TJ: Meritocracy to Mediocrity? 

When my friend Ram left India to come to the U.S., little did he imagine that he might — in the next 20-odd years — be confronted with affirmative action and racial quotas at “TJ,” the prestigious Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology in Alexandria, Virginia, that his kids went to! 

As a Brahmin in Tamilnadu, it wasn’t easy for Ram to get into an Indian engineering college because admission was not merit-based and most seats were reserved for disadvantaged castes.Was history repeating itself? Was the Fairfax County Public Schools system in Virginia experiencing a kind of backward slide from meritocracy to mediocrity?

Elite Magnet School

TJ is not any run of the mill high school. It was designed to be an elite magnet school to educate gifted students and help attract high-tech business to the area. Companies such as Lockheed Martin and Northrop Grumman donated millions of dollars of equipment for kids to study nanochemistry and quantum physics in state-of-the-art labs! Scientists from the National Institute of Health and the Smithsonian have mentored TJ seniors! The school has a planetarium and a supercomputer, and — best of all — tuition is zero, zilch, free! 

Parents have moved from other cities — even other countries, not kidding! — to ensure their children are eligible. They buy homes in middle school districts that serve as pipelines to TJ, enroll their (nerdy, whip smart, overachieving) kids in after-school programs and pay thousands of dollars for prep courses!

Super Competitive!

Ram’s older girl passed out of TJ last year (the Class of 2019); the younger one is currently a TJ sophomore. 

As early as middle school (sixth through eighth grades), both kids went to hundreds of hours of classes and other specialized tutoring at academies that were specifically designed to prepare for TJ’s “race blind” admissions test, reportedly one of the toughest in the country — and not just for math and science but also for English essay writing and composition. (I know! I got roped in to help!)

While many of their friends were going to sleepovers and birthday parties and enjoying extracurriculars, these two were waking up at the crack of dawn on weekends to study! Thankfully, they both passed, but many of their friends and peers did not; yeah, it’s super tough and super competitive and requires one thousand percent focus! 

Dumbing Down? 

Now, however — in an effort to attract more diversity in its student body — the school has eliminated the admissions test altogether as well as teacher recommendations. Many parents and students are aghast, calling this a deliberate dumbing down to include minorities! 

Serious consideration was also given to a lottery system that would select qualified students, at random. That rather controversial idea was dropped!

Background

The mission of TJ is to serve as a school for children who are passionate about STEM subjects (science, technology, engineering, and math). 

According to the U.S. News and World Report, it was ranked the nation’s top high school in the list of 2020 Best High Schools. From over 3,000 students who apply each year, only about 450 are admitted (about 15 percent). The admissions test is similar in structure to the SAT. Since the school’s founding in 1985, it is composed of a two-part math, reading, science, and writing test. 

During the entire 2019-2020 school year, TJ’s profile showed the following demographic breakdown: 71.5 percent Asian, 19.48 percent White, 2.6 percent Hispanic, 1.72 percent Black, and 4.7 percent other. 

Note: Asian usually means students from China and India, although a few other Asian countries are also represented.

It’s Complicated!

One way of making the school demographically representative is to apply a system of straightforward unapologetic affirmative action: that is, reserve 9 percent of slots for Black applicants, 17 percent for Asians, 62 percent for Whites, and 16 percent for Hispanics — these numbers are taken from Fairfax County’s demographic breakdown.

Such a move would, of course; overwhelmingly benefit White students and hurt Asians. (Black and Hispanic students would also benefit, but less than White students, at least in absolute numbers.)

Bottom line: it’s complicated!

Decimating their American Dream!

In the past few weeks, TJ parents and students have demonstrated to mourn “the loss of merit” and the “American Dream!” They were protesting the proposed changes to admissions.

Their view was that the school’s academic rigor would greatly diminish if students were admitted without an exam; also, it was an insult to alumni and current students to go from being the top high school in America to just another school!

Setting aside a few slots for disadvantaged minority students was one thing, said a parent, but to drastically change the entire entrance procedure “could destroy the school’s standing” by “diluting” the quality of the student body and “casting doubt” on its sought-after diplomas! Forcing unqualified children into a too rigorous academic environment could also “drive down TJ’s academic rating,” he added.

Another parent said that the new plan had one objective: to increase the number of White students at the expense of Asian immigrants! “This plan will decimate our American dream... Fairfax County was happy to have TJ be merit-based” as long as White students were getting a higher proportion of seats but, as soon as they became under-represented, it was “time for a change!”

Race-Blind? Not Really! 

Although the TJ test is supposedly race-blind, racial background and socio-economic status obviously play an outsize role in determining success. High-income families can pay for expensive test prep that give students a significant boost in the admissions process. 

Even in elementary school, Black and Hispanic students are less likely to be identified and recommended (by teachers and advisors) for accelerated classes and gifted programs that propel other students toward more challenging coursework in their later years.

For instance, Fairfax County administers a test to first- and second-graders that determines whether they qualify for the Advanced Academic Program (AAP), a gifted-and-talented program that is also widely viewed as a pipeline to TJ. The AAP is majority White and Asian; in 2019-2020, Black and Hispanic students made up just 18 percent of the highest-level AAP classes. 

Critics say this is because elementary level minority and low-income students have been unable to rise above their home environments and the often meager academic resources their parents can afford.

The admission test is undeniably a part of TJ’s persistent diversity problem. Research shows that Black, Hispanic, and low-income students tend to score worse on standardized tests than their White and Asian counterparts.

