SCHOOL PROFILE 2014–2015 At a Glance CEEB code: 263105 School type: Independent, co-ed, boarding and day, grades 7–12; academically rigorous, classical liberal- arts curriculum School size: 75 students, 12 full-time faculty, 7 adjunct faculty Size of graduating class: 15 Percentage of graduating class attending a four-year college: 100 Percentage of students receiving financial aid: 44 Percentage of ethnic minorities: 20 Percentage of international students: 37 Contact Information Karen L. Fairbank Director of College Counseling Email: [email protected] Tel.: +1 314.843.4152 ext. 2360 Fax: +1 314.843.3527 Website: TJS.org Program Highlights CORE CURRICULUM: The program focuses on key college-prep areas (English, math, ancient and modern languages, science, social studies, and fine arts) with few electives. It is among the most challenging programs nationally. COURSE LOAD: Students take five academic courses per year in grades 11 and 12 (six in grades 7 through 10), including a fine-arts course. WORKLOAD AND AUTONOMY: Short seminar-style classes, all in the morning, center on discussion, debate, problem solving, not lecture. Students bear responsibility for serious daily assignments with much autonomy in the use of afternoon and evening time for academic work and activities. AP COURSES: A typical student is limited to six AP classes: two in grade 11 and four in grade 12. Students who have been accelerated in math may take an additional AP class in grade 11. AP is the only level for upperclass English, math, sciences, and social studies: AP English Literature & Composition, AP Language & Composition, AP Calculus BC, AP Statistics, AP Biology, AP Chemistry, AP Physics C, AP Comparative Government & Politics, AP Economics (alternates with AP Comparative Gov), and AP U.S. History. ENGLISH: Required every year , English classes are built around reading and discussing classic and modern literature: fiction, non-fiction, poetry, philosophy, drama (including two plays by Shakespeare every year). A year-round daily writing program builds composition and self-editing skills. FINE ARTS: Students are required to take one fine-arts elective each year in the visual or performing arts. LANGUAGES: Students take three accelerated foreign-language programs for two or more years each (Latin in grades 7-8, classical Greek in grades 9-10, and either French or Italian in grades 10-11). The second-year level is equivalent to a college “intermediate” course. MATH: Math is required every year through AP Calculus BC or AP Statistics. SCIENCE: All students take one or more AP lab sciences. These are preceded by a four-year sequence with introductions to major scientific areas: earth science, chemistry, biology, and physics. SOCIAL STUDIES: All students follow a three-year social studies and world history sequence in grades 7-9, and then one or two AP courses in grades 11 and 12. MEDIAN SAT SCORES: (2010-2014) 680 READING and 700 MATH and 680 WRITING (This includes international students.)
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2014–2015 Profile for Thomas Jefferson School, St. Louis, Missouri
SCHOOL PROFILE 2014–2015 At a Glance
CEEB code: 263105 School type: Independent, co-ed, boarding and day, grades 7–12; academically rigorous, classical liberal-arts curriculum School size: 75 students, 12 full-time faculty, 7 adjunct faculty Size of graduating class: 15
Percentage of graduating class attending a four-year college: 100 Percentage of students receiving financial aid: 44 Percentage of ethnic minorities: 20 Percentage of international students: 37
Contact Information Karen L. Fairbank Director of College Counseling Email: [email protected]
Tel.: +1 314.843.4152 ext. 2360 Fax: +1 314.843.3527 Website: TJS.org
Program Highlights
v CORE CURRICULUM: The program focuses on key college-prep areas (English, math, ancient and modern languages, science, social studies, and fine arts) with few electives. It is among the most challenging programs nationally.
v COURSE LOAD: Students take five academic courses per year in grades 11 and 12 (six in grades 7 through 10), including a fine-arts course.
v WORKLOAD AND AUTONOMY: Short seminar-style classes, all in the morning, center on discussion, debate, problem solving, not lecture. Students bear responsibility for serious daily assignments with much autonomy in the use of afternoon and evening time for academic work and activities.
v AP COURSES: A typical student is limited to six AP classes: two in grade 11 and four in grade 12. Students who have been accelerated in math may take an additional AP class in grade 11. AP is the only level for upperclass English, math, sciences, and social studies: AP English Literature & Composition, AP Language & Composition, AP Calculus BC, AP Statistics, AP Biology, AP Chemistry, AP Physics C, AP Comparative Government & Politics, AP Economics (alternates with AP Comparative Gov), and AP U.S. History.
v ENGLISH: Required every year, English classes are built around reading and discussing classic and modern literature: fiction, non-fiction, poetry, philosophy, drama (including two plays by Shakespeare every year). A year-round daily writing program builds composition and self-editing skills.
v FINE ARTS: Students are required to take one fine-arts elective each year in the visual or performing arts.
v LANGUAGES: Students take three accelerated foreign-language programs for two or more years each (Latin in grades 7-8, classical Greek in grades 9-10, and either French or Italian in grades 10-11). The second-year level is equivalent to a college “intermediate” course.
v MATH: Math is required every year through AP Calculus BC or AP Statistics.
v SCIENCE: All students take one or more AP lab sciences. These are preceded by a four-year sequence with introductions to major scientific areas: earth science, chemistry, biology, and physics.
v SOCIAL STUDIES: All students follow a three-year social studies and world history sequence in grades 7-9, and then one or two AP courses in grades 11 and 12.
