Scandal: A school hid students’ merit awards so as not to hurt other students’ feelings

One of the most prestigious high schools in the United States finds itself embroiled in a scandal over the revelation its authorities have made they hid merit awards from some students. The reason: not to hurt other students’ feelings.

Ignorance of these distinctions harmed about 1,200 students – most of Asian origin – in the last five years, that they have been unable to use those awards to improve their prospects for college admissions. and win scholarships.

According to publish CityJournalIt’s the public school Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology (TJ), located in Alexandria, Virginia. It is one of the highest ranked schools in the whole country.

A prestigious award

The school spent five years withholding notifications that some of his students had passed the PSAT, a grueling test that determines whether a student qualifies as a National Merit “Prestigious Scholar” for the National Merit Scholarship.

Approximately 1.5 million high school students in the United States take the exam each year. The recognition of National Merit opens the doors to million dollars in college scholarships and 800 special scholarships from corporate sponsors. Only 3 percent of them make it.

But students only find out if they pass the exam through your school. “The honor of breaking the news is left solely to school officials,” said a spokeswoman for the National Merit Scholarship Corporation, the non-profit organization that awards the awards.

But Thomas Jefferson School officials decided to suspend the announcement of the award. They are the principal, Ann Bonitatibus, and the director of student services, Brandon Kosatka.

Both, according to American media, had been appointed to their posts five years ago and had supported the idea of eliminate the admission test on merit of the school to increase the “diversity”

When it all came out, Kosatka admitted the decision to withhold the information from parents and students was intentional. “We want to recognize students for who they are as individuals, not focus on their achievements,” she said; and added that neither he nor the director wanted hurt the feelings of the students who didn’t receive the award.

A mistake in the middle of a controversy

The complaint was born in the midst of the controversy that erupted over the new strategy of that school district of “equal results for all students, without exception.

Within this new direction, school administrators, for example, have implemented a policy of “fair assessmentwhich removes zeros, gives students a 50% grade just for showing up, and assigns a cryptic code of “NTI” for missed assignments.

However, according to the Washington Times, state authorities have supported it It was all a mistake.

Fabio Zuluaga, assistant superintendent of Fairfax County Public Schools, said the school system made a mistake by not informing students, the public and families about awards: “To be honest, it was a mistake.”