FCPS Modifies Admissions Test
Fairfax County Public Schools will modify the admissions test for Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology beginning with the December 2008 test session. The test is comprised of standardized mathematics and verbal reasoning questions that assesses the knowledge and skills needed for success in a high school program for high-achieving students. Changes are planned for the test’s mathematics and verbal sections to align it with the new Scholastic Achievement Test (SAT) and admission tests given at comparable selective high schools for high-achieving students nationwide. Quantitative comparisons will be eliminated in the mathematics section, which now will be composed solely of 50 word problems and computation questions. Analogies and word meaning questions will be eliminated in the verbal section. The changes to the verbal section will reduce that section from 70 to 45 questions. The total testing time for the mathematics and verbal sections now will be two hours; this time frame will better serve students who also must complete a one-hour essay writing exercise on the day of testing.
