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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]No one is forcing kids from those schools to attend TJ. [b]They are offered a spot because they meet the new requirements[/b]. Those kids can choose to take that spot or not. It looks like not all of the seats that are set aside are taken from those schools.[/quote]
Doesn't the new requirement of needing just Algebra 1 H in 8th grade set them up to fail or be at the absolute bottom at TJ?  When that same kid could be in top 1.5% at their base high school and gain a UVA like spot?[/quote]

I think it is a mistake, I have no idea how the kids at TJ who have completed Algebra 1 in 8th grade are doing. I would not be comfortable sending my kid to TJ with only Algebra 1.

It could be that the kids coming from the non-traditional TJ schools are more driven and are not the kids struggling who only have Algebra 1. Since Algebra 1 H is harder to attain given their backgrounds, getting there required more perseverance and grit thent he kids are used to working harder to get to their end goal.

In my mind, a kid entering TJ with only Algebra 1 H is a kid who is not going to have the opportunity to take the more advanced math classes and science classes, which is the point of attending TJ. But that is my bias. [/quote]
Why mislead students by promoting an inaccurate admissions policy that suggests Algebra 1 Honors in 8th grade is sufficient? Wouldn't setting the bar at Geometry provide students with a clear target to aim for, encouraging them to plan for higher-level math courses starting from earlier grades?[/quote]

No, because most kids (and families) don't even have this on their radar in 3rd or 4th (seems if you aren't on track to take Algebra in 7th and want to try to plan to hit that target, you'd want a few years lead time to work towards it). Setting that bar basically is an indirect way of excluding kids from environments where their early childhood education didn't set them on a glide path for Algebra in 7th, regardless of their innate intellectual/academic capacity.

Also to a prior poster, [b]perhaps the objective for many students is to have the 4 years worth of HS environment and academics/peers that TJ provides. [/b]That is an end in itself, and may be more valuable to them than the perceived prestige of whatever undergrad institution they can enroll in. Not everyone would agree that being top of class at base school is preferable to being bottom 50% of class at TJ.[/quote]
How many peers would a student entering with Algebra 1 in 8th grade find at TJ? Is there a single such student who has completed freshman without returning to base school?[/quote]

It used to be single digit number of students, but now it is over 100 each year. [/quote]

In the late 90s and early 2000s it was half the class?[/quote]

I just looked up Class of 2008... &gt;60% of students admtted were taking Algebra in 8th.[/quote]

It was much harder to take Algebra in 7th back then.  In the Class of 2008, 60% of the kids lacked the acceleration, but had the raw aptitude.  It's not surprising that those kids would be successful at TJ, especially since they did have to show math ability through the TJ test and through earning As in much less grade-inflated coursework.

Nowadays, the bar is quite low for qualifying for Algebra in 7th in FCPS.  Kids who fail to meet that low bar aren't especially talented in math.  [/quote]

Yeah, no. The bar is not low to take Algebra 1 in 7th grade. There would be a lot more students taking it if the bar was low. There are not that many 6th graders taking Algebra 1 and I think it worked out to about 15% of the 7th graders end up in Algebra 1 in 7th grade. I don't know what the path to Algebra 1 in 7th looked like in the early 2000's or even 2010's. I do know that Algebra in 8th was considered advanced through the late 1990's, so I can only imagine that the move to more kids taking Algebra in 7th grade is something that happened in the last 15 years.

And there is a real difference between math talent and math exposure. We were watching a documentary on one of the US International Math Teams and one of the contestants said that he didn't get interested in math until 7th grade. He earned a gold medal at the international competition, the one that comes out of the AMC12. I doubt you would say that he was not talented in math. Different kids come into abilities at different times.

My only issue with the Algebra 1 in 8th grade requirement is that it seems to me that the kids who were taking Algebra 1 in 8th grade will not have the time to take the advanced math classes and sciences classes that TJ offers. It has nothing to do with a lack of talent or ability. It could be that the kids from underrepresented schools [b]who take Algebra 1 in 8th grade thrive in the TJ environment [/b]because they are surrounded by peers that are driven by academics and that gives those students a peer group they have never had before.

I see TJ as a unique opportunity for kids to take advantage of unique classes and offerings that they will not find at their base school. I don't see the kids as being untalented or "bad" at math.[/quote]
has any Algebra 1 student who entered TJ continued beyond freshman year without dropping out? I ask this because I was told almost all peers would be a year or two ahead in math, and student would get frustrated not being able to catch up to them, even doing first year projects.  It is not that Algebra 1 student is not talented, it's that their middle school has not taught what they were supposed to. 
[/quote]

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