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Anonymous wrote:For those who finished Geometry in 8th grade, is it beneficial to complete Algebra 2 in the summer? DC currently signed up PE 9 in the summer, and only 1 credit can be earned in the summer. Not sure he should switch from PE9 to Algebra 2 with Trig.

Why rush math? Seriously, there is no race to Calculus. The best you can hope for is your kid enjoys it while developing a strong foundation.

Why rush math? Why rush reading or why rush writing? This is TJ which uniquely offers advanced courses and advanced research labs/research opps based on advanced courses in science, technology engineering and MATH! Go to advanced HS for Humanities if not interested in advanced math courses and let someone who is interested in and actually able to take advantage of advanced math and other courses that are based on advanced math.

I know. It's not a race. Let kids go at a comfortable pace and master the material instead of rushing through it.

Fine but then don't even think about attending TJ and taking a spot from someone who is qualified and eager to immerse in STEM.

Just because some students happen to attend a n affluent school that provides greater opportunities for acceleration while others don't, doesn't mean they are any more deserving.

Like a PP said, all FCPS middle schools offer Algebra 1. So why didn't they take advance of that opportunity during their middle schools? Or they weren't just capable of?

This. My oldest attended a Title I school that was neither an AAP center nor a LLIV. The advanced math class still had 5 or so kids who qualified for Algebra in 7th. Also, the middle school was much more likely to let kids take Algebra in 7th who didn't meet the IAAT and SOL benchmarks, but were still somewhat close to qualifying. In FCPS, mathematically gifted kids taking Algebra in 8th due to a lack of access would be exceedingly rare.

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Anonymous wrote:For those who finished Geometry in 8th grade, is it beneficial to complete Algebra 2 in the summer? DC currently signed up PE 9 in the summer, and only 1 credit can be earned in the summer. Not sure he should switch from PE9 to Algebra 2 with Trig.

Why rush math? Seriously, there is no race to Calculus. The best you can hope for is your kid enjoys it while developing a strong foundation.

Why rush math? Why rush reading or why rush writing? This is TJ which uniquely offers advanced courses and advanced research labs/research opps based on advanced courses in science, technology engineering and MATH! Go to advanced HS for Humanities if not interested in advanced math courses and let someone who is interested in and actually able to take advantage of advanced math and other courses that are based on advanced math.

I know. It's not a race. Let kids go at a comfortable pace and master the material instead of rushing through it.

Fine but then don't even think about attending TJ and taking a spot from someone who is qualified and eager to immerse in STEM.

Just because some students happen to attend a n affluent school that provides greater opportunities for acceleration while others don't, doesn't mean they are any more deserving.

Like a PP said, all FCPS middle schools offer Algebra 1. So why didn't they take advance of that opportunity during their middle schools? Or they weren't just capable of?

The way they use the lack of opportunities as an excuse for inability is getting old. It can only convince the intellectually challenged people.

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Anonymous wrote:For those who finished Geometry in 8th grade, is it beneficial to complete Algebra 2 in the summer? DC currently signed up PE 9 in the summer, and only 1 credit can be earned in the summer. Not sure he should switch from PE9 to Algebra 2 with Trig.

Why rush math? Seriously, there is no race to Calculus. The best you can hope for is your kid enjoys it while developing a strong foundation.

Why rush math? Why rush reading or why rush writing? This is TJ which uniquely offers advanced courses and advanced research labs/research opps based on advanced courses in science, technology engineering and MATH! Go to advanced HS for Humanities if not interested in advanced math courses and let someone who is interested in and actually able to take advantage of advanced math and other courses that are based on advanced math.

I know. It's not a race. Let kids go at a comfortable pace and master the material instead of rushing through it.

Fine but then don't even think about attending TJ and taking a spot from someone who is qualified and eager to immerse in STEM.

Just because some students happen to attend a n affluent school that provides greater opportunities for acceleration while others don't, doesn't mean they are any more deserving.

Like a PP said, all FCPS middle schools offer Algebra 1. So why didn't they take advance of that opportunity during their middle schools? Or they weren't just capable of?

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Anonymous wrote:OP's son had no business with TJ if not because of the TJ reform. It's a bad fit and will be a torture for him because he'll feel like a loser for four years.

Shame on you. You don’t know that’s the case.

Shame on me? Do you know he had ZERO chance academically before the TJ reform? Might have as well cheated his way in by faking a Hispanic identity (I know many cases already after the TJ reform). I won't be surprised if that's the case.

How do you know this? TJ has had students who took algebra 1 in 8th grade every single year before the latest reforms.

DP. Sure, but the 8th grade Algebra 1 admits in the past were kids who still did quite well on the TJ tests and had impressive teacher recommendations. Being in Algebra 1 wasn’t disqualifying, but it was a significant negative.

