Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Agree! I wish they could but it would cost too much money. I’m hopeful that the change in tests will produce more authentic admissions this year although many of my kid’s friends seem to have taken prep classes. Can’t figure out what they were teaching when it was a new test!

There is prepping and then there is prepping. My DD is the one who did the FCPS Class last spring. It was 4 hours a week for 5 weeks. She did it then, and not later because the summer was shorter and she had a lot of fun stuff planned, and she had a busy fall planned. It actually covered the old test. It probably wasn’t a waste, because it taught some basic test taking strategies for,PSATs in HS, and it gave her some practice taking timed tests, since SOLs are untimed. We got her an Aspire Sample Test book this fall if she wanted to do some practices. But there was only one science book in print that I could find on Amazon, and it ended up being pretty far off of the test. And I’m not sure she did more than one practice reading and one practice science test. DH set her up with a couple of Kahn academy lessons on combinatorics, since that was new to her. That’s it. Different category than kids who prpepare for the test several hours a week starting in 6th grade and do a lot of homework.

A couple of her friends took week long summer classes, and they also basically did the old stuff. To the best I could tell, the ACT Aspire Reading was a known quantity, but the” prep” classes did a bad job at predicting the content in math and science. But maybe someone on here had a kid wh took a prep class that got it right.

DC's friend is in a hard core prep class in Chantilly - said the class helped in English/Science sections. No doubt they figure out what to teach the kids re test taking even when the test is changed.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:First of all .. one "takes" a test not "gives". DD took the test today and found it to be quite easy. No Geometry questions and hardly any Algebra - quant q seems easier than previous years?

First, FCPS NEEDED TO GIVE the test in the testing window. And yes, the kids need to take it.

Second, no one likes the grammar police.


DC said Quant-Q was heavier on math reasoning than the old test but you did not need as much formal math knowledge. It was more a test of math reasoning and logic. And that science was very straightforward, but multi step with some short answer. And that English was typical English. Straightforward, but several question that had two answers that looked right, and you had to choose the best.

DC did not have a time issue, because DC has extended time under a 504. But DC said they suspect that without extended time, kids would have trouble finishing math and science. And that is whI am hearing from other parents— some kids did not finish math and/or science.

So does your child really need extended time? Wouldn't everyone benefit from extended time? Is it really fair that your DC gets it even if he/she has a 504?

If normed nationally, then our county students have a fair chance.

Anonymous wrote:I didn’t know there were Aspire books. All my kid did was the exemplars we found through the TJ-recommended web search but we couldn’t even find answers for about half of them.

Do we know if the tests are normed only among TJ applicants or nationally?

TJ rep said - nationally.

I didn’t know there were Aspire books. All my kid did was the exemplars we found through the TJ-recommended web search but we couldn’t even find answers for about half of them.

Do we know if the tests are normed only among TJ applicants or nationally?

Anonymous wrote:DD blew the exam. Now what?

Mine said the same thing. Looking at base school options for now. It will be interesting to see the results when they come out.

Anonymous wrote:DD blew the exam. Now what?

Eh... how do you know?

You make the cut (or not) by a getting above certain percentiles in the subscores.
It just depends how everyone else did also.
Wait until Jan and lets see how everything shakes out. It'll be fine either way.

Anonymous wrote:Agree! I wish they could but it would cost too much money. I’m hopeful that the change in tests will produce more authentic admissions this year although many of my kid’s friends seem to have taken prep classes. Can’t figure out what they were teaching when it was a new test!

There is prepping and then there is prepping. My DD is the one who did the FCPS Class last spring. It was 4 hours a week for 5 weeks. She did it then, and not later because the summer was shorter and she had a lot of fun stuff planned, and she had a busy fall planned. It actually covered the old test. It probably wasn’t a waste, because it taught some basic test taking strategies for,PSATs in HS, and it gave her some practice taking timed tests, since SOLs are untimed. We got her an Aspire Sample Test book this fall if she wanted to do some practices. But there was only one science book in print that I could find on Amazon, and it ended up being pretty far off of the test. And I’m not sure she did more than one practice reading and one practice science test. DH set her up with a couple of Kahn academy lessons on combinatorics, since that was new to her. That’s it. Different category than kids who prpepare for the test several hours a week starting in 6th grade and do a lot of homework.

