At first glance, Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology (TJHSST) appears to provide a useful alternative to students who are not challenged by the typical curriculum of the public education system. Their objective is to provide students with a demanding learning environment that emphasizes coursework in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM). The admissions process is highly competitive: TJHSST seeks students with a high demonstrated proficiency in and passion for STEM.
How does one measure these aptitudes and passions in an 8th grader? While the admissions committee does consider academic achievement, personal essays, and teacher recommendations, the component that most students (and parents) have turned their attention to is the merit-based admissions exam.
There’s just one problem: merit-based exams might not really exist.
Take the SAT, for example. Despite overwhelming evidence that affluent students have an unacceptable advantage, many four-year universities still require SAT scores to apply. Wealthier students boost their scores by taking the test multiple times or attending SAT prep courses and are disproportionately more likely to be granted extra time.
These same advantages are present in any admissions test, and the results can be seen in TJHSST’s lack of low-income students. While around 29% of students in Fairfax County Public Schools are from low-income families, just one percent of students offered admission to TJ in 2018 were low-income (See Figure 1 to the right).
This is not to say that the school does not offer an excellent education, or that students who do get in are under-qualified. TJHSST boasts a 100% graduation rate and best-in-state performance in English and math assessments; in 2019, TJHSST students took 3,647 AP exams, with over 98% of students earning a score of 3 or above. There is a rich assortment of post-AP courses offered as well that are not available at other schools.
The issue is that this accelerated education is disproportionately offered to high-income students. The opportunity to be challenged, take interesting classes, be surrounded by high-achieving peers, and pursue one’s interests in STEM should be based on merit rather than financial status. A lack of diversity in the STEM field at large is already a major problem.
Lottery-based systems seem to be the obvious solution if the goal is to increase diversity and access to accelerated education. But would it still be possible to get the achievement level that TJHSST has boasted?
BASIS, a system of charter schools that started in Arizona, offers an accelerated education to students who want it through a lottery-based admissions system that does not require a minimum GPA or admissions test score of any kind. While this may sound overly optimistic, the BASIS system continues to produce impressive results: In 2019, 59% of graduates were accepted to a top-ranked university and 92.1% earned some sort of AP scholar recognition.
This isn’t to say a lack of diversity isn’t still a problem for charter schools like BASIS: Hispanic students account for 44% of all students in Arizona, but they make up just 36% of charter school students.
However, eliminating an admissions test removes one barrier of many for low-income and minority students seeking an accelerated education. In fact, every BASIS school has students that qualify for free or reduced lunch, and in some schools this represents up to 20% of the student population. Furthermore, the charter model has allowed BASIS to expand from one school in 1998 to 28 schools today, greatly increasing state-wide access to their model of education.
In recent years, discussion of national education has centered around school choice, specifically the ability for parents to choose which school their children attend.
While reasonable arguments can be made for and against a model based upon parental choice, almost everyone can agree on one central fact: education at any level is meant to help people improve their lives. Advanced education models like TJHSST and BASIS were never meant to be a means for privileged families to get their child every possible advantage available. To this day, TJHSST’s mission statement continues to emphasize passion for STEM and reflect BASIS’ commitment to offering an alternative to an education system they see as broken.
Neither of these mission statements can be realized without the inclusion of minorities and low-income students, children and young adults who might not have access to any sort of supplementary education. To their credit, in October TJHSST abandoned two major drivers of exclusivity in their admission process: the admissions test and the admissions fee. However, unless TJHSST proactively encourages minority and low-income students to attend and provides them the necessary support systems when they matriculate, they will face the same challenges as Arizona charter schools.
More broadly, Virginia needs to support school choice and offer an accelerated education to every student who wants one: TJHSST is currently the only high school of its kind in Northern Virginia, and the Commonwealth only has eight charter schools total. High-income families already have the upper hand in the professional and academic world; it is about time to even the score. Abolishing admission tests and reforming evaluatory metrics at schools that offer accelerated education won’t immediately fix all the diversity issues that are present in advanced programs, but it would be a major step in the right direction.