In the current process, no weight is given to courses taken, there’s no real test, and there’s no teacher input. A pretty average kid who needed tutors to get As in 8th grade Algebra looks the same in the application as the straight A math star taking pre Calc in 8th.

Anonymous wrote:So much toxic condescension in this thread by people who think they know better than the selection committee and lack information too.

Of course parents know better and are less biased. Selection committee are appointed by the radical leftist FCPS and TJ principal. What else do you expect from them?

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Anonymous wrote:OP's son had no business with TJ if not because of the TJ reform. It's a bad fit and will be a torture for him because he'll feel like a loser for four years.

Shame on you. You don’t know that’s the case.

Shame on me? Do you know he had ZERO chance academically before the TJ reform? Might have as well cheated his way in by faking a Hispanic identity (I know many cases already after the TJ reform). I won't be surprised if that's the case.

How do you know this? TJ has had students who took algebra 1 in 8th grade every single year before the latest reforms.

Yes, but most of them flanked out.

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Anonymous wrote:OP's son had no business with TJ if not because of the TJ reform. It's a bad fit and will be a torture for him because he'll feel like a loser for four years.

Shame on you. You don’t know that’s the case.

Shame on me? Do you know he had ZERO chance academically before the TJ reform? Might have as well cheated his way in by faking a Hispanic identity (I know many cases already after the TJ reform). I won't be surprised if that's the case.

How do you know this? TJ has had students who took algebra 1 in 8th grade every single year before the latest reforms.

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Anonymous wrote:OP's son had no business with TJ if not because of the TJ reform. It's a bad fit and will be a torture for him because he'll feel like a loser for four years.

This person sounds like a parent whose kid is on the waitlist and trying to discourage kids who already are in.

Op- you are asking the right questions. Heck I had no idea about all this when my kid enrolled in TJ.

TJ overall is VERY supportive and ur son will glide at the level he is comfortable with.

Welcome to TJ!

haha. You're spreading misinformation. At that bottom-of-the-drawer math level, he won't find comfort at TJ at all, even with this significantly watered down environment.

Looking through the TJ flowchart, I have a hard time believing that the standard FCPS summer geometry would properly prepare students for TJ's math courses.
A weaker curriculum, now being taken over a more compressed schedule.

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Anonymous wrote:OP's son had no business with TJ if not because of the TJ reform. It's a bad fit and will be a torture for him because he'll feel like a loser for four years.

This person sounds like a parent whose kid is on the waitlist and trying to discourage kids who already are in.

Op- you are asking the right questions. Heck I had no idea about all this when my kid enrolled in TJ.

TJ overall is VERY supportive and ur son will glide at the level he is comfortable with.

Welcome to TJ!

False. I'm a parent of current and former TJ students. Sorry but truth hurts I guess.

I would suggest trying to find the letter sent by TJ teachers to students complaining about the poor performance of the class. It would give you an idea of the kids who found the math difficult, and then you can see where your kid would fit in compared to this.

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Anonymous wrote:No OP but TJ math team has consistently encouraged students to start from basics ( Math1) as they think it builds a much stronger foundation

This seems like an odd statement. This would literally limit students from taking advantage of many of the offerings at TJ in both science and math. They would not be able to take them at all.

They aren't pokemon.

Yeah, they are advanced math classes. They require advanced math and as such require students starting with more than Math 1. The TJ math team spells out these advanced offerings on their page and in the video for 2023.
https://tjhsst.fcps.edu/academics/mathematics

A student can still get a lot out of TJ without ever taking any of those. Building a strong foundation in math is its own reward.

The point is that you can build that same foundation at all of the regular HS. TJ is different because it offers classes that the other schools cannot. It is why I think students should be required to have geometry by the end of 8th grade to apply.

This was never the case. The difference is TJ was selecting fewer than ten kids a year at this level, and is now taking more than 100.

Anonymous wrote:OP's son had no business with TJ if not because of the TJ reform. It's a bad fit and will be a torture for him because he'll feel like a loser for four years.

This person sounds like a parent whose kid is on the waitlist and trying to discourage kids who already are in.

Op- you are asking the right questions. Heck I had no idea about all this when my kid enrolled in TJ.

TJ overall is VERY supportive and ur son will glide at the level he is comfortable with.

Welcome to TJ!

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP's son had no business with TJ if not because of the TJ reform. It's a bad fit and will be a torture for him because he'll feel like a loser for four years.

Shame on you. You don’t know that’s the case.

Shame on me? Do you know he had ZERO chance academically before the TJ reform? Might have as well cheated his way in by faking a Hispanic identity (I know many cases already after the TJ reform). I won't be surprised if that's the case.

Anonymous wrote:OP's son had no business with TJ if not because of the TJ reform. It's a bad fit and will be a torture for him because he'll feel like a loser for four years.

Shame on you. You don’t know that’s the case.