School Board Adopts New Thomas Jefferson High Admissions Policy

FAIRFAX COUNTY, VA — The Fairfax County School Board voted to change the admissions policy at Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology, an admissions-based magnet school.

According to a Fairfax County Public Schools statement, the holistic review approved by the school board aims to improve diversity at the school. The new admissions process will be used to select the class of 2025, who will be incoming freshman in the next school year.

The school, often referred to as TJ, is a governor's school offering a college preparatory program emphasizing the sciences, mathematics, and technology. It has often been named the top high school in Virginia and among the top in the nation in U.S. News and World Report's annual list.Many of the admitted students are from Fairfax County, but admissions are also open to students in participating localities: Arlington County, Loudoun County, Prince William County and the City of Falls Church.

The school has used an admissions test, but the school board decided on Oct. 6 to eliminate the admissions test and the $100 application fee. FCPS will now implement a holistic review "of students whose applications demonstrate enhanced merit." There will be 550 spots offered to the highest-evaluated students. The top 1.5 percent of the eighth grade class at each public middle school meeting the minimum standards will be eligible for admission.

Students will be evaluated on their grade point average, a portrait sheet where they will be asked to demonstrate Portrait of a Graduate attributes and 21st century skills, a problem-solving essay, and experience factors. Those experience factors will include students who are economically disadvantaged, English language learners, special education students, or students who are currently attending underrepresented middle schools.

The new admissions policy also includes recruitment communications to all eligible students, with targeted recruitment of underrepresented students, presentations to students and parents, and a virtual open house, all available in multiple languages.

In September, Superintendent Scott Brabrand first proposed admission changes including a merit lottery to bolster diversity and increase access to historically underserved students. A revised merit lottery incorporating a holistic review was presented to the school board on Oct. 6 and 8, and the final proposals were presented on Dec. 7.

In the last admissions cycle, TJ admitted 486 students of 2,539 applicants for the class of 2024, the current freshman class. The breakdown by demographic group included 355 Asian students, 86 white students, 29 multiracial or "other" students, and 16 Hispanic students. The number of Black students admitted was identified as "too small for reporting," representing 10 or less students. That same "too small for reporting" number for Black students was reflected in the previous year's admission.

In recent years, changes to the TJ admissions policy aimed at improving diversity did not have a significant impact on demographics of applicants or admitted students. Since 2011, FCPS has hired an outreach specialist to recruit minority students from middle schools across the county and revised the student information sheet, implemented a problem-solving essay, and new tests.

The Coalition for TJ, a group opposing the admissions change, criticized the holistic admissions approach approved by the school board. The group, made up of parents, students, alumni and others, believes TJ is legally required to have an admissions test as a governor's school for gifted students. In a series of tweets, the group said the idea of making the top 1.5 percent at middle school eligible for admission was an add-on item not presented to the public until hours before the meeting and had no community engagement. In November, the group announced a lawsuit following the school board's decision to remove the admissions test.