In 1997, Black and Hispanic students made up 9.4 percent of TJ’s student body, the highest representation it would ever achieve!  

Tempers Running High!  

Tempers were running high at the continuing protests organized by parents and students. They asked, what was the rationale for increasing racial diversity at TJ, but not on varsity teams? Why was it wrong to have “too many” Asians and “not enough” Blacks or Hispanics at TJ while it was perfectly acceptable to have “too many” Blacks on varsity football or basketball teams but “not enough” Asians or Hispanics?

“There is no rational reason why the demographics of TJ must reflect that of Fairfax County,” said a parent. “Should the NFL reflect the demographics of the U.S.?”

He added, “New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio is trying this quota system with Stuyvesant High School, Brooklyn Technical School, and the Bronx High School of Science. They want to drop the entrance test because too many Asians pass it. Why should the most rigorous schools in the country reflect the demographics of their districts? That's as dumb as having admission to an Olympic team be based on a lottery! We will never beat China in STEM if we're so obsessed with equity uber alles!”

Actually, I think the China ship sailed a while ago! America has some catching up to do!  

Note that, the three New York City schools mentioned, base admissions entirely on standardized test scores resulting in student bodies that are largely Asian-American with very few Black and Hispanic students, even though the latter groups make up two-thirds of the city’s population!

A “TJ Track”

The best way to promote diversity, in my view, is to institute a TJ student pipeline that starts in elementary school when children are as young as six or seven. Begin by establishing youth outreach programs that target low-income and minority families. Improving communications with parents, letting them know the value of a STEM education, and finding out whether their child is interested in attending TJ, might have been a better route to take rather than summarily dropping the admissions test. 

If you went to a math or science competition in Fairfax, Northern Virginia, or the mid-Atlantic regions in the past ten years, you would have seen mostly Asian and a few White students, despite the math and science fairs being totally free of charge! That is a choice!  Look at aptitude scores: Asians from the lowest income groups score higher than others because parents push their children harder to focus on STEM. Again, that is a choice!  It takes parental sacrifice of time and money; students also miss out on sports and other extracurriculars — once again, a choice!

The Fairfax County Public Schools system should identify Black and Hispanic children — ideally at the elementary level — and put them on a “TJ track” by creating a one year prep school for them. They should target bright students with potential who have so far lacked the appropriate educational or social background but could nevertheless succeed in a rigorous environment.

There is only so much that local policymakers or school administrators or teachers can do to influence a parent or student. Parents must decide what their priorities are: do they want to spend their time and/or money on athletics or other activities as opposed to improving their child’s STEM-related skills?  

If the families don't have the resources for tutors, summer camps, and other expenses that go into prepping a child for TJ, then perhaps taxpayers could pick up this expense. Minority students still need to work extra hard to earn a seat and be competitive but, in the end, everyone benefits when all ethnicities are fairly represented.

This is a long-term solution. It should be noted that TJ’s racial inequity is not new. It has persisted for nearly 20 years and there is no quick-fix!

Are Quotas a Legitimate Objective? 

Should an elite specialized STEM school mirror the general demographics of a region and are race quotas ever a legitimate objective?

Many educators believe that, when quotas are used to admit less qualified applicants, the affirmative action goal posts are moved to include — not just rigging the admissions system — but also compromising the grading process to avoid the embarrassment of under-qualified students flunking out!  

A cloud of doubt often hangs over the heads of students who graduate this way. They fail to get the credit they deserve and are often looked at askance by peers and prospective employers! 

But this is possibly an extreme view not shared by all. 

Race and Affirmative Action

Universities, for instance, do consider race as a factor in admissions. 

According to studies, racial diversity promotes better learning outcomes and prepares students for an increasingly diverse workforce. 

If race-based quotas work at the university level, surely they could also work at the high school level!

It is evident that students in diverse schools develop more complex thinking skills and are better prepared for a diverse workplace. 

Children of all backgrounds are also likelier to perform better in math when they attend racially and economically diverse schools. And being good at math is the whole point of TJ — it’s in the mission statement!

Whatever the merits or demerits of affirmative action, change at TJ is long overdue! Something must be done to level the playing field and to be inclusive of minorities who have suffered generational discrimination and segregation. 

As Brandon Kim, an Asian American TJ alum, put it, “everyone must accept the fact that TJ has a serious demographics problem... the time for change is now.”

Stay Tuned!

After the (rather daft!) lottery proposal was dropped, the school board asked the Fairfax Schools Superintendent to come up with a new and better proposal for reforming admissions. Stay tuned!

For TJ students, just as they’re trying to adjust to online learning, their school has become the center of a roiling debate with national implications. 

Although many students think it important to have a meaningful conversation about promoting fairness during this season of Black Lives Matter and racial justice demonstrations, they also feel that their school should be a place of learning, not of contention!

My Take

TJ needs to become more reflective of the community it serves. It’s policies have to change: the school board, the administrators, the community, and student leaders should all work together to achieve this. 

The most profound lesson — in my view — is that TJ alumni, students, and parents realize that they are better off with more diversity, not less! 

Hanging on to privilege (whether White or Asian) is not the answer! To upend the status quo which is so clearly unjust and exclusionary, they need to find common purpose across race, religion, gender, and other boundaries. A society that offers equal opportunity for all is (or should be) the real American dream!

Ludi Joseph

Washington, D.C.

October 22, 2020