MEDIAN SAT SCORES: (2010-2014) 680 READING and 700 MATH and 680 WRITING (This includes international students.)
Grading Standards The grading standard at TJ is one of the most uninflated and rigorous in the country. The graph below shows the
distribution of year-end grades in academic courses for grades 11–12, 2004–2014.
Letter grades are awarded four times per year. Since all courses are a full year in length, only year-end grades appear on the transcript unless others are requested. Transcripts to colleges will also show the first semester of senior year if completed.
With a common grading standard, there is no significant variation in the grading among courses or among departments. Thus, separate data for different departments are unnecessary.
A’s represent work that is exceptional in both quality and consistency. The top grade in a course may be B+ or A- (the grade of A+ is not awarded). Even very
strong students may have averages in the B range. C’s are genuinely satisfactory and represent higher achievement (and more work) than in most schools. Students are permitted one D (but no more) for promotion and graduation.
GPA’s at Thomas Jefferson School v GPA’s of Thomas Jefferson students reflect the uninflated standards. They follow a traditional 4.0 scale. No courses are given extra weight. In particular, AP courses receive no extra weight.
2.0 (C) is satisfactory; indicates success in a demanding program. 2.7 (B-) is the minimum for Cum Laude. 3.3 (B+) is the minimum for Summa Cum Laude. 3.7 (A-) is the minimum for Magna Cum Laude.
Only one student has ever attained 4.0 (all straight A’s), but a few have come close. Over the most recent few years, the average GPA for the whole school has been just over 2.6. v It is often reasonable to translate Thomas Jefferson GPA’s up one whole point for purposes of comparison with other applicants—e.g., 2.6 here can represent an achievement level more like 3.6 at many other schools. v Students are not ranked.
College acceptances by GPA range for students, 2010-2014 3.5 – 4.0 (A- or better): Barnard, Boston College (3), Boston U. (5), Brandeis (3), Brown University, California-Berkeley (4), California-Irvine, California-Los Angeles (4), California-Santa Barbara, California-San Diego (2), Carnegie Mellon (3), Case Western (5), Chicago (3), Claremont-McKenna, Columbia, Cornell (3), Cornell College, Dartmouth, Davidson, DePaul, Duke, Eckerd, Emory (2), Fordham (2), Georgetown (2), Harvey Mudd, Haverford (2), Hendrix, Indiana, Johns Hopkins (5), Kansas, Kenyon, Lewis & Clark, Massachusetts, McGill, Miami, Middlebury, North Dakota, Northeastern, Northwestern, NYU (3), Occidental, Pennsylvania (2), Pomona (2), Princeton, Puget Sound, Reed, Rhodes (2), Rochester Institute of Tech., Santa Clara, Scripps, Stanford, Southern California, Texas (2), Toronto, Trinity (2), Tulane, Vanderbilt (3), Virginia (4), Wake Forest, Wash. U. (10), Wellesley (2), Wesleyan (2), Whitman, William & Mary, Worcester, Xavier
3.0 – 3.4 (high B or B+): Alabama-Huntsville, American, Beloit, Boston U. (3), Carleton, Case Western (3), Catholic, Chicago, Colorado College, Cornell College, Dallas, Denison, Emory, George Washington, Grinnell, Haverford, Hendrix, Illinois, Indiana (2), Kenyon, Loyola Chicago, Macalester, Michigan, Missouri, Northeastern, NYU, NYU-Stern, Pacific Lutheran, Puget Sound, Purdue, Rockhurst, Rollins, Rose-Hulman (2), Skidmore, Saint Louis U. (3), St. Thomas, Texas, Truman State (2), UMBC, UMSL, Wash. U., Willamette (2), Xavier (2)
2.5 – 2.9 (B- to mid-B): Arizona, Beloit (2), Boston College, British Columbia, Butler, Carleton, Case Western (2), Delaware, DePaul, Drexel, Earlham, Emerson, Evansville, Hendrix, Illinois (2), Illinois-Chicago (4), Indiana (2), Ithaca, Kansas (2), Kentucky, Knox (3), Lawrence, Louisville, Loyola Chicago, Missouri, Missouri S&T (3), New College, NYU (2), Penn State (2), Pittsburgh (2), Rhodes, Rochester (2), SIU-Edwardsville, Saint Louis U. (3), Smith, South Florida, St. Olaf, Temple, Transylvania, UMKC (2), UMSL, Vermont, Whitman (2), Wooster,
1.5 – 2.4 (C- to C+): Austin, Bard, Beloit (3), Birmingham Southern, Case Western (2), Coe, College of Charleston, College of the Ozarks, Cornell College (2), DePauw, Emory, Hampton, Hanover, Hendrix, Illinois-Chicago, Indiana, Iowa, Knox (4), Lake Forest (2), Loyola Chicago (2), Loyola New Orleans (2), Mass. College of Pharm., Miami (Ohio), Missouri (4), Montana State, Mount Holyoke, Pratt, Quest, Rhodes, Rockhurst, Rose-Hulman, San Francisco, Saint Louis U., St. Benedictine, Syracuse, Truman State, Washington, William Jewell, Xavier
0
100
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300
A A-‐ B+ B B-‐ C+ C C-‐ D+ D D-‐
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