simply have more time and money: the competitive culture that fuels TJ prep encourages students to take classes from elementary school while parents’ money purchases the best prep books and hires the best teachers. Given the additional [b]vague guidelines, little guidance, and a complete lack of prep material[/b], TJ Admissions and its applicant site denies ordinary people, those without access to expensive courses, the opportunity to get ahead. [b]The gap between applicant and finalist demographics continues to widen as fewer and fewer preparatory resources are made public for applicants[/b]." [/i] https://www.tjtoday.org/23143/showcase/the-children-left-behind/ [/quote] This is not data, this is the self flagellating of virtue signaling middle class kids bemoaning their privilege of being able to afford $2000/year program at places like curie. Everyone took the quant Q cold that first year. The bottom that multiple choice exams are some secret format is stupid. Strategy and tactics on taking unspecified multiple choice exams is exceedingly thin and can be covered in an afternoon. It's certainly not enough to explain the statistically similar results with quant Q vs the previous test by pointing at test prep. Test prep is just dog whistle for "Asians are cheating". Which is just dog whistle for Asians are sneaky, conniving, greedy, immoral and unethical. Pretty much the same stereotype that Jews faced when they were first a model minority.[/quote] "Test prep" has never been limited to Asian families. And it's not just limited an afternoon of test taking strategies. There is a robust test prep industry that caters to all flavors of wealthy people. Even today. [/quote] Test prep for a test that nobody has ever seen is limited to about an afternoons worth of material. You can't really peep for a test you have never seen. All you can do is talk about process of elimination, when to guess, overly vague words vs overly restrictive words. If it takes more than an afternoon to teach that to you, you were never getting in to begin with [/quote] As I said, it wasn’t just about test strategies. Families were (and still are) willing to spend big bucks in a variety of ways to get their kids a leg up. Buying/renting in a certain school zone Tutoring/academic programs Certain activities/clubs Essay coaching Overall admissions consulting Etc. [/quote] They eliminated the test. The argument was that this was to battle test prep and had nothing to do with race. It was clearly about race and had very little to do with test prep. [/quote] It was about inequities. Kids from affluent families have a huge leg up in TJ admissions (and education) in general. Kids from affluent families who targeted activities, tutoring, etc specifically to get into TJ had an even better shot. And the kids who were able to see sample test questions that looked very similar to the actual test questions had the biggest unfair advantage of all. Chipping away at the obvious inequities in the admissions process was progress but not a complete solution. [/quote]
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