Reply to How does one prep place account for 25% of TJ Admissions?

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Reply to "How does one prep place account for 25% of TJ Admissions?"

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]
Prepping: I don't see what's wrong in prepping. We have the opportunity to apply to one of the best high schools in the country. It is going to be competitive and people who are motivated to get into it would want to give it their best shot. There is a published admission criteria (which reflects the baseline for the school). Prepping to do well on a test is not cheating or faking. It is hard work. It is not undeserving kids getting the answer key the day before the test and memorizing it. It is children that show potential from an early grade (might be giftedness or perseverance), which is reflected in grades, SOL, course selections, participation in competitions, STEM activities inside and outside of school. It is parents that spend countless hours with the children showing interest in their progress, coaching them at home, checking their work, driving them around. And in the case of prep centers, it is rigorous work environment with lots of tutoring, assignments, practice tests, company of like-minded children.[/quote]
So, very bright, motivated kids who don't come from privileged backgrounds and can't afford the extras don't belong at TJ?  In FCPS, the AA and Hispanic populations tend to be lower income as a whole than the white and Asian ones.  When admissions systems for a public school program are set up such that kids who lack the means to take expensive prep classes and perhaps don't have parents who are able to spend countless hours coaching their children, there's a huge problem.

You're just convincing me that FCPS needs to end the insanity and start doing a racially balanced lottery (among kids who meet the baseline scores) for the seats.  [/quote]

I think we should separate race from income level. While it may be true on a relative basis (and possibly should be addressed on a national level), I wouldn't perpetuate a stereotype that AA/Hispanics equals lower income.

There might be fee waivers for lower income children at Curie or other test prep centers. FCPS should also invest in identifying and helping them from an early age. At the risk of generalizing, unfortunately, I suspect in many cases lower income also corresponds with parents either being less educated, less informed of the opportunities, or not having enough time/ability to invest with the child. That means FCPS will have to do the hard work by intervening early, reaching out to parents and informing them of the child's potential and enrichment/advanced learning opportunities available to them and taking on a little bit more of the burden from the parents. Introducing a quota or lottery for advanced STEM high school if a child isn't ready for the rigor is only a recipe for failure. It also doesn't mean we should knock down other children or discount their efforts as fake or cheating.[/quote]

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