The views expressed above are solely the author's and are not endorsed by the Virginia Policy Review, The Frank Batten School of Leadership and Public Policy, or the University of Virginia. Although this organization has members who are University of Virginia students and may have University employees associated or engaged in its activities and affairs, the organization is not a part of or an agency of the University. It is a separate and independent organization which is responsible for and manages its own activities and affairs. The University does not direct, supervise or control the organization and is not responsible for the organization’s contracts, acts, or omissions.
by Haley Swartz
In advance of the upcoming reauthorization of the Child Nutrition Act, public dialogue and political action must shift to emphasize exercise and physical education courses, in addition to a balanced, nutritionally rich diet.
Congress amends the CNA every five years to reflect new research on public health trends and refocus the goals of the National School Lunch Program. Preceding the most recent CNA reauthorization, First Lady Michelle Obama launched the Let’s Move!initiative to end childhood obesity in February 2010. This program reflected a new emphasis on childhood obesity within the 2010 reauthorization of the CNA, or the Healthy Hunger Free Kids Act of 2010. However, this law will expire on September 30, 2015.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates one-third, or 12 million American children and adolescents, were overweight or obese in 2012. According to the Pew Research Center, 69 percent of Americans see obesity as a “very serious public health problem.” While 57 percent of Americans believe government should play a significant role in reducing obesity among children, only 42 percent of the public believes the government should address adult obesity.
by Grady Brown
In his State of the Union Address, President Barack Obama unveiled his plans for free community college. Surely one of the highlights of the address, the plan would offer two years of community college free to students who maintain a minimum GPA of 2.5. The plan was largely based on the Tennessee Promise and is aimed at giving more students feasible pathways to higher education and, potentially, a four year degree. However, should the proposal make it to the floor, it will face a fight in Congress.
One of many areas of debate will simply be the price tag. In his recent 2016 budget proposal, the President outlines the cost of free community college. In 2016 alone, the plan would come at a price of $1.36 billion. By 2023, the price tag would be closer to $9 billion, bringing total costs to over $60 billion. Obama wants the federal government to pay 75 percent of the tab, leaving the remaining 25 percent to the states. Nevertheless, Republicans will be deeply concerned about program costs.
Another concern that may not be in the spotlight, is the current track record of community colleges. According to arecent study by the National Student Clearinghouse, just 15 percent of students started at a two year institution in 2006 actually completed a degree at a four-year institution within six years.
by Grady Brown
It has been a rough couple months for U.Va., since Rolling Stone released its, now mostly-retracted, story covering an alleged rape on U.Va.’s campus. While the fraternity mentioned in the article appears to have been falsely accused, the University is still at the forefront of a growing national issue. According to the Washington Post, there were more than 3,900 reported incidents of sexual assault on college campuses across the country in 2012. This was a 50 percent increase over the previous three years. Interestingly enough, University had decreasing reports of sexual assault between 2010 and 2012. Nevertheless, the University faces a reinvigorated federal review of its Title IX compliance.
Title IX, a portion of the Education Amendments of 1972, is perhaps best known for ensuring female athletes have equal scholarship opportunities. Title IX is, more broadly, a federal civil rights law that prohibits education programs and activities that receive federal funding from discriminating on the basis of sex. In fact, federal interpretation of Title IX outlines a process that universities must use when handling cases of sexual assault. The University is currently working with the Office for Civil Rights to review its policies and has been since 2011, but is now open to increased scrutiny about possible Title IX violations.
by Samir Salifou
Income inequality in America has reached levels of national embarrassment. If a government’s actions should reflect society’s desires, then somewhere along the way the American democratic process has gone awry. According to a Harvard Business School study, 90 percent of Americans believe that the income gap is too wide. There is a national consensus around fixing income inequality, and the solution isn’t difficult. First, we must raise the minimum wage and stop subsidizing low-cost jobs. Second, we must make access to a higher education affordable and attractive to youth.
The numbers are staggering. In a study conducted by Harvard Business School Prof. Michael Norton, more than 90 percent of Americans believe that the top quintile of society should hold 33 percent of the national wealth and that the bottom 40 percent should hold 25 percent of the national wealth. The real numbers are far different.
The top quintile holds more than 80 percent of the national wealth and the bottom two quintiles hold sequentially 0.3 percent of the national wealth. If 9 out of 10 Americans agree that the income gap should be narrower than it is, then this is not a partisan issue. It is an issue of national importance that needs to be addressed urgently.