Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Bottom 10% at TJ will be top 10% at Langley and McLean etc.

Bottom 10% at TJ get a B or C in Calc AB, and that's about it with math. Top 10% at Langley and McLean get an A in Calc BC, and follow it up with Multi Variable, and Linear Alegbra

More so now with the essay based admission. Bottom 10% leave after freshman, the next bottom 10% write five line essays and that's about it

Just the opposite. The bottom 10% was worse when people were only getting in because they bought the test answers. At least now it's based on merit.

bought test answers from where? I read conspiracy theories being floated here. But in a real world, buyers can only exist when there is both a seller and a product present in the transaction. Who is the seller? Do they have a site where they sell this product?

It was the place that shall not be named. Continue to disbelieve what happened. That way you can continue to misunderstand one of the reasons for the admissions change (there were others too).

Let me get this. There was a place that cant be named, that sold a product that cant be mentioned, at a location that cannot be disclosed, that caused the admission change?

*chuckles* The place is called Curie Learning Centers.

The product is/was their flagship TJ prep course that featured, among many other things, a question bank for the secured Quant-Q exam that was inappropriately derived from their previous students reporting back on the questions they'd seen when they took the exam. While Curie didn't do anything illegal, what they did was unethical, as they used materials given to them by students who had signed an agreement not to disclose any materials from the Quant-Q. It's been confirmed many times by TJ students who attended Curie and the veracity of the story is no longer up for debate among serious people. The flagship course ran about $5,000 per student (not the $20K that has been mentioned here before) and ran for a 16-month period beginning for most students at the star of their 7th grade year and running up through the administration of the Student Information Sheet in January of 8th grade.

Curie has multiple locations in Loudoun and western Fairfax Counties.

To say that the Curie matter "caused" the admissions changes is perhaps not quite appropriate, but it absolutely highlighted the need for reform because of the program's success in securing admission to TJ and the growth of its claims year over year.

And before anyone comes at me with the snarky "look, another advertisement for Curie" nonsense, understand this:

I don't care at all how much money Dr. R is able to bilk off of insecure families - I only care that the families are not rewarded in admissions processes for having the money to burn.

Ok that's fine, but I have to wonder why would this matter so much, if each years Quant-Q questions are different... oh wait... are you saying FCPS doesn't bother to change the questions to an exam that thousands of kids took every year? That's clearly plain stupid.

I don't see this as any different than what other prep companies have done.. which is to falsely register folks to take the exam and report back the question, or at a minimum find out as much information as they can from past tests. But at least college board knows this is happening and changes the questions.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Bottom 10% at TJ will be top 10% at Langley and McLean etc.

Bottom 10% at TJ get a B or C in Calc AB, and that's about it with math. Top 10% at Langley and McLean get an A in Calc BC, and follow it up with Multi Variable, and Linear Alegbra

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Bottom 10% at TJ will be top 10% at Langley and McLean etc.

Bottom 10% at TJ get a B or C in Calc AB, and that's about it with math. Top 10% at Langley and McLean get an A in Calc BC, and follow it up with Multi Variable, and Linear Alegbra

More so now with the essay based admission. Bottom 10% leave after freshman, the next bottom 10% write five line essays and that's about it

Just the opposite. The bottom 10% was worse when people were only getting in because they bought the test answers. At least now it's based on merit.

bought test answers from where? I read conspiracy theories being floated here. But in a real world, buyers can only exist when there is both a seller and a product present in the transaction. Who is the seller? Do they have a site where they sell this product?

It was the place that shall not be named. Continue to disbelieve what happened. That way you can continue to misunderstand one of the reasons for the admissions change (there were others too).

Let me get this. There was a place that cant be named, that sold a product that cant be mentioned, at a location that cannot be disclosed, that caused the admission change?

*chuckles* The place is called Curie Learning Centers.

The product is/was their flagship TJ prep course that featured, among many other things, a question bank for the secured Quant-Q exam that was inappropriately derived from their previous students reporting back on the questions they'd seen when they took the exam. While Curie didn't do anything illegal, what they did was unethical, as they used materials given to them by students who had signed an agreement not to disclose any materials from the Quant-Q. It's been confirmed many times by TJ students who attended Curie and the veracity of the story is no longer up for debate among serious people. The flagship course ran about $5,000 per student (not the $20K that has been mentioned here before) and ran for a 16-month period beginning for most students at the star of their 7th grade year and running up through the administration of the Student Information Sheet in January of 8th grade.

Curie has multiple locations in Loudoun and western Fairfax Counties.