A couple of her friends took week long summer classes, and they also basically did the old stuff. To the best I could tell, the ACT Aspire Reading was a known quantity, but the” prep” classes did a bad job at predicting the content in math and science. But maybe someone on here had a kid wh took a prep class that got it right.

Anonymous wrote:They should change the test every year so people can't study for it. Much more authentic results that way.

I love that they added a science section. DS is at TJ, and there is definately more to succeeding there than Math, math and more math. Math may be a hard A to get, but the classes is very dry, plug and chug, drill and kill stuff. His sister is fine in math, but really excels in science, and loves science, and just took the test. Math was “fine” she said. English was “fine”. But for science she was like “rocked it”. Whether she did or not remains to be seen and we are very clear that you don’t count your chickens, and that there is a lot of subjectivity in the process, etc. But I’m glad TJ is giving kids like her more ways to demonstrate STEM aptitude. And reading might have been prepable. But, for this year at least, it was hard to prep for science and math sections. And you need a 90% on science or a 75% on math to advance. It will be interesting to see if the semifinal pool and the accepted students have a different makeup than they have recently. 2 years ago, DS was in the class where the”essay” problem was writing out a solution to a multi step Algebra word problem. No one saw that one coming either.

It does seem like, from what DD said, you did not need any Algebra or Geometry to excel at the new test. As long as I have had kids in MS looking at TJ or at TJ, I keep hearing from admissions and the school that there have a problem with kids over accelerating in math to get in, and coming in with math knowledge a mile wide and an inch deep. And that they want kids to have a really strong Algebra I foundation, but they don’t need math beyond that. They would rather teach kids what they need in depth than have kids zooming through summer school Geometry. But then they were administering a math test that it was almost impossible to score high enough to be admitted unless you had a full year of Algebra and some Geometry. So, it is great to see TJ putting their money where their mouth is, and only testing the math they say kids need to have. If they want kids to have Geometry and test it, fine. But they needed to stop saying one thing and testing another.

Agree! I wish they could but it would cost too much money. I’m hopeful that the change in tests will produce more authentic admissions this year although many of my kid’s friends seem to have taken prep classes. Can’t figure out what they were teaching when it was a new test!

They should change the test every year so people can't study for it. Much more authentic results that way.

Anonymous wrote:DD blew the exam. Now what?

Get her excited about her base school. Take her and her friends to basketball games this winter!

My DD said she had done well, but knows a few kids who didn't have time for the last couple of questions. She took a prep course and said that the math section of the test had nothing to do with the material covered during the prep class - it was more similar to the problems they solved in mathcounts.

Anonymous wrote:DD blew the exam. Now what?

Be greatful that she won't be under that kind of extreme pressure?

Make sure she knows that it was great to try it and her life IS NOT OVER?

Be nonchalant about it and move on to planning Tgiving dinner?

Anonymous wrote:DD blew the exam. Now what?

What’s done is done. So, now you’re u are left with:

1. Don’t panic. The exam was new. The math had no examples. The science only had a couple printed examples, which apparently did not track the test well. And kids who did well on the test in the past by prepping to death were not able to really prep for math and science. I have heard, across the board, from parents of kids that I would consider strong applicants, that kids did not finish the math and/ or science sections. You won’t really know how your kid did until January, when semi-finalists are notified, and April, when you see the test score. But unlike past tests, most kids feel the”blew it”.

2. Try to put it out of your mind until January. It’s done, and you can’t change it. So don’t let it destroy Thanksgiving and Christmas and winter break. Take this weekend to recover, then move on. And insist your kid moves on. .

3. Make sure your kid has a plan B you can live with. Which everyone should do anyway. Because there are no guarantees in TJ admissions. This year is more of a wildcard than most. But there is always a degree of luck and chance involved.

So, if your kid does not get into TJ, can you live with your base high school? Would you transfer for AP/IB? Is transferring for the Academy of a language an option? Do you need to look at and apply for private?

By the time TJ decisions come out, the pupil placement window for FCPS is closed and most private school have released decisions. So, you need your backup plan locked in.

— parent of a TJ sophomore and a kid who applied this year. Two years ago, kids came out of the test saying they had done well. This year, that isn’t happening.