The national reckoning over race and inequality that followed the murder of George Floyd nearly two years ago spurred the Fairfax County School Board to confront uncomfortable truths about Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology. While the school could boast about its national ranking as the No. 1 high school, it historically never came close to reflecting the racial and economic composition of the Northern Virginia communities from which it draws its students. A big part of the problem was an admissions process that gave the edge to students with resources over students most in need — and also deserving — of expanded educational opportunities.
The board undertook a much-needed review and implemented an overhaul of the admissions process that sought to be more equitable without sacrificing academic rigor. But the reforms, which resulted in a class of 2025 that is the most diverse in recent memory — including more representation of Blacks, Hispanics and low-income students — have now been put in jeopardy by a federal-court decision that has upended the admissions process.
The 31-page ruling by Judge Claude M. Hilton, appointed by President Ronald Reagan and now on senior status, concluded the changes were an illegal act of “racial balancing.”
What is given short shrift in the judge’s ruling is that the policy, as attorneys for the school board pointed out, was blind to race, gender and national origin. It jettisoned an anachronistic entrance exam and application fees that were barriers to economically disadvantaged students and put in place a holistic approach that emphasized student grade-point averages and advanced math requirements. Just as prestigious universities have moved away from test scores as an absolute determinant of student ability, so did the Fairfax school board seek to better define the metrics of merit.
As for the argument that Asian American students have been denied a level playing field, data compiled by the TJ Alumni Action Group, advocates for equity in the school’s admissions, showed that the percentage of Asian students admitted in the Class of 2025, measured against the number of Asian students who applied, is in line with historical trends going back at least 17 years.
The debate in Fairfax County about diversity and merit is being played out in school districts across the country and, unfortunately, has been caught up in the ugliness that seeks to pit communities of color against each other. If Thomas Jefferson is to live up to its first-in-the-nation ranking, it should not surrender to the old and unfair ways of student admission. The school board, which Friday announced it is requesting a stay of the judge’s order as it considers all its options, should appeal this wrong-headed decision.