To say that the Curie matter "caused" the admissions changes is perhaps not quite appropriate, but it absolutely highlighted the need for reform because of the program's success in securing admission to TJ and the growth of its claims year over year.

And before anyone comes at me with the snarky "look, another advertisement for Curie" nonsense, understand this:

I don't care at all how much money Dr. R is able to bilk off of insecure families - I only care that the families are not rewarded in admissions processes for having the money to burn.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Bottom 10% at TJ will be top 10% at Langley and McLean etc.

Bottom 10% at TJ get a B or C in Calc AB, and that's about it with math. Top 10% at Langley and McLean get an A in Calc BC, and follow it up with Multi Variable, and Linear Alegbra

More so now with the essay based admission. Bottom 10% leave after freshman, the next bottom 10% write five line essays and that's about it

Just the opposite. The bottom 10% was worse when people were only getting in because they bought the test answers. At least now it's based on merit.

bought test answers from where? I read conspiracy theories being floated here. But in a real world, buyers can only exist when there is both a seller and a product present in the transaction. Who is the seller? Do they have a site where they sell this product?

It was the place that shall not be named. Continue to disbelieve what happened. That way you can continue to misunderstand one of the reasons for the admissions change (there were others too).

Let me get this. There was a place that cant be named, that sold a product that cant be mentioned, at a location that cannot be disclosed, that caused the admission change?

*chuckles* The place is called Curie Learning Centers.

The product is/was their flagship TJ prep course that featured, among many other things, a question bank for the secured Quant-Q exam that was inappropriately derived from their previous students reporting back on the questions they'd seen when they took the exam. While Curie didn't do anything illegal, what they did was unethical, as they used materials given to them by students who had signed an agreement not to disclose any materials from the Quant-Q. It's been confirmed many times by TJ students who attended Curie and the veracity of the story is no longer up for debate among serious people. The flagship course ran about $5,000 per student (not the $20K that has been mentioned here before) and ran for a 16-month period beginning for most students at the star of their 7th grade year and running up through the administration of the Student Information Sheet in January of 8th grade.

Curie has multiple locations in Loudoun and western Fairfax Counties.

To say that the Curie matter "caused" the admissions changes is perhaps not quite appropriate, but it absolutely highlighted the need for reform because of the program's success in securing admission to TJ and the growth of its claims year over year.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Bottom 10% at TJ will be top 10% at Langley and McLean etc.

Bottom 10% at TJ get a B or C in Calc AB, and that's about it with math. Top 10% at Langley and McLean get an A in Calc BC, and follow it up with Multi Variable, and Linear Alegbra

More so now with the essay based admission. Bottom 10% leave after freshman, the next bottom 10% write five line essays and that's about it

Just the opposite. The bottom 10% was worse when people were only getting in because they bought the test answers. At least now it's based on merit.

bought test answers from where? I read conspiracy theories being floated here. But in a real world, buyers can only exist when there is both a seller and a product present in the transaction. Who is the seller? Do they have a site where they sell this product?

It was the place that shall not be named. Continue to disbelieve what happened. That way you can continue to misunderstand one of the reasons for the admissions change (there were others too).

Let me get this. There was a place that cant be named, that sold a product that cant be mentioned, at a location that cannot be disclosed, that caused the admission change?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Bottom 10% at TJ will be top 10% at Langley and McLean etc.

Bottom 10% at TJ get a B or C in Calc AB, and that's about it with math. Top 10% at Langley and McLean get an A in Calc BC, and follow it up with Multi Variable, and Linear Alegbra

More so now with the essay based admission. Bottom 10% leave after freshman, the next bottom 10% write five line essays and that's about it

Just the opposite. The bottom 10% was worse when people were only getting in because they bought the test answers. At least now it's based on merit.

bought test answers from where? I read conspiracy theories being floated here. But in a real world, buyers can only exist when there is both a seller and a product present in the transaction. Who is the seller? Do they have a site where they sell this product?

It was the place that shall not be named. Continue to disbelieve what happened. That way you can continue to misunderstand one of the reasons for the admissions change (there were others too).

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Bottom 10% at TJ will be top 10% at Langley and McLean etc.

Bottom 10% at TJ get a B or C in Calc AB, and that's about it with math. Top 10% at Langley and McLean get an A in Calc BC, and follow it up with Multi Variable, and Linear Alegbra

More so now with the essay based admission. Bottom 10% leave after freshman, the next bottom 10% write five line essays and that's about it

Just the opposite. The bottom 10% was worse when people were only getting in because they bought the test answers. At least now it's based on merit.

bought test answers from where? I read conspiracy theories being floated here. But in a real world, buyers can only exist when there is both a seller and a product present in the transaction. Who is the seller? Do they have a site where they sell this product?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Bottom 10% at TJ will be top 10% at Langley and McLean etc.

