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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]Colleges care ONLY about GPA.

If you think your child cannot land in the top half of the TJ class AND get a 4.0 (w) or above GPA - then avoid TJ.

The [b]overall curriculum at TJ is same as any base HS [/b]- they all cover mostly the same courses such as AP Stats, AP Cal A/B or B/C, AP Physics. [/quote]
Well TJ has been forcefully transformed into being more of a base HS, while the original intent was for it have a much higher curriculum than that of base HS's.

[b]As originally designed, TJ historically drew the attention of exceptional students because those students saw it as their only public school choice to get access to advanced curriculum that went beyond AP levels.  These students were not coming to TJ to finish at AP level, but start there and progress further.  For instance with math, an academically advanced TJ student historically expected to complete AP calculus BC in freshman/sophomore, MultiVariable & Linear in sophomore/junior, differential & discrete in junior/senior, and adv math techniques & scientific math in senior year.  While these courses still exist currently, the enrollment in these courses is very low due to the caliber of admitted class.  The middle schools in the past have supported and nurtured exceptional students by providing access to precalculus courses in the middle school itself, allowing them to go far beyond AP level if they chose TJ[/b].

Over the past two decades, the rise of equity and diversity politics in FCPS and other feeder county schools has created roadblocks for these exceptional students in achieving precalculus or calculus by the end of middle school. The maximum access they now have is for Algebra 2 Trig, and even this requires numerous approvals and summer course enrollment. As a result, the pool of top talent entering TJ with trig and, at most, precalculus credits from middle school has been drastically reduced to less than a fifth of the new class. Currently, fewer than a hundred students in a TJ class enroll in courses beyond Multivariable/Linear.
[/quote]

[b]When was this? [/b] (From you post, apparently this was 3-4 decades ago.  As an FCPS alum myself, I'm not sure I can agree with you on this.)

FWIW, "equity and diversity politics" have only been around for the past 5 years or so.  That is not why middle schools do not offer precal classes.  (At TJ, 00 freshmen have completed trig/precal and go straight to calculus?  Are they all from Loudoun County?)[/quote]
If you're unaware of FCPS's history of racial quota-based admissions to TJ dating back to the mid-'90s, you were probably not yet born or likely in preschool. Many younger activists are manipulated into thinking they are starting this equity battle anew, to have you take ownership of it, and work for free. Politicians define the battle to their benefit. Activist is merely a pawn in their battle.   [/quote]

There is no such history since it's always been illegal. This is just misinformation spread by some bitter parents with an axe to grind.[/quote]
Not some bitter parents but majority of FCPS parent community fought back race-based TJ admissions of late nineties.  Many hardworking black and hispanic parents also were against undermining individual student effort in favor of skin color.  If not for those collaborative efforts, the en masse of HS graduates over past two decades including yourself could not have had fair merit based educational opportunities in various FCPS programs.   Show some gratitude. [/quote]

Oh the[b] imaginary race based admissions again. TJ admissions are race-blind.[/b] Further, the majority of the county believes that the more equitable process that allowed all residents to participate not just those that can afford to drop $20k for test answers was a good thing.[/quote]

+1000[/quote]

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