Bottom 10% at TJ get a B or C in Calc AB, and that's about it with math. Top 10% at Langley and McLean get an A in Calc BC, and follow it up with Multi Variable, and Linear Alegbra

More so now with the essay based admission. Bottom 10% leave after freshman, the next bottom 10% write five line essays and that's about it

Just the opposite. The bottom 10% was worse when people were only getting in because they bought the test answers. At least now it's based on merit.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Bottom 10% at TJ will be top 10% at Langley and McLean etc.

Bottom 10% at TJ get a B or C in Calc AB, and that's about it with math. Top 10% at Langley and McLean get an A in Calc BC, and follow it up with Multi Variable, and Linear Alegbra

More so now with the essay based admission. Bottom 10% leave after freshman, the next bottom 10% write five line essays and that's about it

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Bottom 10% at TJ will be top 10% at Langley and McLean etc.

Bottom 10% at TJ get a B or C in Calc AB, and that's about it with math. Top 10% at Langley and McLean get an A in Calc BC, and follow it up with Multi Variable, and Linear Alegbra

Anonymous wrote:Bottom 10% at TJ will be top 10% at Langley and McLean etc.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Bottom 10% at TJ will be top 10% at Langley and McLean etc.

Bottom 10% at TJ get a B or C in Calc AB, and that's about it with math. Top 10% at Langley and McLean get an A in Calc BC, and follow it up with Multi Variable, and Linear Alegbra

Anonymous wrote:Bottom 10% at TJ will be top 10% at Langley and McLean etc.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

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Anonymous wrote:

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Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It isn't even even in different high schools in FCPS. My sophomore at Langley has a friend who switched from another FCPS school and was getting all 100's and now is horrified to be struggling at Langley with B and C's. And yet I'm sure the high school the kid is at previously would do better in college admissions.

Sounds like your kid and their friend are in general ed classes. Obviously general ed at Langley is at a higher level than general ed at Mt. Vernon. But then again those other general ed kids aren't applying to UVA so I wouldn't worry about them.

However, teachers who teach AP/IB use prior year AP/IB format questions on their classroom tests. So the rigor across AP/IB schools is essentially standardized to that difficulty.

If you think IB rigor at Mount Vernon is similar to AP rigor at Langley, you’re delusional.

Yes, it's well known that IB is far more challenging than any AP course.

Nice try, but very wrong. Gen Ed at Langley is more challenging than IB at Mount Vernon.

Do you have a student at Langley in Gen Ed classes and a student at Mount Vernon in IB classes? My guess is the answer is NO.

I am a parent of student who graduated from Mount Vernon this past spring. I also have a child who graduated two years ago from one of the private schools in the DMV. The private high school has as high or even higher SES population as the students at Langley High School. The private school sends 99% of its graduates to four year colleges, so their Gen Ed classes are all college prep. My private school kid's Gen Ed classes were very similar to the Honors courses at Mount Vernon. My private school DC also took a couple of AP courses. Mount Vernon offers AP Govt and AP Stats. Both of my children were taking AP Govt at the exact same time. They were using the exact same textbook. They had very comparable homework assignments. You know what was different? My Mount Vernon student had fewer students in his class than my private high school kid did. At the end of the year, they took the exact same AP exam.

The big difference inside an Honors class or an IB at Mount Vernon is the size (teacher/student ratio) - especially as you get into the IB classes in 11th and 12th grade. Mount Vernon has 11 students per teacher. Langley has 16 students per teacher. My DC had 6 (six) students in his IB math class last year. How many students are in AP Calculus at Langley? There are extremely bright, motivated, high achieving students at Mount Vernon HS. They are being challenged in the classroom. There just aren't huge numbers of them. That's the difference.

DP. That's what I thought too. But I know a couple kids who recently graduated from Lewis and they were not prepared for college, as in, returning home during their freshman year or choosing community college or taking a gap year that turned into another and so on.

I find it difficult to believe that your anecdote is the norm for graduates from those schools. For first-gen or non-native English graduates, sure, understandable that they struggle.

But I do not buy that the IB grading scale is somehow flawed at Lewis, MV, Justice, etc. IB grades and scores are externally normalized across participants just like AP is. So it's not logical that kids who pass IB are somehow doing so much worse in college than everyone else just because they came from certain high schools and not from Robinson, for example.